Get Me Doug Jones! The Monster Behind the Magic

Doug Jones has spent four decades bringing some of the most unforgettable characters in film and television to life. From Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy to Hocus Pocus, The Shape of Water, and Star Trek: Discovery, his performances have helped define modern fantasy and horror.

But who is the man beneath the makeup?

This week on Horror Heals, Corey sits down with Doug Jones and filmmaker Derek Maki, executive producer of the upcoming documentary Get Me Doug Jones, which celebrates Doug's remarkable career and the kindness that has made him beloved by fans and fellow actors alike.

Doug shares the origin of the famous "Doug Hug," memories from The Shape of Water, working with Guillermo del Toro, becoming Saru on Star Trek: Discovery, and why conventions remain one of the most rewarding parts of his career. Derek explains why he felt compelled to make a documentary about a performer many consider the Lon Chaney of our time and reveals some of the incredible voices participating in the film.

Along the way, we talk about horror fandom, imposter syndrome, screen-used props, favorite final people, and why sometimes the people behind the monsters are the ones who leave the biggest impression.

You'll also hear about the Kickstarter campaign helping bring Get Me Doug Jones to theaters and some of the amazing rewards available to supporters.

About Doug Jones

Doug Jones is an Emmy-nominated actor whose credits include The Shape of Water, Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy, Hocus Pocus, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and Star Trek: Discovery. Known for his extraordinary physical performances and emotional depth, he has become one of the most respected actors in genre entertainment.

About Derek Maki

Derek Maki is an award-winning actor, director, and producer. His film Instant Dads earned numerous accolades, and he currently serves as executive producer of Get Me Doug Jones, a documentary chronicling the life and career of one of genre cinema's most beloved performers. Derek has worked alongside Doug Jones for nearly two decades, managing convention appearances and helping connect Doug with fans around the world.

Learn more and support the documentary at GetMeDougJones.com, and support the Kickstarter! 

Thank you for listening to Horror Heals. 

Share the show with someone who loves horror and someone who needs a little healing.

If you want to support our guests, check the show notes for links to their work, conventions, and fundraising pages.

You can also listen to our sister podcast Family Twist, a show about DNA surprises, identity, and the families we find along the way.

Horror Heals is produced by How the Cow Ate the Cabbage LLC.

Is horror good for mental wellness? Of corpse it is.

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:10

Hello, foils and it's your old pal, Jacket Dear, the voice of the Crickkeeper. And I want to welcome my good fiends of the Horror Heels Podcast. Is horror good for mental wellness? But of course it is!

SPEAKER_00 0:29

Welcome back to Horror Heels. I'm Kendall, and this is one of those episodes that feels like sitting down with two people who genuinely love what they do and love the community that surrounds it. If you've ever been moved by the shape of water, creeped out by Pan's labyrinth, cheered for Hocus Pocus, or spent time in the worlds of Star Trek, Buffy, or Hellboy, you've experienced the incredible work of Doug Jones. But today's conversation isn't just about the characters, it's about the man underneath the makeup. Joining Doug is executive producer Derek Maki, who is making a documentary called Get Me Doug Jones. It's part love letter, part career retrospective, and part mission to make sure one of the most gifted performers in horror and fantasy gets the recognition he's earned over four decades. And right now, they're in the middle of a Kickstarter campaign to bring his film across the finish line. There are some incredible rewards available, including signed collectibles, exclusive experiences, and even screen-used pieces from Doug's career. If you've ever wanted to own a little piece of movie history or simply support independent horror filmmaking, you'll want to stick around until the end, and then head over to getmedugjones.com or The Kickstarter, which is linked in the show notes. So now let's hand it over to Corey for a conversation that's funny, heartfelt, and full of stories that will make you appreciate Doug Jones even more.

SPEAKER_02 1:59

Thank you for having us.

Corey 2:00

Thank you for having us. Hello. Absolutely. So before we get into this documentary, which I'm very excited about, I'd like to know what is the origin of the Doug Hunt, of which I've been a recipient.

SPEAKER_02 2:14

I knew that head looked familiar. Coming are you. It's an emotional story, if I could go back in time a bit. Please. I'm the youngest of four boys. So I had three older brothers and it was a very boy house. And mom and dad were showed love in different ways. Huggles were not one of them. Yeah, physical affection was not their love language. I found out about the five love languages later in life. And I found out that I, my my strongest one is physical touch with words of affirmation and close second, where I'm like, I love you. I want to talk all about it. So I was 18 years old when my father passed away. And it was at his funeral that my brothers and I all hugged each other for the first time ever. And I was like, This is so right. And so I decided from that day forward that I would be a hugger, and if I want to receive them, I must give them. That's how that came about. So nobody gets away from me without one now. Unless, of course, they scream and say, Please don't.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

Yeah, that's when you do I've seen you grab people, and even when they do that, and you still get the hugs out of them. Yeah, it's very there's something about Doug, he can get a hug out of everywhere. Oh, you're too correct.

Corey 3:22

I love that because my father died unexpectedly at 17. Oh, yeah. And I remember at the hospital, my brother and I, we weren't super close at the at that time. We are now, we're three years apart. And of course I hugged him when he was a little kid, but I remember that was the first time. As soon as we my mom brought us into that room and said, Your dad's gone, we grabbed each other and held on for dear life. And I that that will be a memory I will carry with me till the end of days. Forever.

SPEAKER_02 3:50

Exactly. Yes, Josh. Well, thanks for sharing that. That's sweet. Yeah. Of course.

Corey 3:54

Yeah. So I was just going back to our earlier episodes, and literally one year ago, almost to the day I interviewed this author named Grace Daly. She writes horror stuff. But the final question we always ask on this podcast is who is your favorite final person in a horror movie? And she's Eliza from The Shake of Water. And that got us off on a tangent where I said Doug Jones should have been nominated for an Oscar for that movie. And it's a crime that he wasn't. And we just we went off on a tangent, but oh my gosh. I would love to touch on that movie because it is so magical. Easily in my top 10 of all time. Oh, thank you. Um wow, like what a performance. What is your craziest, fondest memory in working with Guillermo on that movie?

SPEAKER_02 4:47

That was my sixth film with Guillermo del Toro. I've been through a lot with him. We all already had a shorthand language between us. So it was that part was easy. But the but with him, that movie specifically, he I went into with him saying, Dougie, I want you to be, I want Dougie the actor, not the performer. And I knew what he meant, but I had to have an internalized connection with Eliza, played by Sally Hawkins, who was just absolutely brilliant in that movie. And we had to fall in love with each other and let an audience buy that without one word spoken. So a lot of internalized and connection had to happen between us that did require acting, not just talented elbows. You know what I mean? And that's a misconception that people get when they talk about my career sometimes. Oh, you're such a mover. Yeah, but it's motivated by something in internal. And The Shake of Water is a perfect example of that. That we had to internalize so much and get to know each other so well. And Del Toro did something really smart with that movie. He had Sally and me meet each other and start rehearsals for our dance number in that movie. Remember, there was a fantasy dance number in the black and white and gin musical movies, fantasy that she had, neither one of us ballroom dancers. Oh, we better rehearse. So he brought us in three weeks before filming, started to dance every day with the choreographer. Wow. And during that time, we got to know each other really well. That's all it was rehearsal time. We weren't filming anything yet. We had time to sit on our little breaks together, and trust was built. When you're lifting and dipping, trust has to be there between dance partners. So if that was built, and then also Sally and I both suffer crippling imposter syndrome. I'm gonna be the one who runs this movie. She was sure of it, I was sure of it. We argued who was gonna be the worst in the movie. But what that did is that we totally bonded over that, right? We found a love language between the two of us that was very trusting. By the time we got to camera, we had a thing already going, who the two of us did. So that translated into our acting into a love story with some with some reality in our the relationship as well. Just such a sweet experience all around. And the ride that we went on all the way to the Oscars through all the awards, by the way, Golden Globes and everything. And you mentioned the Oscar thing. I can ask this all the time. You should be nominated. I can't thank you enough for thinking that. But I the closest I've ever come to an Oscar was when Fox Searchlight, the studio behind Shape of Water, put out their big full page ads and all the trade papers and the LA Times, a full page ad for your consideration, right? And they had all the categories they would like to throw names in for possibility for a nomination. And for Best Actor, they just had Doug Jones there. I'd never seen that anything in every I've done before. So I saw that full page ad in the LA Times, and I might have lost a tier. I might have because of that. That's the sweetest thing that a studio had that kind of faith that they could put my name out there with confidence. Now, I knew the Academy probably wouldn't be nominating a guy in a complete rubber suit from head to toe, and that's fine. I totally understood that. But I don't know. I've I've had enough accolades I've I think, and but he'll have a differing story on that about what I deserve or don't deserve. And we argue about this all the time.

Corey 8:07

Yep. Yep. So Derek, to me, a a documentary about Doug is a given just because I've just mentioned to several people that talk to Dunn Jones and they're just losing their damn minds. You when we started this podcast two years ago, you were definitely on the top of our list of like but Derek, I'm just picturing a documentary called Get Me Doug Jones. I'm just picturing a guy, like a 60-year-old guy very sweaty with a cigar with a phone saying, Get me Dunk Jones. So could you talk a little bit about the impetus of this whole thing?

SPEAKER_01 8:38

Yeah, that's where was that was in my head. I could tell you this: the film, I didn't come up with the film title until right when we started shooting, I think. Yeah. Up until that time, it we it was just to be determined movie, Doug Jones documentary. And I always knew that I wanted Doug's name in the title. And this, as I tell everybody during these interviews, like this is my love letter to Doug because I've been with him now for 18 years on the road, meeting fans. And Derek's my appearance manager for the live appearance.

SPEAKER_02 9:11

Oh, okay.

Corey 9:12

Oh, okay, all right.

SPEAKER_02 9:12

Gotcha, gotcha. Meet and greets at conventions and those kind of things. He's the one handling that part of my career for 18 years now. So we've seen a lot of each other and we're we kind of let family now.

SPEAKER_01 9:21

Yeah, yeah. Extended family, open hearts. We bet I've Doug's cried on my shoulder about things. We sheared things on, he's invited me to red carpet events. It's been fantastic. But the biggest thing was I never saw him getting the accolades that he deserved meaning, the golden statue, whether it's an Oscar or a golden globe. I wanted to be an Oscar for best actor on his mantle. So that's part of what this documentary is just to open up the eyes of the academy and everyone in the industry to say, listen, we're overlooking this person, but at the same time, it's also to celebrate. Like that's just a small part of it. They'll get that and then they'll go, great. We want the rest of the world to see this amazing man. They know his characters, but a lot of people don't know him. And the ones that do know him because they've met him at a convention like you have, it's fantastic. But I just would like the rest of the world. How can you have movies like The Shape of Water, Hocus Pocus, Pen's Labyrinth? They're as popular or as well known as Star Wars and Star Trek, and everyone knows who Han Solo is, and right, but and they all know who A Sapien is, but they don't know the man, the actual actor, because he stuck in rubber bits where Harrison Ford wasn't, or Mark Campbell wasn't, or William Shatner wasn't, right? So that's really what this is about. It's to give the accolades that he just never gets and to really open everyone's eyes. Because Doug's is an amazing actor. You have to remember, and it's something we delve in the film, like acting behind makeup is not easy. And to be able to project a performance through rubber and silicone and latex and contact lenses and muffled noses or mouths, it's and then you still need to act. And you're acting in front of your fellow co-stars on set, and you need to be as believable, if not more believable, and scary or abrupt in front of them because it takes that much more to come through. The average person doesn't get that. The average person doesn't understand real acting, they don't understand that. It's not about, hey, look at me, which is what everyone thinks. It's not, it's all about subtlety. Hey. And then that's more can be much more intense. We're looking, we're looking. But coming through the makeup, you can't. Doug, he's brilliant. So anyway, I just raved all about Mr. Jones, and you'll have to come see Get Me Doug Jones to understand what I'm raving about.

SPEAKER_02 11:40

Thank you.

Corey 11:40

I can't wait to see it. And uh Doug and Derek, I would put you on par with Robert England, who's somebody who's created a character behind makeup who will stand the test of time, but you've created dozens of characters to stand the test of time. I will never be as creeped out, I don't think, as the Pan's Labyrinth. I don't even know what to call them, but aside from the hand monster. The pale man, yes. Oh my goodness, like that wow.

SPEAKER_01 12:16

Now you have any sense. Oh, sorry, go ahead, Dara. Interject on that because I'm actually very proud of this. So a lot of people in the industry have considered Doug the Barrett, the Boris Karloff or the Loncini of our time. That those phrases get interchineed a lot.

SPEAKER_02 12:34

And it humbles me beyond belief because I'm such a fan of both of them. And I grew up watching them going, oh my gosh, and then to hair my name and their names in the same sentence is like, are you kidding me?

SPEAKER_01 12:45

So the good news is so we were using unofficially the Boris Karloff of our time in like all of our ads and stuff, but one of the interviews that we got to complete was Ron Chaney, which is the great grandson of Lon Cheney, who on camera gave us official permission from the family to refer to Doug as the Lon Cheney of our time. That's official.

SPEAKER_02 13:08

I was happy right now, just hearing that. I know, I know.

SPEAKER_01 13:13

So you look at one thing like that. I'm not trying to take away from your point, sir, about Robert England. He's great, but it's those humbling moments. Oh my god. For someone like Doug, that is, yeah, I was honored that they gave us that permission. It was fantastic.

SPEAKER_02 13:26

Robert England, blood bless his heart, was being interviewed about the carrying on the nightmare on Elm Street should franchise. And he threw my name in the hat with who do you think should play Freddy? He I was among the names he listed in an interview somewhere, and I thought, my gosh, Rob, I can't believe I was on his radar. I was how sweet.

Corey 13:45

I love that. Yeah, and it's time to have another one of those sequels or a reboot or whatever, so that yeah, that would be fantastic. But Doug, I would say you're in a category all your own. Just what you have done. Oh my goodness. It's just it's incredible because obviously we never recognize you because we're not seeing your face in this, but it's like, who is this individual who could create these characters and is completely covered from head to toe? I imagine you're not claustrophobic.

SPEAKER_02 14:14

That would have been a horrible thing, right? Without that career I've had, if that were the case. Yeah.

Corey 14:19

Wow. Now, when you're on set and you're completely encased, do you have do you like to have interactions with your fellow performers, or do you prefer just to let it all live on the screen?

SPEAKER_02 14:31

I'm on the introvert, extrovert. I'm somewhere in the middle between the two. And when I'm going through physical challenges like extra weight, extra heat, dehydration, whatever it is, I'm not as quite as sociable as I normally am like right now. When you're hanging out on set between the shot setups and your actor friends are all we're all sitting in chairs or showing videos to each other on the phones or playing games or getting air chatty, I have to just sit there and go. And then hope I capture and spare my energy for camera. Because I'd made the mistake before in the past of being in between things, and then I get to camera at the end of a 12-hour day, and I'm like, I got nothing left. So I have to say that.

Corey 15:13

One of the things that I was so impressed about when I met you, and I took our nephew who's on the spectrum to this convention to meet you as well, was just like how genuine and open you are with all of the fans who were there. I immediately took that away. I don't know if you remember this convention specifically, but I think you were down two tables from the smallest woman in the world who played Ma Petit, an American horror story. Do you remember that convention? Yeah, where was this? Do you know what city is? This was in it was either in New Hampshire or Massachusetts, like Harry memory, but that's where I'm New Hampshire. Yeah. Like just talk a little bit about what it is like meeting the fans and the interactions you get to have.

SPEAKER_02 15:52

Well, that's what I'm so grateful to to this man for. Is without him and his company, I wouldn't, that's a world I wouldn't have known. I that's the one place it's a safe place to meet the people who have been watching everything I've done over all these years. I've been an actor for 40 years now. So it's a lot of there's a lot of IMDB credits that's uh accumulated in that time. And a huge audience that's collected over all those titles. Sure. So once you film something and it and they yell, that's a wrap, and it's gone, I go home and I don't mean I don't know what happens on the other end. I'm not a part of the post-production, I'm not a part of the distribution of it of that film or TV show. So hearing feedback from who watched it, that's what I what makes it all worthwhile is when I can be at a convention and meet one person at a time in an alignment people that all want to tell me what they were doing, what part of life they were living, what happened in their life when they were watching something of mine, whether it was a movie that helped them get through cancer treatments, or a TV show that they could binge watch while their loved one was fading in health. Or they met their first date was a movie of mine, and now they're married with a baby and they're in Milan to tell me about it. I love these stories, right? And it just tie it makes it all make sense. If it was just me going like this on film, that's that wouldn't be enough to satisfy me. But hearing that, oh, the art was made and it was appreciated and it was useful in someone's life, and then I hear about it, it comes back to me. That's what I love about conventions for sure.

Corey 17:22

So, Derek, there's already some amazing people lined up for the documentary. Are there any people that you spoke to that were you were just like, oh my goodness, I can't believe this story. I can't believe this moment that they remembered with working with Doug.

SPEAKER_01 17:37

Yeah, we've got some interviews where something funny is told that David Ajala had one from the set of Star Trek that just got brought up this weekend during a panel of the stuff.

SPEAKER_02 17:46

Oh, did he tell the story?

SPEAKER_01 17:48

No, but some fan knew and you have to see what it is. But no, everyone has been everyone says everything that I already know about Doug. What my whole thing was, and I don't mean that in a bad way, it's it makes me feel special because I've known him, I know him that well, but it's to hear their perceptions and their deep feelings of what they feel about Doug that makes you like, oh my god. We've had several people crying on camera, and it's the big names and having no shame about it because they're talking about their love for Doug. And then it makes the crew cry. So it's actually really wonderful for me because I'm I'm just thinking they're gonna come on and just say, Yep, we love Doug, he's great, best actor ever. Thank you. Can I go home now? And they're not, they're like really delving deep, finding those moments that they spent with him on set and what it meant to them and coming out of their shell. And like most of our interviews when we started were an hour long. Now they're about 30 minutes long, and literally, it doesn't matter how big the celebrity is, in a two-hour film, you're gonna be lucky if you get a total of two minutes of each of those interviews. So, how do you edit that down to tell a story? I have no idea. So I make jokes all the time. We're gonna have the theatrical cut, which is two hours, the director's cut, which is four hours, and the super duper pooper producer's cut, which is six hours. We really should have just made it into a TV series. I wanted it to be theatrical, so we gotta cut it down.

Corey 19:22

So for the super cut, how much are we seeing Bet Midler?

SPEAKER_01 19:25

Her interview was short, but the fact that she agreed was yeah, unprecedented. She never does this type of thing. So he's an honor to get her to agree. Yeah, yeah. And what she says is great. So when you see it, and here's the thing the movie, this isn't to down her in any way, one of my favorite actresses, but the movie's not about Bette Mittler, it's about this man. So whatever Bette has to say that's positive, she's gonna be given the same amount of time as Noah Wiley and Seneca Martin Green and whoever else will be on frakes. Jonathan Frakes, because it's about this man. So yeah.

Corey 20:01

We're excited. So, Doug, is it just kismet to get involved with uh these franchises and these these creators who are like to have such a huge following? Guillermo, Star Trek, Hocus Pocus, Buffy, all of that. Is it just is it kismet or is it just what is it?

SPEAKER_02 20:19

I can't define it. I I don't know. But it's fun because just recently I was having that thought. Like when I I I've rarely taken the moment to look back. I'm always looking up what am I doing today, what lines do I have to memorize for what project right now, what's ahead, what have I said yes to, what scripts do I have to read to say yes to that movie or this thing in the future? And it's rare that I can stop and go, huh, looking back, and but again, that's something else the conventions do for me when people remind me that I was in this and that and the when I tally up the humongous, like you said, franchises that I've been a part of. When I played the Silver Surfer in the Fantastic Four sequel, I was focused on, oh gosh, I hope I get this right. I hope I appease the fans that know the source material, I hope I make Stan Lee proud, on and on. And then now that I've done it, it's wait, that was huge. And looking back on it. So I and then getting into a Star Trek series. Anyone on the you have to live under a rock to not know that there is a franchise called Star Trek out there with its 60th anniversary this year. At the time when Star Trek Discovery was being in pre-production and being developed, there had not been a Star Trek TV series since Enterprise. So it had been about 15 years. And so when I got this call, don't have to audition, they just want you for this role called Ninsuru. He's an alien on the bridge of the title ship, and uh you're gonna be a high-ranking officer, and uh, you want do you want it or don't you? Well, that's something I grew up with. I didn't miss any part of any series all all along the way. There's a new one being made, and you want me in it. And uh and when I met with the writers and they said, You're not gonna be a Vulcan, you're gonna be a Calcan. This is a different species, but you will be the Spock of this show. That was like, oh, okay. The gravity of that one hit me immediately because I grew up watching Spock in the 1960s, and he was the one I connected with. He was the tall, lanky one that had that looked different than everybody else. And if I I totally got him. And so to equate me with him was like, okay, I will love this job. So that was five seasons of actual such satisfaction.

SPEAKER_01 22:24

And to the point as well, it's a true get me Doug Jones moment because that is exactly what they did. He didn't audition for Star Trek. They basically had this character and went, Who do we put in there? We got the perfect guy. Get me Doug Jones. And they made phone calls until they got him. The guy with the cigar. Yeah. I mean off the role. Every actor's dream is not to have to audition for something that they just call you and go, We've got this. Do you want it? And that's what happened with Doug.

SPEAKER_02 22:54

And again, with this, there's an old joke about the four phases of an actor's career. There's the who the hell is Doug Jones? There's the oh get me Doug Jones. Then there's the oh get me a Doug Jones type. And then there's who the hell is Doug Jones at the end. So I'm glad that we're still in the Get Me Doug Jones. Yes. We're still there for sure. When it comes to monsters and creatures and rubber clad glued-on makeups, there is, I am clicking over into the Get Me a Doug Jones type phase now because I'm 66 and I'm phasing leaning more to human characters now. The last three years I've almost played exclusively humans. And but there are is a gaggle of young, even taller, like 6'9, 6'8 young actors that are that I have met and mentored and referred to be jobs and the wall screening duck. And a lot of them are going to be also interviewed in the documentary. So you'll see what the future holds.

Corey 23:46

Amazing. So now with all of the prosthetics that have been you put on you and the costumes and the full body stuff, have you been able to take anything home with you from to keep a little piece of it?

SPEAKER_02 23:57

I have indeed. And a couple of those things are available on the Kickstarter campaign for our finishing funds for this that I've donated to the cause as rewards for the for higher donors because they're one of a kind. From Star Trek Discovery specifically, a few prosthetic pieces, facial prosthetics that were never used, but I got I got to take them home with me on a vacuum form of my real face. So there's not many of those left. And then also my practice boots. I had those, I had hoof boots with it was like a high-heeled shoe with no heel behind it. So I was tiptoeing around on my the balls of my feet. And they had a practice pair of boots before the real leather ones were made. And that practice pair I still have in my possession. And then we put those on the auction block then for the Kickstarter as well. And I also had prosthetic pieces that I'm keeping for now, which I kept a silver surfer face as it once it was taken off me, so it was screen worn. I have an Abe Sapien head that was screen worn. I have Abe Sapien gloves with the webbed fingers and those movies that I that were screen worn. Well, yeah, I've taken scenes on from various movies. Yeah. I have and my human roles, I usually keep my socks. It's a weird little collection. And when I look at my socks for I can't remember what's from what, but it at least I've been I got them on a movie somewhere.

SPEAKER_00 25:17

Yeah.

Corey 25:18

I don't know what you were working on at the time, Doug, when we met, but you had a bald head like I do, and clearly you're not bald. Are you over that point in your career? No, come on, I'm 65. I'm not gonna go bald.

SPEAKER_02 25:29

Well, I wish I was bald to the I shaved my head to the skin for Star Trek Discovery because it was at the prosthetic was not just the face, it was all around the entire head, glued on to my head. And if I didn't shave my head, they would have to bald cap me before the makeup process started. That would have added it for 20, 25 minutes to the process. And when you're starting early in the morning before everybody else, anyway, I didn't want to start even earlier. Oh, I just shaved my head for all five seasons. And that's probably during that time is when we did that convention. Nice.

Corey 26:00

And it came back beautifully. Thank you. Thank you. I just did about it. So I want to be mindful of our time, but I think I mentioned earlier our final question that we always ask on here is who is your favorite final person in a horror movie? And feel free to say Eliza, but go off on your own if you'd like to.

SPEAKER_02 26:19

I think of the Shape of Water as a romance movie, not a horror movie so much. It had horror elements in it, sure. It was a mon I was a monster in it. But so yes, she's probably my favorite final girl in any movie. But if you're about talking about horror movies specifically, or final person, probably Haley Joel Osmeth in Six Sense.

Corey 26:38

Six sense. Six sense. Yeah. Oh we haven't had him yet. That's a good one. That's a good one.

SPEAKER_02 26:44

Why do you choose him? Well, because they first of all, the movie itself got me completely. I went on the the full ride and had zero idea that what the end was coming. So the fact that he lived through that and that character was he was a kid, but we could all relate to the strength that kids have. And the he was very heroic. Maybe a little underdog that kind of acted in had his own form of heroism that we could all rather relate to. Oh, sure.

Corey 27:10

Yeah, I saw that in opening weekend, and I had no idea I did not see that coming up at all.

SPEAKER_01 27:14

I have a question. Does the answer have to be the last person on your that you're seeing on screen the last frame of the film, or is it just the last?

Corey 27:21

It's the one who makes it. It's the one who made it, it's the one who survives. Yeah, I don't have to be the last person in the universe, but the one who makes flip through. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:29

Yeah. Mine would be Roy Schneider from Jaws, where he says, smile, you bitch, and then Jaws blows up and spinks to the bottom of the ocean. That to me was like that movie, like so many other people before me, mortified people from going in the water. To this day, I will not go in the ocean. It's free. I'm a scuba diver. I go in the ocean if they take you out to a place where they've never seen sharks before. But as far as being like on the beach and playing in the waves, it mortifies me. And it's all because of that damn movie. And when that shark was coming at him, and I was five or six when I saw that movie, I was terrified. I'm like, that's it. He's gonna eat the boat. He did eat the boat, but he's gonna, I just yeah.

Corey 28:11

So there you go. And they do a screening at Martha's Vineyard every year, and where so people are in their inner tubes in the water watching the movie. And I would love to do that, but I don't know if I could actually do it.

SPEAKER_01 28:23

And not down there because there are great whites down there. And now I might towards Provincetown, which is the tip of Massachusetts. Martha Vin Vineyard is actually further away. But I go to the Cape every year for vacation, and there were several summers where the beaches were closed. One summer it made the news because they were idiots in rowboats going out to the cove to get closer looks at the great whites. It's people are very dumb.

Corey 28:48

We read it. Yes, we're dumb. But yeah, fair to say. Oh gentlemen, awesome. Thank you so much, Doug, Derek. This is this has been incredible. And sending all the good vibes out for the documentary. I know it's gonna be wonderful. Doug, it's been amazing to watch you over the years and to get to meet you a few years ago was incredible. So thank you guys so much.

SPEAKER_01 29:13

Your time, make sure you tell your people. I'm telling you now, everybody go to getmeugjones.com. You'll learn all about the film, what we couldn't talk about here, the people that are in it. When we get new interviews done, we post who they are. And then there's also links on there to our Kickstarter for our crowd finishing campaign so we can get this movie into theaters early next year. So we need everyone's support.

Corey 29:34

You guys take care.

SPEAKER_00 29:37

I don't know about you, but I came away from this episode wanting to give Doug Jones a hug. What got me most wasn't just the stories about iconic monsters or legendary filmmakers. It was hearing over and over that the kindness fans experience at conventions is exactly who Doug is every day. That's pretty rare. And Derek's passion for telling this story is contagious. This documentary isn't just about celebrating a remarkable career, it's about recognizing an artist whose face is often hidden, even though his performances have become part of horror history. If you enjoyed this conversation, please consider supporting Get Me Doug Jones. Check out the Kickstarter campaign and take a look at the rewards. There are exclusive experiences, signed items, behind-the-scenes access, and some incredible one-of-a-kind pieces from Doug's career that fans will absolutely love. Every pledge helps bring the film to theaters and helps shine a light on an artist who has spent decades bringing unforgettable characters to life. If you back the campaign, let them know Horror Heels sent you. And if today's conversation reminded you why this community is so special, we'd love it if you subscribe, leave a review, and share the episode with the horror fan in your life who already knows Doug Jones is a legend. Until next time, remember is horror good for mental wellness? Of course it is. The Horror Heels Podcast is produced and presented by Mosaic Multimedia LLT.