Mom's Car: Dakota Fanning & Jake Johnson

Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard

Dax Shepard and Aaron Weakley welcome actors Dakota Fanning and Jake Johnson to discuss their new film, The Sun Never Sets, directed by Joe Swanberg. The conversation quickly expands into personal

Key takeaways

• Dakota Fanning discusses her homeschooling background and how carrying a rolling backpack through high school taught her to ignore social judgment.
• Jake Johnson explains the premise of The Sun Never Sets, where his character attempts to save his relationship by letting his partner date others in Anchorage.

Main topics

• Review of The Sun Never Sets
• Dating apps and modern romance

Notable quotes

Let's fucking ADHD out. Let's not police ourselves at all.

Conclusion

The episode offers listeners a candid look at how actors navigate personal growth,

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:00) Hello, I'm Dax. This is Aaron. Welcome to Mom's Cart. Today we have Dakota Fanning and Jake Johnson. Friend of the pod, Jake Johnson. First time for Dakota Fanning. Of course, Dakota is an award-winning actor. I am Sam Ripley, War of the Worlds. My very favorite, what's the... Man on Fire. Man on Fire, she's so good. Jake Johnson's a prick. What can I say? He's also an actor. We're here to help podcast. So funny. I've been on it. New Girl, The Dink, Safety Not Guaranteed. And the movie that we swear to God is so good. The Sun Never Sets. So good. You'll hear how much we loved it. Please enjoy Dakota Fanning and Jake Johnson. This episode is brought to you by Allstate. Checking Allstate first could save you hundreds on car insurance. Not checking the dress code at the new restaurant, showing up in sandals and getting turned away at the door. No fun at all. Yeah, checking first is always a good move. So check Allstate first for an auto quote. It could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate. Potential savings vary subject to terms, conditions, and availability. Allstate North American Insurance Company and affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. We are supported by Uber Eats. Boom, boom, boom. In need of groceries? Uber Eats has you covered. From last-minute ingredients to weekly essentials, get groceries delivered in as little as 25 minutes with Uber Eats. Get groceries delivered with Uber Eats. Terms apply. See app for details. Now, let's get into the show. Speaker 3 (1:49) Oh, look at this. Here we go. Here we go. Oh. Delivery time. Let's go. Speaker 1 (1:52) Can you now say the delivery service? Yeah, we can. Okay. Okay. Okay. Yes. Speaker 3 (1:57) God, you know your shit, Dakota. I do. I Speaker 1 (2:01) do. I'm Speaker 3 (2:02) so flattered. How are you flattered when she says she's going to start? I'm Speaker 2 (2:06) so Speaker 3 (2:06) flattered. Oh, you want Speaker 2 (2:07) to do a double? Yes. Oh, my God. We got to buy a Dakota. Okay, Speaker 3 (2:12) normally I would save this to the end, but I'm going to get right into our review of the film. Speaker 1 (2:16) Oh, okay. The Speaker 3 (2:16) movie being The Sun Never Sets with you two. We sit down last night to watch it after a very romantic dinner at all times. Just you two. Yeah, we got that crazy steak thing. Speaker 4 (2:25) What a nice night for you guys. Oh, it was Speaker 3 (2:27) incredible. It was candlelit. We sit on the sidewalk. And then we come back. We turn it on. And the first act, I'm a little bit like, is this going to be sad? Where are we at? Of course, to set it up, which is, you set it up. Speaker 4 (2:42) My character plays a guy who moved to Anchorage based off Joe Swanberg's real life, but not the Anchorage part, but the married with two kids and goes through a divorce. I move up there. I hate it there, but it was one of those pandemic moves where I had to be there for the kids. I start dating a younger, cooler woman played by Dakota with the rules of we're never going to get married. We're never going to have kids. Yeah. Your Speaker 3 (3:07) rules. Yes. But Speaker 4 (3:09) set between them. Yeah. I'm like, we talked about that from the beginning of this is just what it is, but we do love each other. She's essentially like a stepmom and they have this whole... Your Speaker 3 (3:18) kids love her. Love me. Life Speaker 1 (3:20) is working. Life is working for both of us. Except your parameters sort of... Yes. Speaker 3 (3:24) You have a girlfriend who gets pregnant. I Speaker 1 (3:27) have a girlfriend played by Debbie Ryan who gets pregnant. She's sort of putting the pressure on me of, don't you... Like, this is kind of what you wanted. Are you sure that you don't want this still? I claim that I don't. She's Speaker 4 (3:37) right at that point of life. And this was something Joe in real life, you know, goes through because he does feel if somebody has that moment taken from them, they have resentment forever. Yes, Speaker 3 (3:47) of course. So you go Speaker 4 (3:48) like, well, I was with you during those years, but now I've realized I've missed something that you have. And now I hate you for it. Speaker 3 (3:54) And let's be real about this. When I consider Kristen leaving me, which could happen. for numerous reasons, and I think about having to date someone again. One of the many reasons I wouldn't want to have kids with someone ever again is like the enthusiasm and excitement that you have for child number one is so special. Speaker 4 (4:11) Agreed. And you don't Speaker 3 (4:12) even have it for child number two for your Speaker 2 (4:15) own kid. Meet at curbside 4425. Oh. Look inside, my baby. Where is Speaker 3 (4:20) 4425? This is half of the show is us trying to figure out where the address we're at. This Speaker 2 (4:25) is great, though. Meet on the curb is fun because I Speaker 3 (4:27) thought... Then you see Speaker 1 (4:28) the person. Yes, and I thought we would do the show and some people would Speaker 3 (4:31) be excited to meet me. And everyone's leave at the door. So I have not gotten to meet virtually anyone. So the whole premise of the show unraveled in the first episode. Speaker 2 (4:41) You should Speaker 1 (4:42) just say all these things that you're saying. I already know them all. All these stories. I'm Speaker 2 (4:49) a big fan. Speaker 3 (4:50) All those, Speaker 1 (4:51) I know them. Speaker 3 (4:52) It might be a fun game for you, Jake, to ask me a question and let Dakota answer it. When Speaker 4 (4:58) did Dax lose his virginity? 12? Speaker 3 (5:01) Yes. Speaker 2 (5:01) Holy fuck, Dakota. What was Dax's first car that he fell in love with? Speaker 1 (5:07) Oh, I don't know that. I don't know that. I Speaker 2 (5:10) don't Speaker 1 (5:10) care about that. It's a little specific. Speaker 3 (5:12) I Speaker 1 (5:12) probably said it, but I didn't absorb that one. Speaker 3 (5:15) Okay, so back to you. So if Kristen, you know, my issue would be like, I would feel very bad for a new partner that I wouldn't be able to give them the enthusiasm they would deserve. Because I just don't think you can replicate it. Speaker 4 (5:27) Yeah, I agree. Speaker 3 (5:28) Suffice to say, what's your... What's your genius plan then, your character's genius plan, Jake, to deal with this sitch? Speaker 4 (5:34) Jack's plan in this situation is for Wendy to go out and spend the summer and date other people. Okay. To see what's out there in Anchorage. Speaker 1 (5:43) Mm-hmm. Speaker 4 (5:44) So that she can have kind of a rough summer with kind of goofy guys. And the character Speaker 2 (5:50) of that guy, Brad, is the perfect Speaker 4 (5:52) example. Oh, good. And so Jack's thought is he's going to have Wendy date other people and then basically come home and say, I won't have resentment for you later. I saw it's not you holding me back. This is what I want. Speaker 3 (6:09) Yeah, you're very confident. By the way, I'm identifying with you. I'm like, this is a kind of stupid plan I might have. Yeah, that's Speaker 4 (6:16) what I loved about the idea. Yeah, you Speaker 3 (6:17) seem like you're really generous. He gets to win. Yes, in all ways. He gets what he wants. He's going to Speaker 4 (6:23) get her back. Yes. And he's so generous and confident and cool. So Joe Swanberg in real life did this. Oh, he did this. I was going to Speaker 3 (6:31) say, it felt so like it had to have happened to somebody involved in creating it. Speaker 2 (6:35) And then your character, additionally, not only the kids and the men, marriage, but also you are whimsical and you still want to be on Speaker 3 (6:42) adventures and you want to buy this boat and maybe explore. I Speaker 1 (6:45) do. And also, you know, Speaker 3 (6:46) I Speaker 1 (6:46) mean, it's set in Alaska. It's set in Anchorage. Everyone there is outdoorsy, hiking all the time, taking little planes, getting on a boat, driving here, camping there. I mean, that's part of... Or in Speaker 3 (6:56) blackouts. Those are the two options. Super outdoorsy or stage nine alcoholic. And Speaker 4 (7:01) fist fighting in bars at Speaker 3 (7:03) 6 p.m. Never gotten almost more fights than Anchor Glass. A hundred. So Speaker 1 (7:09) she's definitely still wanting to do all of that and wanting a partner who will do that with her. That's not who Jake's character is at all. He's super... We're open about it. She accepts it. So basically on her adventure to go out and see what's out there, she runs into her ex-boyfriend, Chuck, who's played by Corey Michael Smith. Speaker 3 (7:27) Great turn. You're like, yeah, who's she going to meet that she's going to have this connection with? And then here he comes. Anyone who you have unsettled business with is going to have some crazy power over you for the rest of your life. Very plausible. Speaker 2 (7:38) So Speaker 3 (7:39) from Erin and I's point of view, what we're going through is like, okay, it's a relationship. She wants a child, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Here's the plan. We're both still just kind of like, okay, okay, okay. Speaker 2 (7:49) When Speaker 3 (7:49) you meet the ex-boyfriend and now that thing is happening. The conversation on the couch between you two. We lost it. We were Speaker 1 (7:58) screaming Speaker 3 (8:00) laughing, watching a man get hoisted by his own batard. Oh, this genius. And you're fucking 180 in four sentences. The fact that you're screaming, I want to have a baby with you more than anything. Speaker 2 (8:17) And Speaker 4 (8:17) Dakota on that couch, the way Wendy is, she's so, the status has changed. Yes. And she's mad. Even when I offer her the wine and she's like, no Speaker 3 (8:29) thanks. I Speaker 4 (8:29) don't want any. It's like, Speaker 3 (8:30) I Speaker 4 (8:31) come into my stupid little slacks where I'm like, you can't keep coming here. Have some wine. We're about to have sex. It's going to be great. He's like, I actually know I'm about to leave. And then he's like, wait, no, you're supposed to drink wine. I knew how this night was going. Speaker 2 (8:45) What a great story, though. Oh, my God. It's a load of... Yeah, so what Speaker 1 (8:49) else did you think? What else did you think? We, Speaker 2 (8:50) neither of us have had sex. slept in 24 hours and we're and we got to it really late yeah yeah yeah this is like you better stay awake at least for some of it because i'm probably going to sleep anyway Speaker 3 (9:02) even Speaker 2 (9:03) if i'm rested you Speaker 3 (9:05) get drowsy and man we loved Speaker 2 (9:08) it oh my god we were Speaker 3 (9:10) screaming laughing be Speaker 2 (9:11) right there okay Speaker 3 (9:13) Have you ever eaten here? Speaker 2 (9:13) No. Speaker 3 (9:14) No, nor I. I don't like fish, but you already know that. I do. We would have the weirdest first date. I would literally be like thinking, what do I have on set in eight years, 1,200 episodes? What could possibly be left about me? You Speaker 4 (9:28) know it Speaker 3 (9:28) all. Look how handsome weekly is. Speaker 1 (9:30) Oh, he's so sweet. Speaker 3 (9:31) Isn't he? Yes. Isn't he the greatest person on planet Earth? Yes. I'm so in love with him. And going so long, you know? Yes. More than 40 years of being in love. And how about you? I do. Speaker 1 (9:42) So I was homeschooled until I was in ninth grade. And then I started going to Campbell Hall. Yes. And so my friends are all from that time and we're all still friends. So except for the Burkholders, those are all, those are older friends than Campbell Hall because Max and Elle did a movie together when they were four. I'm Speaker 2 (9:58) sorry. I missed the part. Where's your. best friend from? Well, Speaker 1 (10:01) I'm born in Georgia originally, moved to LA when I was six and started acting. And then I was homeschooled until ninth grade. And then I went to school here at regular school. Do Speaker 3 (10:11) you think you're missing anything sociologically that you would have learned in that period of interacting with other little kids? Speaker 4 (10:17) I think Speaker 1 (10:17) I missed the part where kids are the meanest to each other. Like the stories of seventh and eighth grade that my friends have. I'm like, I'm really glad I passed that. Speaker 3 (10:31) Yeah, yeah. It was fun for us, and it seems that no one else enjoyed it. Speaker 1 (10:34) Yeah, you love something good. Oh, Speaker 3 (10:36) it's Speaker 1 (10:37) the Speaker 3 (10:37) best year of my whole life. And I've had a great life, and I still live that one on repeat. But Speaker 1 (10:42) that's Speaker 3 (10:42) how Speaker 1 (10:42) I feel about high school. Like, I loved every single second of it. I loved it. Going to Camel Hall in L.A., like, there was no weirdness that I was an actor. Everybody's parent was, you know, there was a parent who was somebody or somebody knew somebody. You weren't a freak. No, there wasn't any of that, and it's all my best. friends to this day. How were Speaker 3 (10:58) you dealing with, I even found as an adult, like I did without a paddle, right? And that was my first movie. And I had the most amazing connective experience of my life with two dudes I had never met. Speaker 2 (11:10) Yeah. Speaker 3 (11:10) And at the end of it, Lillard, who'd already done 30 movies, he goes, I just want you to know, we're never going to see each other again. Speaker 1 (11:17) And I was like, what are you saying? Like, we're brothers. I will say, I think because I was so young and like doing these movies, like a lot of the people really did stay a part of my life in various ways. But I did a movie with Kurt Russell, who I know you also know, and we became really close and we still are to this day. I could go five years and not see him. And then see him, and then we're in a corner talking for the whole night and, like, you know, whatever. Yes. But he told me when we did the movie together, because we had just developed this really special bond. Speaker 3 (11:53) I'm so in love with him. I mean, like, he's just the greatest. But Speaker 1 (11:57) he taught me that. He was like, I want you to understand, it's not going to be this way ever again. Speaker 2 (12:02) You Speaker 1 (12:02) know what Speaker 2 (12:03) I mean? Like, we Speaker 1 (12:04) might go years where we don't see each other. Yeah. But I want you to always know that I love you. It's real. I love you. And Speaker 3 (12:12) I'm always Speaker 1 (12:12) here for you. What Speaker 3 (12:13) a Speaker 1 (12:13) cool Speaker 3 (12:13) thing to Speaker 1 (12:13) say. Speaker 3 (12:13) And Speaker 1 (12:13) it's so real. Oh, I love Speaker 2 (12:16) him. Speaker 1 (12:16) And just because we don't keep in touch like all the time, all the time, all the time. Yeah. Does not take away how special our relationship is. Yes. Yeah. You know, looking back, I always remembered that, you know. Because I Speaker 3 (12:27) just imagine it'd be a little hard for me to compute when I was in elementary school. Yeah. If I was best friends with someone and then they were gone. I don't know. But maybe it wouldn't be. I don't know. I Speaker 1 (12:37) don't know. I mean, it was fine. Speaker 3 (12:38) Can we talk about... It was fine. It was fine. Good, Speaker 1 (12:42) good. Speaker 2 (12:42) I enjoyed it. I don't know. Preferred. It was Speaker 3 (12:45) fine. It was preferred. Now, the weird thing about Kurt, I didn't know you guys were bros like that, but I gotta say... Numerous times when we were watching the movie last night, I was like, she looks a lot like Kate. Speaker 1 (12:56) I thought the same thing. Speaker 3 (12:57) You get that a lot? Speaker 2 (12:58) Yes, Speaker 1 (12:58) yes, I do. Yeah. And I know Kate pretty well, too. Yeah, you were in her shorts she made when I was dating Speaker 3 (13:03) her. I remember being in the editing room all through that whole thing. Speaker 1 (13:07) Yeah, I've always been told. I've always been told that. Speaker 3 (13:10) Yeah, so for him, even easier probably to fall in love with you. Speaker 1 (13:13) I Speaker 2 (13:13) think he saw Speaker 1 (13:13) me as like a little mini Kate. You know, he got to kind of like, you know, have that little special thing with another little girl who looked just like her. There's just the Goldie's unbelievable, Kate's unbelievable. It's just such a great feeling. Speaker 3 (13:24) Okay, since we're talking about your early work, there's really just, because I promised you I wasn't going to dig. It's okay. The movie that I can't believe your performance in, I