Conan Has One Hour To Become Best Friends With Werner Herzog | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

hi my name is wner. hog and I feel a little bit weird about. being Conan O'Brien's friend because I. met him only once and that was in front. of cameras yes yes and so verer you. don't know who I really am you saw Conan. the performer and uh so you don't really. know if you could be my friend you don't. know what kind of course and we have. seen each other only once cameras. rolling and we haven't hit the bars we.

haven't been in high school together we. haven't rafted down a jungle River and. so. on yes yes yes I understand that it's. going to be harder for me to become your. close friend than it is it won't Happ in. uh in half an hour or an hour of being. together but that's fine let's let's. let's try our best any what. about if it were to exist would you say. 5 hours would do it or are you talking.

it would take maybe uh more than more. lifetime than either of us has left it. actually has happened in my life once or. twice that I became an instantaneous. friend to somebody W I played uh in a. soccer team which was the best in Peru. at the time yes and I just did the um. condition training with them but all of. a sudden when they had a the team a. playing playing against Team B there was. one player missing and the coach said.

you play Team B which position would you. like to play and I said I want to play. against one of the best in the world was. in that team he was voted as one of the. 11 best players in the world after the. World Championships gardo a speed freak. and I tried to give him problems and be. an obstacle and after 10 minutes I. didn't know which uh which direction we. were playing yes I I didn't know which.

uh Jersey we were completely confounded. you he confounded me Bamboozled me and I. was so exhausted after 10 minutes that I. crawled off the field and vomited in in. some bushes for an hour and a half. please of one guy pulls me out on my. legs and talks to me and he says you did. well you played against one of the best. in the world doesn't matter if you're. defeated like that and we were friends. instantly oh so it wasn't the soccer.

player that you became friends you. became friends with the man who pulled. you out of the bushes while vomiting yes. exactly so that's a guy who you could. instantaneously be friends with but. Conan O'Brien no not. possible I hope that you start to vomit. at some point in this interview and I. will rescue you I will not well we'll. see drink this I have a little something. in there um well I'm going to say. something else uh what do I call you. because I have great respect for you do.

I call just call me Verner okay first. name is it Verner with a V well we say. Verner in in German don't. try I'm going to try. V yeah well no it it will be too too. rough tough okay I won't do it let War. uh let me say that I know from reading. your book which by the way let me just. give the title of this book every man. for himself and God against all thank. God this isn't a children's book yeah.

can you imagine. saying okay little Timmy it's time to go. to sleep we're going to read every man. from self and God against all sure yes I. don't think that boy would ever go to. sleep that's a terrifying idea um but I. read your book and you describe yourself. as a bit of a loner do you have a big. circle of friends or it's not your. natural way no uh circle of real friends. is small mhm and very intense yes the. only problem is that I live so far out.

and that's Los Angeles and my friends. are in Peru they are in Germany they are. in India yes they are in uh Sicily MH so. it's that's is the hard part of it. here's a question that just occurred to. me we now have this technology that. really uh exploded and and zoom and. everyone is saying well it's fantastic. because I can keep up my friendships. with people who live far away I a. problem with zoom I don't feel like I'm.

really communicating with the person. when I'm on Zoom it doesn't feel I feel. like something essential as being. extracted yeah from the interaction is. that possible you're totally right. although I use it but uh I use it only. with people whom I know very well MH so. uh but I have to refresh the physical. contact with them I want to embrace them. directly once in a while I want to laugh.

with them I want to cook a meal for them. yes so and and then it's okay that you. do one or two Zoom calls sometimes there. business Zoom calls they have to be made. because there is somebody involved in a. project who is in Australia somebody who. is in the United Kingdom in London and. I'm in Los Angeles so it's very hard to. get them together I'm trying to imagine. when you would create uh and I was.

thinking about your whole body of work. which is mindboggling there are so many. times where you've put yourself in. extreme positions as a director and I'm. thinking that that you couldn't just sit. still in your office and be on a zoom. you would need to be on a raft floating. down a river in Peru battling the. elements on your zoom while everyone. else was talking do you know what I mean. that you would you verer hsog would have. to be does it it feels like that would. be the kind of Zoom you would want to. have is to put yourself way out there no. you have to be really out there and zoom.

is belong somewhere else it's a it's a. different world and you you have to make. a decision do you want to use it for. what purposes for example I'm probably. the last hold out who doesn't use a cell. phone you don't have a cell phone I. don't have a cell phone now but um it's. for cultural Reasons I'm not nostalgic. so I I I want to derive my interaction. or my knowledge of of the real world.

in in direct contact with the world the. most intense would be traveling on foot. which I have done this is a quote you. said it in your book and it really stuck. with me uh the world reveals itself to. those who travel on foot yeah it's. important to you to walk and see things. in real time it's not just real time you. are. unprotected when you travel on foot and. I don't meet backpacking with your own. whole household on your back uh your.

tent your sleeping bag your cooking. utensil and so on um and I'm a lazy bum. like everyone else I would not uh travel. on foot unless there was an. existentially important reason for it. mhm for example I would travel on foot. when my mentor very old woman by then 80. years old uh um Jewish who had fled Nazi. Germany from the day when Hitler took.

power and she was in hiding in France. during the second world war and the Nazi. regime and she became my mentor and was. very important and when she was dying I. said I'm not flying I'm not taking the. train or I'm not going by car I will. come on foot a thousand kilometers oh. wow and it was early winter in. snowstorms in hail and rain and whatever. and I would sleep on the bridges. sometimes sometimes in the hay uh of a.

barn or I would open um vacation home. that was uninhabited with uh some sort. of tools surgical tools without breaking. a lock I can open it and close it again. and sleep in there so and and she was. out of hospital by the way when I. arrived and she uh incredible 8 years. later when she was 88 probably 88. because we do not know exactly how old. she.

became um she celebrated her 75th. birthday at least twice maybe three. times normally women start to cheat. about their age much earlier but she had. 75 I've been celebrating my 35th now for. a long time she summoned me eight years. later she summons me to Paris and she. said to me uh just over a cup of tea uh. uh you know uh there's still this spell. upon me that I must not die you put that.

spell on me and I'm old now I'm almost. blind I cannot read books which is the. joy of my life I cannot see movies which. is the other Joy of my life I'm lame I. can barely walk so can you lift the. spell off off of me and I said okay yes. it's lifted and eight days later she. died and it was good it was right uh she. um had put me in a position where I had. become. independent and strong and.

self-confident and and you just name it. well you know this you you touch on this. that's a beautiful story you touch on. your uh your childhood which is not of. this I mean clearly not of this Century. but it feels like your your childhood. could have been 400 years ago you grew. up in such poverty uh you grow up in. this I mean you're born as you say in. the book at this moment when fortunes. are changing for the German Army in.

North Africa uh uh raml is about to. start losing and uh the Germans have. invaded Stalingrad which is the. beginning of the end so but you grow up. in this great tumult yeah and terrible. poverty and you say that you weren't. really aware that you were poor other. than you were hungry a lot uh yes that's. when you really know you're poor and my. mother would have a loaf of bread one.

loaf for my two brothers and me and her. four people and she would make a Groove. for each day and each of us had one thin. slice of bread per day but normally by. Friday when we were so hungry we had. eaten the whole loaf of of bread and we. hoped that she would find something. somewhere but sometimes it it was always. uh Saturday Sunday that was the worst uh. when there was nothing so and uh I.

remember that very well and uh we were. wailing and tugging at her skirt and she. spun I remember her very well for that. she spins. around. completely completely. composed but with an anger and despair. in her face that I've never seen before. after and very calmly she says. boys if I could cut it out of my ribs I. would cut it out of my ribs but I can't.

so you shut up and that made a big big. impression on me of course but uh many. people have grown up hungry or or or. poor there's nothing wrong about that. for for children it's it's much easier. than for for the parents when a mother. cannot Feed the Children anymore that's. a real awful. thing.