{"id":199802,"date":"2025-09-04T14:55:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T14:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/199802\/"},"modified":"2025-09-04T14:55:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T14:55:12","slug":"i-like-me-documentary-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/199802\/","title":{"rendered":"I Like Me’ Documentary INTERVIEW"},"content":{"rendered":"

On the surface, yes, the idea of making a documentary on the life of John Candy seems like a pretty great idea \u2014 I mean, who doesn\u2019t love John Candy? \u2014 but as director Colin Hanks<\/a> points out, well, wait, not so fast. <\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s quickly note that Colin Hanks would know what he\u2019s talking about because he, in fact, did make a documentary about the life of John Candy<\/a>. And the problem that presented itself was, yes, everyone does love John Candy. As much as this is a man whose life should be celebrated, watching his friends and family talk about how great he is doesn\u2019t necessarily make a riveting narrative for a film<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Shu<\/a> \"'The<\/a> <\/p>\n

What Hanks deftly does with his \u201cJohn Candy: I Like Me<\/a>\u201d is frame his film around Candy\u2019s anxiety about his own mortality. John Candy\u2019s father died from a heart attack when Candy was only five, so he lived with the notion and mindset that he was possibly living on borrowed time \u2014 something that, sadly, came to fruition in 1994. (It\u2019s frankly shocking to think John Candy has now been gone for over 30 years. Even more shocking, Candy\u2019s \u201cUncle Buck\u201d costar Macaulay Culkin appears as a talking head in this film and reminds the viewer he is now older than Candy was when Candy passed.)<\/p>\n

Ahead, Hanks takes us through the process of crafting a film based on a larger-than-life public figure who still means so much to so many people. And why he almost didn\u2019t make the film because of his own personal history with Candy, who he had met on the set of his father Tom Hanks\u2019 film, \u201cSplash.\u201d It was a history that was so special to Hanks that, maybe, it was best to just remember him as he already did. <\/p>\n

Obviously \u2014 and thankfully \u2014 Hanks decided otherwise, and his film will open this year\u2019s Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday night<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.<\/p>\n

IndieWire: I had never seen \u201cYellowbelly.\u201d<\/a> It\u2019s at least tied with the hardest I\u2019ve laughed watching a movie this year.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Colin Hanks: <\/strong>Right? Conan O\u2019Brien told me that story on the podcast, and I was like, \u201cOh, I\u2019m going to have to check that out.\u201d And then it wasn\u2019t until we spoke with him for the film that we were able to track the sketch down, and I laughed so hard. Conan says it, the fact that that\u2019s such an Oppenheimer moment for Conan, who is someone that I just admire so much. I\u2019m so glad that a sketch from all the way back then that John was in is one of the hardest times you\u2019ve laughed in a movie this year. That brings me so much joy.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This is your third documentary<\/a>. How long have you wanted to make this one specifically?<\/strong><\/p>\n

After your first one, you have your list of the ones that you really hope one day that you\u2019re going to make, and then you find out you don\u2019t quite have the currency yet to make that one. The truth of the matter is everyone universally will say like, \u201cinsert person\u2019s name,\u201d and they\u2019ll be like, \u201cOh, someone should make a documentary about him.\u201d And I always go, \u201cOK, but what is the film? What is the story that you\u2019re actually really trying to tell? What is it saying?\u201d Because, otherwise, I don\u2019t want to just do a visual Wikipedia entry.<\/p>\n

And you address it with Bill Murray at the beginning when he\u2019s struggling to say anything negative about John Candy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exactly. Eventually, I got an email saying, \u201cHey, Ryan Reynolds wants to get in touch with you.\u201d And so, he and I hopped on the phone, and we started talking. I already knew that Ryan was a massive John Candy fan, and he was just like, \u201cI think there should be a documentary. I think you should direct it.\u201d And that was when I really started to do the due diligence, and when I talked with Ryan, he had mentioned that Chris and Jen Candy were involved. So, I got in touch with them \u2014 and I\u2019d known them through social circles for quite some time.<\/p>\n

Once I figured out that John passed from the very thing that his father had passed away from? I\u2019m 47. My mom passed when she was 49. John\u2019s dad passed at 35. And John passed at 43. I started really taking a deep dive into my life in my late thirties, early forties. And really sifting through, like, childhood trauma, because everyone has it. That was the launching point for me. <\/p>\n

It was really a sort of stupid, basic approach, but when you think of overweight actors who died young, the ones you think of all died of drug overdoses. So, \u201cWait, John died of a heart attack? His dad died of a heart attack when he was five?\u201d It just became so much more personal, just because I am coming to the age that my mom was when she passed away, and that really puts a lot into focus. And so, to find out, after much, much more digging, that John really had that sense that he was living on borrowed time, and that he wasn\u2019t sure if he was going to live past 35.<\/p>\n

\"John\u2018John Candy: I Like Me\u2019Courtesy of Prime<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a really interesting point. John Belushi and Chris Farley both died of drug overdoses at 33 and there\u2019s this everlasting legend about them. John Candy doesn\u2019t have that, even though he also died young.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, welcome to the creative process that I was going through. That was part of the initial, \u201cWell, why is that? What is that?\u201d And one of the things that I landed on was that John is so beloved by so many people, because of his everyman qualities. Everyone looked at him, and just went, \u201cThat guy. I like that guy. I want to spend time with him.\u201d And he had that very salt of the Earth, blue collar \u2014 you just wanted to be with him.<\/p>\n

What was your first introduction to John Candy as a kid? And I know the obvious answer is probably \u201cSplash,\u201d but I don\u2019t want to assume.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, technically, \u201cSplash,\u201d yeah, but John was someone that my dad worked with. So, I didn\u2019t necessarily think of him as John Candy.<\/p>\n

Oh, I see.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I just saw him as like, that\u2019s one of my dad\u2019s friends. They work together. But, look, I have very, very vivid memories of being on the set of \u201cSplash.\u201d And seeing John, and Eugene Levy, in fact, and them all working together. So, that was my initial introduction. And then, obviously, \u201cVolunteers\u201d was also part of John being around. I have some very fond memories of John, a couple of dinner parties, and being at my dad and Rita [Wilson]\u2019s wedding. <\/p>\n

John left an impression on me even as a kid. Macaulay Culkin speaks to it in the movie when Mac says, \u201cHe made you feel important.\u201d Even as a kid, he made you feel like your opinion mattered, and your emotions mattered. And that\u2019s 1,000 percent accurate, because that was definitely how John made me feel. And then eventually then it becomes, oh, yeah \u2014 seeing him in \u201cSpaceballs,\u201d or \u201cThe Great Outdoors.\u201d Like, \u201cYeah. That\u2019s John. I know that guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

I feel like a really interesting perspective for you. A lot of filmmakers making this film can get the same interviews<\/a>, can get the same footage, but you\u2019re in an interesting position where he was your dad\u2019s co-worker and met him. You have a memory of how he treated you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah. Very, very true. In fact, in a strange way, I think that was one of my initial reasons not to do it.<\/p>\n

Why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just because, well, I met him, I have these memories of him, I don\u2019t know if I want to dig into that. I\u2019d much rather just have those memories as opposed to spend however many months or years of my life now collecting other people\u2019s memories and going from there. But Chris and Jen [Candy] were so adamant. I don\u2019t want to put words in their mouth, but they let it be known that it was their opinion that they felt like I was one of the only guys that can do it. Then that just made me go like, OK, well, let\u2019s set myself aside here and do some digging.<\/p>\n

\"John\u2018John Candy: I Like Me\u2019Courtesy of Prime<\/p>\n

You mentioned a film that I\u2019ve seen a million times, \u201cThe Great Outdoors\u201d\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes.<\/p>\n

I think you did something really poignant when you put that scene of him on the boat, and he\u2019s giving his family ring to his son [Chris Young], who says, \u201cOh, like you spent with your dad out here, and he did this for you.\u201d And the way John Candy reacts to that, \u201cYeah.\u201d And I can now tell he\u2019s really sad.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But you know that he didn\u2019t do that with his dad.<\/p>\n

Honestly, I even watched it three weeks ago, because it\u2019s on cable still nonstop. It hit me so hard.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Look, I felt like that was one of the things that we landed upon that ended up becoming, I think, a little bit of a responsibility. You don\u2019t want it to just be like, \u201cAnd then he made this movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Right.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And I know this, as an actor: If I\u2019m going to spend time away from my own family, and if I\u2019m going to spend time away from my life, and, basically, put my life on hold to go make this movie? And the way that movies are made, basically, you don\u2019t have a life. You wake up in the morning, you go straight to work and then you go home. And then you do the exact same thing the next day. You\u2019ve got to find something in there to make that worth it. You know?<\/p>\n

[Laughs] Sometimes you just need the money. But you want it to be worthwhile! And when Jen Candy was speaking to that idea, that he really did look for roles, and took roles that spoke to a specific slate that he wanted to sell people, a certain mentality, a certain way to be, that really made a whole lot more sense.<\/p>\n

With \u201cThe Great Outdoors\u201d\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is ostensibly just a funny film, \u201cThe Great Outdoors\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n

Right\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

To be able to then find a moment where I\u2019m watching a scene I\u2019ve seen countless times, but I\u2019m seeing it in a completely different way? That\u2019s the kind of stuff that we really wanted to highlight. And I think we were able to accomplish that with a handful of moments from his films. But that one lands for me a lot. I\u2019m actually really, really happy that you mentioned that, that particular point. Because that always really resonates with me.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s in a lot of movies. How did you pick the films to concentrate on? One I\u2019m glad you did was \u201cSummer Rental.\u201d I\u2019m a big fan. It\u2019s a Carl Reiner film. And It\u2019s his first starring role and I think it really shows what he can do.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, here\u2019s the weird thing, there are so many of John\u2019s films that I have not seen, because he was in a bunch.<\/p>\n

True.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But \u201cSummer Rental,\u201d I\u2019ve always thought of as one of the quintessential John Candy movies. And the fact that that was his first leading role, it felt like it was really important. And also it shows that in his first leading man role, he\u2019s tapped by Carl Reiner.<\/p>\n

Right\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Who is a legend and says, \u201cI want to work with this guy.\u201d And loves it so much that then he tells his friend, Mel Brooks, another comedy legend, \u201cOh, you\u2019ve got to work with this guy. You\u2019ve got to meet this guy. Not only is he great, he\u2019s a great human being.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"John\u2018John Candy: I Like Me\u2019Courtesy of Prime<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve made two prior documentaries. When you\u2019re trying to get people to talk to you for this one, does that help? Do people say, \u201cI know who you are but have you made a movie?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, if they do, they don\u2019t really tell me. But there are two bonuses here. I remember Marty Short, whom I\u2019ve known for a very long time, he\u2019s one of the very first people I approached about, \u201cShould I do this?\u201d He was like, \u201cNo one is going to say no to you. They\u2019re all going to want to do it.\u201d And so, that was helpful, but that doesn\u2019t necessarily mean everyone is available.<\/p>\n

In the film you spent some time on his role in \u201cNational Lampoon\u2019s Vacation.\u201d There\u2019s always that story out there where they did reshoots for the ending, which is true, but gave John one million dollars to come in for his role. Is this true? He didn\u2019t seem like a place in his career yet where that would happen.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I call this \u201cthe Bill Simmons conspiracy, because that was how it first came to my attention, hearing Bill Simmons talking about it at some point. Not that he coined it. No, I don\u2019t believe that\u2019s true. In fact, I talked about it with Chris, and I don\u2019t think that\u2019s true. I think, logistically, that doesn\u2019t make much sense.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re doing re-shoots on a movie, you\u2019re not spending a million dollars willy-nilly.<\/p>\n

Right, his biggest movie at the time was \u201cStripes.\u201d \u201cLet\u2019s get the fourth lead from \u2018Stripes\u2019 and just pay him whatever he wants.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

[Laughs] No.<\/p>\n

Now, five years later, that makes perfect sense.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah. Exactly. Exactly.<\/p>\n

Earlier you said, \u201cYou say someone\u2019s name, and, oh, \u00a0we should make a documentary about them.\u201d Macaulay Culkin is amazing in this. As an interviewer, I\u2019m just like, the stuff he\u2019s saying to you is incredible. I would watch a Macaulay Culkin documentary, because that guy has to have some stories.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah, he does. His life is incredibly well-chronicled in that way. And it\u2019s interesting, Mac\u2019s interview was a good reminder to me of just try and grab as much as you possibly can. Because it was late in the process, we were getting close to the wire, and I was just like, look, at the end of the day, he was a little kid. How much is he going to be able to express to us that speaks to our important themes?<\/p>\n

And, of course, he actually reminded me of what my experience was meeting him. It was a really, really great reminder to just \u2026 You never know. To take a shot. Find out. His insight was just, honestly, profound.<\/p>\n

It was. I was riveted. The way he openly talks about his own father, but then how John Candy would come over and like, \u201cHey. Everything OK at home?\u201d That just says so much about John Candy, that he could pick up on that, even on \u201cUncle Buck.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, it also says a lot about Mac. You know what I mean?<\/p>\n

I do.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The fact that he realizes that now. And, by the way, let\u2019s also talk about the two really big mind-blowing things that he reveals is that. A, he\u2019s now officially older than John was when he passed away<\/p>\n

I was going to bring that up. And he\u2019s now eight years older than he was when John Candy was in \u201cUncle Buck.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wow. That\u2019s crazy. But then his insight into John Hughes and John Candy\u2019s relationship. And the fact that that\u2019s the connection you should actually really make. Everyone thinks it\u2019s Molly Ringwald, or him, but it really should be John.<\/p>\n

But your instinct isn\u2019t wrong. I\u2019m sure at some point he may make a documentary, but who knows. I\u2019m always a big proponent of \u2026 and this is something that was very adamant early on, just from day one, of the Tower Records documentary, I\u2019m not in the business of ruining anyone\u2019s life. Or trying to drag someone through parts of their life that they don\u2019t want to go through.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what I liked about you talking to Macaulay Culkin, because he, obviously, just wants to talk about this.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yeah.<\/p>\n

Some of the stuff I\u2019m sure is probably hurtful to him, but it seemed like a positive experience? It didn\u2019t feel like you were going somewhere with him that he didn\u2019t want to go.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What\u2019s interesting was, with \u201cAll Things Must Pass,\u201d I really wanted to make the movie. It was a passion for me, because it was my first one. With \u201cNos Amis, the Eagles of Death Metal\u201d doc, I didn\u2019t want to make that documentary. The guys in the band didn\u2019t want to make the documentary, because they didn\u2019t want what was happening. But we knew each other, and we agreed, together, that we maybe don\u2019t want to do this, but that it is important, not just for our healing, but then for everyone else that was involved in that [Paris] incident.<\/p>\n

With this one, again, it was, well, I don\u2019t know if I really want to do it. It\u2019s really about Chris and Jen and Rose. Do they want to do this? And they were so adamant. And they were so like, \u201cWe really want to do this, and we really want to celebrate\u2026\u201d They really wanted to celebrate their father, and really remind people of that. When you have those agreements with your subject, so that you\u2019re on the same page essentially, and there is no question as to what the motives are \u2014 that\u2019s really, really important.<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn Candy: I Like Me\u201d will premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival as the official Opening Night Gala. It will start streaming on Prime Video on Friday, October 10.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On the surface, yes, the idea of making a documentary on the life of John Candy seems like…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":199803,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[110673,171,2104,1020,1149,110674,53,64287,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-199802","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-colin-hanks","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-festivals","11":"tag-film","12":"tag-interviews","13":"tag-john-candy-i-like-me","14":"tag-movies","15":"tag-tiff","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115146609694224335","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199802\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/199803"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}