House of R - 'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga' Reactions, Plus 'The Acolyte' Prep

Episode Date: May 29, 2024

These fabulous things are here to podcast historic! Mal and Jo rev their engines to give you their reactions to 'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga' (30:07). But before that, they assess their hype at an all-time high with some light prep for 'The Acolyte,' premiering next week (05:22). Be sure to check out tickets for the Ringer Residency in Los Angeles this summer! Hosts: Mallory Rubin and Joanna Robinson Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman Additional Production: Arjuna Ramgopal Social: Jomi Adeniran Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is going on with Kate Middleton? Which cult is popping off right now? What the hell is a trad wife? And why are we so obsessed with them? I'm Jody Walker. And I'm Chelsea Stark Jones. And we're obsessed. Obsessed with all the pop culture happenings,

filling our group chats and for you pages. And we want to talk about them with you. Our new show, We're Obsessed, is for all the things we're loving, buying, watching, listening to, and spiraling over right now. Follow the ringer-dish feed on Spotify to listen to We're Obsessed every Friday. The playoffs are here, and you can predict the action all the way to the finals with Fandul predicts.

Predict the spread, total points, and even the game winner. Sign up and get a $25 bonus. Offered by Fandul prediction markets LLC, a registered futures commission merchant, 18 plus. Bonus is non-withdrawable and expire seven days after receipt. Trading derivatives involve significant risk and may not be suitable for all investors. Manage your activity with our consumer protection to work. Restrictions apply. See terms at banduel.com slash predict slash bonus dash offer dash terms. This episode is brought to by weather tech. Everyone knows winter is the MVP and make it a mess.

You don't need weather tech floor liners in the summer unless you hit the beach or go camping. Then you'd want a cargo liner or road trip goes sideways, ketchup goes rogue, ice cream drips. Yeah, you'd be pretty happy about those weather tech seat protectors. So just to be clear as the mud, you're inevitably going to step into the summer. you don't need weather tech unless you plan on doing summer. Visit weathertech.com today. You're fabulous thing. You crawled out of a pitiless grave, deeper than hell.

Only one thing's going to do that for you. Not hope. Hate. No shame in hate. It's one of the great forces of nature. That wasn't hope. That was instinct. House of R.

I'm your host. Robinson and joining me today, she may be raw, but she has a purposeful savagery. It's Mallory Rubin. Joanna. Steve. We're all right here, mere feet away from each other. Near inches. Count down and shout it together. One, two, three. Witness. Do you want to do it again where we do say it with you? She lives, she dies, she pods again. We are here to talk about Furiosa, a mad Max saga. Before we get into that, we are going to do like a mini, mini little segment on Acolyte prep, just minuscule.

And here's the deal with Acolyte, the upcoming Star Wars show, debuting on Disney Plus, is you don't have to know a lot to go into it. That's sort of the whole point of it. So why are we doing a prep segment? Because we have to be ourselves. And we can only be us. So we have just like a few little bibs and bobs and tidbits to touch upon. and then we're going to go full Furiosa for the rest of the pod. Parker Reminders.

Do you want to say what we're doing on Friday, Mallory? I mean, it feels like tempting fate, but at this point, if we say it and then something changes, that's just tradition. Yes. It's Paul of Fame time. It is Paula Fame time. At last, Paula Trades, welcome in mere days, we think, to the House of Our Hall of Fame. Put on your still suits. It's going to be a long one.

We're going to talk about Paula Trades. We're very excited. So that's Friday, allegedly. And then next week, we are straight into House of the Dragon prep. And the first House of the Dragon prep pod that we're going to do is a mailbag. So Mallory Rubin, how can folks participate in a mailbag, House of Our House of the Dragon prep podcast? Send the Ravens. Send us your emails. The inbox is open. Hobbits and Dragons at gmail.com. If you have questions about the impending season, questions about being back in Westeros in the Song of Ice and Fire universe. Send us your House of the Dragon and Thrones questions. We are excited to do a mailbag. We love mailbags. We love Thrones. What a wonderful way to look forward to the season to come. Also, just a reminder. We've done like 900 Hot D season two trailer breakdown pots. So those are waiting.

for you. Check them out. Many hours. Check them out if you haven't yet. Follow the pod. Follow us on social. Do all of those two things. Do it. One last bit of programming reminding about our pals over on the Ringerverse.

The Minty Boys, the Minty Folks, did a June look-ahead pod and we're all really excited about June and that's why the Midnight Boys, we'll be doing a June draft on their episode and then by Buttonmash is doing the build the best video game remake roster. Oh, like a Jess and Mahoney and Justin Charity and Ben.

That's a great lineup on Buttonmash this week. It's always a great lineup on button mash. And then we're right around the corner from our May recommendations from the whole crew. So there's a lot going on. Subscribe to both Ring Reverse House of Art to keep track of everything. Follow us on social. Spoiler. Warning.

Mad Max. Road warrior. Beyond Thunderdome, Fury Road, Furiosa, any comic book or video game that I have neither read nor played, but they could come up if we want them to. All things Mad Max on the table. Fabulous. Acklate, no spoiler warning. We're not spoiling a single dang thing. Let's start with the accolade.

Okay. Life balance. I see podcasts. I did that less in the like I see fire trailer voice and more in the like I see dead people. It wasn't that long ago that we did the 99 movie draft. It's you're in your Haley Joel era and I love that for you. Thank you. I love that for all of us.

We're calling this segment the four things you don't really need to know before the acolyte. Oh, God. And this is not based on on anything that is in the episodes is based on sort of stuff that's in the trailer. stuff that the creator Leslie Headland has said. So the Acolyte, eight episodes, first two episodes premiering on June 4th. We will be there shortly thereafter with our dive into those episodes. Shoulder Runner, Leslie Headland, is a lifelong, hardcore Star Wars fan. Yeah.

So even though we are in the era of the High Republic. Yes. So long before the Phantom Menace. Yes. She will be pulling from some things here and there, animated. EU, all sorts of stuff. So let's start. Love it.

First and foremost, High Republic as an inspiration. We're taking place in the era of the High Republic, but after a lot of the content that has come out on the High Republic. Yes. The High Republic spans from 500 to 100 BBY. What minute, Mark, did you have a BBY mention it? I already took my shot. Don't worry about it. I do have a BBY question for you later.

I know. That's why I think even by the standards of knowing it was coming, had to have exceeded expectations there. And as you noted, as we've mentioned before, the series is supposed to be set about 100 years before Phantom Menace. Phantom Menace is in 32 BBY. So the show is roughly based on what we know, 132 BBI.BY. So we're nearing the end. We're nearing the end of that high republic era and era that is defined by seeming Starpiece. Peace? You've heard about the Star Wars. May I interest you in some Star Peace. We tell you about the Star Peace. With Star Peace, but let us please remind you that the Ackleite poster features a smear of blood. Always a Star War right around the corner. Maybe inside the human heart. I hear it's the only thing worth writing about, the conflict. Faulkner told me that. It's funny to be in the studio together because we can hear Steve.

and see him. I am not looking at Steve intentionally. I can't look away. I can't look away. He's juggling. We'll see him do the little mic tap when one of us coughs or sneezes or whatever the case may be. It's beautiful to be together. What a time. What a time. But yes, so the Galactic Republic, the Jedi Order in the High Republic era at the height of their power. And as you noted, there's been a, I mean an ample over the last couple years, an ample amount of novels. comics, YAA novels, comics. Our colleague Ben Lindberg, who is, as noted on this podcast previously, on parental leave, has been mainlining the High Republic and will be prepared in his columns on the ringer.com, in his appearances on House of R to share any morsel that may apply. Context. We love a context king. Yeah. Loramaster Ben will be with us on our first acolyte. official accolite podcast that we do coming up.

But we just want to mention that you do not have to read the High Republic books, the comics, the novellas, et cetera. That's what Ben's for. But also just they are trying so hard to let you know that unlike Asoka, where people felt like there was too much context and they had to catch up, there really isn't that with this show. There is one High Republic character, notably, in the promo and all of that.

And that is Renestro Roe, who is a Jedi master, who is a teen, like a prodigy Jedi in the High Republic content. And by the time we meet her in the Acolyte, she is a Jedi master and sort of like high up in the rankings of the Jedi Temple. So you don't have to know anything about her. No. No. But if you wanted to know that her lightsaber turns into,

to a freaking whip, you can know that. And that is exciting for all of us. Love, love a new weapon. Anything else? Love a spin on an old weapon. Love a new weapon. Yeah, so Vernester, don't call her burn, Joe. She doesn't like it.

Don't call her Vern. The, we do, in the first trailer, and we had fun talking about this when we broke it down, the very, like, Aragorn-esque. The door opening. Wonderful, wonderful stuff. And she has a line in the second trailer. I sense this is only a small part of a larger plan,

some sort of shift. to tip the scales. So like, set in the tone, set in the mood. She's seen a lot in her time. We should say that she's played by Rebecca Henderson, who is Leslie Hillen's partner. That is just basically it for the High Republic. Like, you can dig into Renestro Row or not if you prefer, but that's really all the High Republic content you need. Let's talk about Phantom Menace. Now that's podcasting. 25 years.

That's what is podcasting. Can you believe it's been 25 years since Phantom Menace? I refuse. How does that make you feel? Makes me feel weird. Weird. That's a long time. How can it be 25 years?

I just don't understand. Pick a date from your childhood where you're like, this is when I was like aware of being like following the culture. Like what year was that for you? The culture being like. I was aware of movies. I was aware of TV. I was aware of music. The grip on Mike Messina's knuckle curve or like...

Obviously. You know, I trace my roots and my origins as a cultural consumer and critic back to Wishbone. You know, I'm actually kind of being serious. I believe you. Remember when they would do the... So 1995. That makes sense, actually, because I was nine and 95. That feels right.

So 25 years before 1995 was in 1997. is the point of this anecdote. Oh my goodness. I mean, it's a long time ago. A long time ago. In the galaxy right right here. So you can't see Steve because you're making it a point

not to look at him, but I saw Steve is also a Wishbone fan. I lit right up when you said it. Wishbone. They definitely did like a Shakespeare Whishbone episode. It's like you're learning about the bar. Yeah.

You're learning about all sorts of literary classics. Odysseus. It's wonderful. They had a dog shoot at Bowenero through a bunch of axes. Never forget that. Oh, man. Do you see his new, like, Paul on the bow ring?

Hold on. Okay, we used to live in a society, I see. I see. Oh, boy. What does the Phantom Menace have to do with the Acolyte? You may ask, because didn't we just tell you that the Phantom Menace happens after the Acolyte? Yes, of course it does. But Leslie Headlin has said in a number of interviews that what is going on with the Jedi

Council in the Phantom Menace and in the other prequels? She's really interested to know how do we get there? How do we get from the High Republic, the novels and the comics, the novellas that are out where the Jedi are high functioning to the absolute dysfunctional shit show that is the Jedi Council. We have some notes. Master Yoda. Oh, yes. For you in the Phantom Menace. So how do we get there?

So this is what we're going to be watching are the sort of the like the steps on the road to a dysfunctional government of monks. Just call it what it is. Absolute shit show. Steve, will you play a snippet from a Jedi council meeting in The Phantom Menace, please? My only conclusion can be that it was a Sith lord. Impossible. The Sith have been extinct for a millennial. I do not believe the Sith could have returned without us knowing.

Ah, hard to see the dark side is. For some of us, Yoda. I guess so, Yoda. For some of us, really? real, real succession-esque shit show at the fuck factory stuff from the Jedi Council here. Quaghan's like, listen, I'm the one with the boots on the ground. I'm here to tell you. You guys look into the sheave guy?

So this idea that the Jedi Council is, by the time of Phantom Menace, completely blind to the Sith and the threat within their own galactic Senate. it's such a bummer. We also, if we're not going to play every, don't worry, we're not going to just go through the Phantom mess and play every Jedi Council clip. But what if we did? Well, we could. But what the Jedi, very famously,

what Yoda says about Anakin and fears the path to the dark side, fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering. So the Jedi Council is asking its members to not have human feelings. They're pretty ignorant about a Sith threat in their midst. So how do we get there?

That's the question we're going to be asking ourselves. I can't wait to find out. I'm genuinely extremely interested in this as a prompt and a line of inquiry and area of examination in the canon. What I'm curious about, because I welcome this, I'm actually genuinely eager to mind this. I'm curious to see how the show will strike and navigate the books. balance of

paving that road to eventually Order 66 to the rise of the empire with what we were talking about a few minutes ago that stated this is a separate thing. It's not part of the Skywalker saga. And I do think both of those things can be true

at once, that it can be a standalone experience, that it can feel like what it is, a widening and broadening of the timeline, a way to introduce a ton of new characters into our shared experiences, as Star Wars fans, what a welcome thing. We always talk about like, the galaxy is so big.

Show us more of it, right? If you're doing that with Jedi and with Sith and you're trying to explain how we get to Phantom Menace, how we get to the prequels, there's going to definitionally be some connective tissue, right? That is part of the desire and the goal.

So where is that sweet spot of giving us enough of that, that it feels like we are filling in those gaps in our understanding? enhancing our understanding of how this massive seminal thing that not only influenced the galaxy, but, you know, content for decades upon end. Hours and hours and hours of our lives. While also making something that feels really distinct, separate, new, and like it then can be a launching pad for all of this other stuff around it in that sphere of the timeline.

Fascinating. I'm really, really eager to see how that balance is struck. It's the prequel proposition, this will come up again when we talk about Furiosa for sure. Balance. Not sure if you've heard Joe in Star Wars. Oh, no. Just a lot of talk about balance. I thought we just had to pick one side, light side or dark side. We're trying to do both. Okay.

Speaking of light side, dark side. Leslie Headland, as we said, has been a fan of Star Wars her entire life. And she is closer to my age than she is probably two years gentle listener. And so that means that for years in her life, there was only the original trilogy and then the expanded universe, the extended universe, however you prefer to call it, a number of novels, et cetera, et cetera. She loved this stuff. She devoured it. She was a big fan of it. She wrote her own fanfic, which

Hell yeah. As far as I know is not available online, but I will continue to look for it. Anyone listening who wants to put that up on Tumblr.com or wherever, you might find your fanfix. I would love to read it. But so she

there are some like, there might be, she said in interviews that there are Expanded Universe characters or ideas or whatever that she was able to put in and she was like, nobody told me no. So I just put it in. And this stuff has been decanoninized. It has been called legends, not canon.

Slowly, various creators are sort of re-canonizing. Yes, this has been a big part of the Faloni verse and the Faloni push to take something that was a big part of that era of Star Wars consumption, our aforementioned pal and Star Wars

scholar. Ben has written about this over the years, like those dark days where the EU was like the sustenance of life for Star Wars enthusiasts. And so for the creators who are playing in that Sandbacks now, like what a thrill to be able to take something that was such a meaningful part of your experience as a Star Wars fan and make it, not that it ever stopped being real to the people who loved it, right? And it shouldn't have, but make it quite literally a part of the new canon.

Like, that must just be an electric feeling. I'm excited to see which Legends elements make their way into the Canon here. Move it over on the Wikipedia tab from Legends to Canon. Exactly. The tab switch. There's nothing like it. We love a tab switch. So we're not going to get into like specific critters.

or anything like that because this isn't about like what's exactly in the episode, but we do want to talk about something we've seen plenty of in the trailer, which is Sith stuff. I think that's the technical term, Sith stuff. Say it 10 times fast, I dare you. Anyway, so Sith obviously is a concept that we are well aware of in canon, but it has been much more expanded upon in the Legends universe, including this line that we hear in the trailer that Ben was really,

excited to talk to us about this idea that we hear the line, peace is a lie from a character in the trailer. So I don't know how his character named, this is managed into his character, is it Camere? Camer. Yeah, Camere. Yeah. The Jedi justify their galactic dominance in the name of peace, but that piece is a lie. Joe, I'm sure it's fine, and I'm sure he is. Just a guy. Sif code. Just a dude. Being a guy, being a pal.

Being a lad. Being a bro. The Sith code was created for Canon for Nice of the Old Republic game and it was used in Clone Wars, etc. But it is really explored more extensively in legends. So here is the Sith Code and you let me know if this sounds chill, cool, fine, totally chill and fine. Peace is a lie.

Uh-huh. There is only passion through, this might be our podcasting motto, through passion. I don't hate it so far. I gain strength. Yeah. Through strength, I gain power. I'm hanging with you here. Through power, I gain victory.

Through victory, my chains are broken. The force shall free me. Have you just been radicalized to the society? You see how they get you. This sounds great. You see how they lure you to the dark side. You do. Just a little note about this Sith code,

which was created sort of as a mirror image of the Jedi code, a dark mirror of the Jedi code. but the person who created it for Nice of the Old Republic game used elements of mind conf to do so. So, you know, I think that's fine.

I think that's totally fine and chill. But we should say that a lot of this SIF code content has a lot to do with some Legends books like Darth Plegis and Darth Bain, colon rule of two. So like Leslie, who is really

interested in the Sith perspective, as she said many times in interviews, that this is sort of a story told from the Sith point of view is something that she has promised has definitely been like revisiting those legends books to fuel the Sith content.

Are you excited to get more Sith? Thrilled. Absolutely thrilled. I love not only a baddie. I love whenever we get to explore the Sith doctrine and like not only to try to better understand what is fueling the characters

besides the obvious, like what actually draws you to not only seek something but then actively pursue it. Where do the distinctions in a given person's philosophy arise? How do you adhere so strictly to something like that when you are also in this like rule of two slash of your palping rule? One universe, right? And that's always in the back of your mind. It's just such a fascinating psychology beyond just the I want power. Unlimited power.

Like, yeah, I get it. Okay. Yeah, that's the salespig. but what else is working there? And so, like, the moments where that Sith code have worked their way into the more recent Star Wars experience, like Rebels fans, are listening to this and they're like, I've heard my guy, Maul, like, paraphrase that to Ezra

and Twilight of the Apprentice. Yeah, you have. Your passions give you strength, and through strength you gain power, you have seen it, you feel it, you must break your chains. Like, Maul just gave Ezra the CliffsNotes version of the Sith Code before he started hilariously calling him his apprentice right to Canaan's face. Amazing. So it's always a joy when these elements make it into, we've gotten some rebels, some clone wars.

And so to get that more centrally explored here, through the perspective, not just of the characters who are combating that. Yeah. But the characters who are pursuing it, I can't wait for that. I'm excited. I think a line from the trailer that really stood out for us from the Celebration trailer, is this is not about good or bad, this is about power and who's allowed to use it. And those are too weak to see you.

Sorry, I'm sorry, I switched to Voldemort for a second. Oops. You're always just sliding into Voldy, aren't you? But so that idea of like, if the Sith are going around radicalizing people and saying like, why did the Jedi get to tell you who gets to have the power? Break your chains.

Of course she'll set you three. And if the, if the, Jedi think that they can and should. At what point are they not so different? From you and I? From another body of forcewilders seeking control. It's an interesting prompt for a series. House of our merch.

There is only passion through passion I gain strength. God speak. Love it. Love it. Yeah, where is our B's merch? Okay, last but not least. This is the fourth and final thing you don't really need to know before you watch the Ackleight.

We cannot reiterate enough. You don't have to know anything. You're fine. We like knowing things. So here's the deal. Leslie Headland has mentioned a few times in interviews. An episode of the Clone Wars called The Wrong Jedi. My favorite.

This is an episode we have talked about many times on this podcast. We definitely talked about it a lot leading up to the Asoka. Oh, yeah. That of it lots. Season. This is when Asoka is framed for a little light terrorism. It's not what you want. And the Jedi

kick her out. Don't believe her. Kick her out. There's like a full on trial. It's a trial. It's not great. All your faves, Yoda, Mace are on the wrong side of history. I'm stunned.

I'm stunned. I'm astonished. They've never been wrong before. Barris Offey. Do you want to talk about what Barris says? Baris is the real terrorist in this. episode when she takes, takes the stand and decides to monologue. What does she have to say for herself, Mallory? I did it because I've come to realize what many people in the Republic have come to realize,

that the Jedi are the ones responsible for this war, that we've so lost our way that we have become villains in this conflict, that we are the ones that should be put on trial. And my attack on the temple was an attack on what the Jedi have become. An army fighting for the dark side fallen from the light that we once held so dear. This is not how Barris says this at all, by the way. It's a beautiful rendition. I loved it. I'm hanging on your everywhere. What a moment for Barrett. Thanks, Steve. That was so cute. Steve. Delightful. Baris, really back in our lives, not only with this discussion right here on House of Art, equally important to the next thing, which was Tales of the Empire, you know, the great three mini episode Barris arc.

What a time to be people who've wondered about Barris for years on end. And that's most people. We're just sort of like, when will I hear more about Barris? She calls the Jedi an army fighting for the dark side. Fallen from the light that we once held so dear, this republic is failing. It's only a matter of time. So if we're doing a show from the Sith point of view, which is the proposition Leslie has put out there in the world. This notion of the Jedi as the villains as the agents of the dark side is a

great one to keep in mind. One of the things that I love about that concluding arc to season five of Clone Wars is not just that bearer speech. Obviously, we've talked many times over our many pods about the parting of the ways between Assook and Anakin, gut-wrenching, devastating. I can feel it in my heart and soul right now, just thinking about it. Never before and ever since. Have I been that emotional? Genuinely beautiful. Watch it if you haven't. Obviously, everything the Barris does is foul and hideous and objectively wrong.

Oh, so you're anti-terrorism. I'm brave enough to say on the podcast that the terrorist woman in the frame. Are we recording the hottest take? I thought we were doing house of our. If we were doing the hottest take, we'd be like, Chris Ryan bring back smoking. I'm Mallory Rubin. I feel like you should have different inside clothes from your outside clothes. That is just, I'm sorry.

It's not a hot take, it's a right take. It's a tepid take and it's a right take. Imagine wearing your outside pants inside. I just, why? My dad was visiting last week, and we had a wonderful conversation about home moccasins. Okay, home moccasins are a little different.

It's all of a piece. Does your darling father also doff his entire outfit? It's like Mr. Rogers walking into the house and walking out. The cardigan comes off. The outdoor cardigan comes off. No, he doesn't. The hoodie goes on. If he's home for, like, a long stretch, he does have, like, he does have home jeans.

He is a believer in a looser, comfortable home gene. Yeah. But he doesn't feel a compulsion like I do to, like, immediately, like, shed his skin when walking inside. That's a me thing. Anyway. Okay. I can't wait for our summer together. You're anti-terrorists.

However. Now that we've gotten that on the record. However. Important. Important. Asoka doesn't say, oh, we found out of a lot of. was Barris, thanks for cracking the case. Oh, excited to come back.

Can't wait to be back in the fold. Where's my key card? She's like, peace out. I'm done. I'm going with this shit. I will find my own way. And that's part of why she's such a beloved character, not only the decision, but then the independent path that she does forge.

So the Jedi not only being interrogated and assessed by those who would oppose them, but by those who would theoretically nominally be aligned with them and in their ranks is always one of the most interesting parts of a Star Wars story. I'm interested to see if that is a part of the Acolyte, too, if this challenge from without leads to ruptures and fractures within. I really am interested to see if that's a part of the story. Can't wait to find out. Rupures and fractures, signs and portents, the same thing. That is everything we have to say about the Ackleite before we actually see it and talk to you about it. Dude, we're a week away. What a time. Felt like a long time away. Now it's here. June is right around the corner.

The June content is coming. Oh, the dragon's screeched. I love to hear it. This episode is brought to you by Spectrum Business. Fast, reliable internet means everything for your business. And even this podcast, that's why I trust Spectrum Business. They keep companies of all sizes connected with internet, advanced Wi-Fi, phone, TV, mobile services, plus 24-7 U.S.-based support.

Millions of business owners already trust Spectrum business. So visit spectrum.com slash business to learn more. Restrictions apply. Services not available in all areas. Did you know about one in three people with plaques psoriasis may also develop psoriotic arthritis, which causes joint pain, stiffness, and swelling? Does this sound like you? Listen to what it sounds like to be a million miles away.

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and may not be suitable for all investors, Manage your activity with our consumer protection tools. Okay, before we zoom into June, we got to go back to the Fury Road. I did not ask Steve to pull a clip here, so I'm just going to go, room, broom, baby. Here we go. It's time for...

It's like there's a V8 engine. Time to Pod Historic on the Fury Road. React to Furiosa. Snapshot. Furiosa. Thank you. I apologize to Australia and every other Commonwealth. A Mad Max Saga, directed by George Miller, written by George Miller, and Nico Lathoris, his co-writer on Mad Max Fury Road, takes place over 10 years before Fury Road. Widely, unfortunately, it's not really what we're here to talk about, but considered a massive disappointment at the box office. This has been the narrative of this weekend. Not only did Mad Max, uh, sorry, Furiosa, a Mad Max saga. underperform at $58.9 million.

But it's part of a larger box office panic. If you're listening to this, gentle listener, and you're at home ringing your hands, perseverating over the state of the box office, I just want to let you know that on this week's big pick, Sean Fennacy recorded a monologue, like an FDR-esque fireside chat. Wow.

To be like, it's going to be okay. Okay. I've grown down. I've got to. Coming to the Big Pick feed and the Ringer Movies YouTube channel. It's true. Chris Ryan and Sean Fentasy and I are, I guess, at some point on the Ringer Movies channel, but that big pick episode is already up in the feeds. Anyway, so let Sean take care of your box office concerns. We're here to talk about story.

Something we love to do. This isn't a deep dive. We're not calling this a deep dive. This is a, you know, we're... Dipping a toe in the sand. We're skimbing the surface. We're sort of flying above the action in our fanboat kite things. Yeah.

Tuck in a peach pit in like a strand of hair, but not the whole nest of hair? Sure. Yeah. Do you know that in the script for... How full is the piss jar? In the script for a few years. Yeah. They use piss for the radiators in the movie, you guys.

That's really something. The script says, The best boy. The mortifiers. Yeah. Which is the guys on the motorcycle. It says the mortifiers become the mortifiers. I have no no.

I have no notes. Is that not art? I have no notes. I think that's the pod. That's a wrath. It was great to be with you both today. All right. Let's just do big pick.

Not the podcast, but our general reactions to Furiosa, a Madamatic saga. Mallory, you and I have not talked in depth about this movie. Not even in shallow. So tell me, did you like it? I did. I enjoyed the film quite a bit. I had a good time at the movie. I went to see it in the theater out in the world. Wow. And that was a whole different pair of pants to go outside to see. Yes, I wore a pair of, no free ads, but I wore a very comfortable pair of Viori joggers. And I was thrilled. I was quite comfy. I wore my Ringer L.A. Waffle shirt and some space hippie, recycled. Nikes and it was a comfortable movie-going outfit, I have to say. And then I had a very large

icy and a large popcorn and milk duds and I had such a stomachache by the end of the movie. I honestly could barely stand. It was like painful. I just do it. Should we both get popcorn? And then we did. And it was just all really the icy was so big. I just love you. Cherry icy, delicious. I just love you because you're the smartest person I know. And yet you'll also. put whatever that is in your mouth and then go, why do I feel like absolute garbage? clip that for the soundboard. Yeah, you put whatever that is in your mouth. And then you're like, and then you're like, oh, I'm so full. Are you quoting from our fast time spot?

One of my favorite, I don't, I'm going on more tangents than usual. I think it's just the real, like, genuine pleasure of being in your presence. Being my company, yeah. One of my favorite. This is going to be all summer folks. I can't wait. One of my favorite things, truly. about Chris Ryan, our pal, our colleague, our co-host, is every now and then, and by every now and then, I mean, literally every time I've ever been with Chris ever in the history of our decade plus working together, I'll be like, I have my stomach really hurts. And he's like, do you think it's all the stress and anxiety,

or do you think it's that you feel compelled to have a full pint of ice cream at 11 o'clock every night? And I'm like, do you think that has something to do with her? Like, does that have something to do it? I don't know. He's not a doctor. Why would you listen to him? Exactly.

Exactly. What was the question? Did I like the movie? I really did. I enjoyed the film. I'm sure this will come up maybe right now. Maybe again later. I rarely say this.

As you know, I love a long movie. I've never heard you say it. I'm like, Lord of the Rings extended editions, not long enough. The Irishman, double it. Double it. Steve and I are out on that opinion. I thought this might be. movie, which I really enjoyed and had a great time watching and look forward to revisiting,

was definitely too long. And some of that is the context of the Mad Max franchise in which it exists, where we're talking 93 minutes, 96 minutes, right? Like, Fury Road is two hours, and that was the longest movie in the history of the franchise. So this is a two and a half hour movie. It has the chapter structure, which I thought, on the one hand, was compelling in terms of of George Miller's interest in mythologizing, right, and leaning into the lore and almost like kind of like biblical-esque status of these stories

that people are whispering to each other and passing down as our soil, sours, and our earth decays. But it compounded that sense that there was a heft here that felt really distinct inside of the franchise. And so that I felt watching it for sure. But I enjoyed it. What about you, Joe? What was your overall impression of the film? I haven't had the pleasure yet of listening to Big Pick, which went up while we were doing other stuff today.

Yes. We were literally in another room while it went up. Listen. Yeah. Tell me. I did have a fun, fine time in the movies. I went to go see with our pal Rob Mahoney. And it was a fan screening. Fun. So there were 40 people dressed in like full-blown cosplay, like warboys. And they called themselves the Wastelanders. And there's a lot of spikes. And they took a lot of photos. And they took a lot of photos together. If you're dressed as a warboy, are you shirtless? Yeah. Okay. Interesting. A lot of shirtless or just like, you know, your war boy makeup under or something else.

I had more questions about the spikes. Yeah. You just described watching this in like a waffle henley with like soft pants and like whatever. Quite comfortable, man. Do you take the spikes off if you're bespiked to see? If it were me, I would not wear spikes to sit in a theater, but I do love a cosplayer. So I can't really cast an opinion here because I would never do it just because of the comfort. factor, but I would be awed by people who did. I would love to see it. I loved seeing. I loved that they were there. I thought there was like no better environment for me to watch. Had anyone leaned in and fallen cut off their arm? Not that I saw. Okay. So you're like half-assing. Okay. Fair enough. All right. So listen. How many people addressed as Dementus?

No one address as Dementis, but there's this one guy who was, he wasn't dressed as a character, but he was dressed as sort of this like Sergeant Pepper-esque. like blood red, like army coat sort of thing. And so that was like Dementis-esque. Energy. Yeah. If I have a child one day, should I name it Dementis. What do you think? Scrotus, I think, is what you should go for. Scrotus, yeah. Not rictus erectus. No, but Scabber Scrotus, yes. Absolutely. Okay. So, wow, I've made the mistake with looking and Steve. Okay, so listen. I had a pretty solid, okay time in the movies. I do feel like it's You know, something I said on the big pick is I both think it is too long and I felt huge chunks of it missing at the same time. Yeah.

Yeah. When I got out and I had a different opinion than our pal Dave Gonzalez about it, I texted him and I was like, I felt like chunks were missing. He's like, oh, you wanted it longer? I was like, absolutely I did not. So it's a weird middle ground. It's tough because, and this is a question I have for you, but like, how can we not constantly the Midnight Boys did it? Sean and Amanda did it. Chris and Sean and I did it.

We're about to do it. Compare it to Fury Road. How can we not? It's just languishing under the long shadow of Fury Road. And so when you compare, like I think if I had seen it in isolation, I would have enjoyed it even more. Yeah. But comparing it to Fury Road, which is begging for that comparison, because it ends with clips from Fury Road. If I could pass along one note.

I have two. If I could pass. I mean, there's. more, but it immediately re-release a new cut in theaters that changes the end credits and removes the scenes from Fury Road. I was really confounded that. Yeah, why would you remind us of the perfect movie that you made after you made us watch, not, invited us to watch a less perfect version. Okay.

And I would also remove the Max cameo because I think it's stupid and it adds nothing. Okay. So, um, what's your, I don't, we've never talked about the Mad Max franchise. is your larger relationship? I found out earlier today. Yeah. Yeah. When you were single white female and Chris Ryan.

Yeah. So, Tuesday. Just a classic Tuesday at the old Talk the Throne set. That you love Road Warrior. It's not your favorite, but you love Road Warrior. What's your larger Mad Max franchise relationship? I enjoyed the Mad Max films. I had a lot of fun.

It's an interesting experience to rewereens. watch them all in a row, like over the span of a holiday weekend, just to say, for example. Road Warrior is one of my husband's favorite movies, like, ever. He loves it, adores it, has, like, really fond, embedded in amber memories of, like, going to the theater to see it for the first time. So it's a very special film to him. It's something that he really loves. I, that's my favorite of the, uncontroversial opinion, my favorite of the original trilogy. I get a kick out of Thunderdome.

You know, like, it doesn't like spending time with Master Blaster. Yeah. I'm often deeply perplexed by the first Mad Max film. You, you love wearing chain mail to the office, right? I do, I do, I, yeah. In your Tina Turner era. That's exactly right.

That's exactly right. I think that Fury Road is a masterpiece. A masterpiece. Like one of the great movies. Certainly one of our great recent movies. I think that movie is stunning. It's like I remember what it felt like to watch it for the first time and sit in the theaters. It's gorgeous.

And of course, that. They should be released that if they want to save the summer box office. Just put Fury Road back in cinema. Great idea. I'd go. I'm insane. Yeah. We could all go together.

Maybe I would wear spikes. I was going to say. Would you wear spikes? Why not? Sure. Do you think we can get Steve to do full warboy cosplay? Definitely. Okay.

Shout witness me again. You can leave your shirt on, Steve. I don't want an HR violation, but we are going to... I don't know if I should be offended if I should keep it on or off. You can do whatever you want. It's your choice is the point. But you will have to smear yourself in white paint. That is non-negotiable.

Okay. It's Canton. So, yeah, Fury Road is like one of our great films. Absolute pleasure to revisit it. into Furiosa. So I would put Fury Road at the top, certainly then I would have Road Warrior. I think I would have Furiosa next, then Thunderdome and then the original Mad Max. That's my, that's my quick order. What about you? Oh, I am, Fury Road at the top, Road Warrior 2, Mad Max, Furiosa. I think that's right. What did I record this morning? And then Beyond Thunderdome

at the bottom. Intriguing. Yeah. Okay. I really do like the original Mad Max. It's... It's an experience. It's a fun. I mean, it's hard to rewatch. I don't know if you've heard some things going on

with Melkips in these days. But like, it's, it's a... It's an exciting, they made this on a shoe string, sort of artifact. You... Here's the thing I know about you. You hate a crevice.

You love an Ocean Vista. You love Toecutter. Toe cutter's my guy. Who doesn't love toecutter? To cutter is my guy. Do you think you could pull out the one eyebrow look? Certainly not. Yeah.

That's what I thought. Okay. Which look from the wider Mad Max universe do you think you would be best equipped to immediately incorporate into your everyday life? I think there is in Road Warrior, there is the like sort of maroon feather over leather situation. Yes. Oh, yeah. I feel like that would be for me. Okay.

I like it. Steve, what's your answer? I'd say probably I was a big fan of Farrell kids Razored boomerang Yeah And you'd like the like

The tail And everything Like a diaper and a tail And so that's great stuff You don't need to worry about home jeans Jumping around You got a diaper and tail You can take on the world

Mal What are you What's your look for the apocalypse I am drawn to Furiosa Like as you guys know Because I talk about it all the time

But never have the courage to do it I have really like long desired shaving my head. I really want you to do it. I just came so close at the beginning of COVID. I really want you to do it. So close. Because A, I think it would look really good on you. Definitely wouldn't.

No, it would. You have a beautiful, elegant swan neck. I think it would look lovely on you. And then your hair would grow back. Healthier and stronger than ever before. No, that's my worry is that it would come back. I've like already got so much gray coming in. Just like little gray bristles.

Like a gray. like just a great proletopad on the other end. Never recover. Hobbes and Drag into Gmail.com. If you would like... If you would like Mallory Rubin to shave her head, Hobbes and Drag her to Gmail.com, tell us what you will give her to shave her head. Mallory's mom, you're listening. Also, very sensitive skin. I don't think I could smear the rig grease on my forehead and live to tell the tail. But I am tempted. Yeah. It would clog all my pores.

All on every single one. Listen, we love IP on this podcast. Yeah. And we occasionally love prequels. Really depends on the prequel. As you know, I do like, I do enjoy a prequel. Something I love about the Mad Max saga is that it plays fast and loose with both Saga with both continuity and timeline, right? Like, they could just, you can recast Max with Tom Hardy and it's really... Plays fast and loose is extremely generous.

Extremely. Yeah. Constant reworking of the timeline and recons. Yeah. To the point where we get to Fury Road and the reset is like almost total. Well, it isn't and isn't because if you listen to George Miller, he's saying this is all on a continuous timeline. It's just Max is regressing in his arc is sort of the idea that George Miller has. It's not that we're just erasing the what happened in Beyond Thunderdome or anything like that.

We're just saying, guess what? When you live out in the desert alone, sometimes you forget the emotional lessons you learned in the previous movie. That's that, yes. And that's fine. And I accept that as the narrative that the creator is putting into the world. Speedy and erratic? Like, what are you calling? Well, some of it is.

And I'm ultimately like fine with this because I think the Mad Max movies are about the vibe and the essence much more than the literal like, wait, what year did that car that they've reworked? This is where the BBY question. This is where the BBY question comes in. But there is a lot of like what year did the car that they reworked stuff to parse in the films. The question of like, okay, we've got the. the gasoline wars, then we move right to like the nuclear holocaust, but it's then another minute until we're like, oh, this actually seems to be like affecting people. The change of when the nuclear war happened in relation to road warriors, like a hard, a hard reset. It stresses you

out. And then, like, okay, the water wars. I actually, it's an interesting experience where, as you know, in general, this stuff, I just have like an almost impossible time. I can't, my brain, I just can't, like, help but harp on it. When I was rewatching all of the movies, it was pretty actively like, I'm like, and then I finished my, totally fine, I'm good. Okay, so then the question is, because Furiosa, more than any of the other Mad Max movies, which all kind of exist in isolation and theory, Furiosa is much more beholden to this idea of continuity and like this bleeds directly into this.

In case you're curious about that, we have clipped together some seats from Fury Road to play over the closing credits. Did you like for yourself for that for the fact that it is more locked into continuity than the other Mad Max films? The opposite, I think. Yeah. Yeah. I agree.

I just, I feel like George Miller has pulled off something so brilliant. This idea, we talked about this a lot in the Big Pick episode, but like this idea that George Miller, it's so unique in the world of IP, the fact that George Miller has had the rights to the Mad Max franchise from the beginning. And folks, if you don't know, the way that he got the rights back after Beyond Thunderdome is that he was supposed to make contact. He got fired by Warner Brothers. Jody Foster goes entertainment weekly. Talk some shit on him.

He sues Warner Brothers for breach of contract. As part of his settlement, he gets the rights to Mad Max back. So George Miller, thank you, Jody Foster. George Miller has been in control of his own franchise for over 30 years, which we don't have another franchise like that. You know, George Lucas sold his franchise to Disney, like, etc., etc., right? So, like, it's a very unique way to track a filmmaker, track an artist over 30-plus years of their career via these various check-ins and that sort of stuff.

And I think it's a mistake for him to lock himself into the Citadel verse by making Furiosa. And now wanting to make, you know, he's talked about the other Mad Max film he wants to make is what was Max doing for the year before Fury Road. And that wouldn't be at the Citadel. That would answer the questions of the flashbacks that we see in Fury Road with the kid, etc. But like. The specter of his failure that's haunting him now. I don't know if you've ever heard me say this before, Valerie. but I don't want it.

You don't want it? That's great. I don't want it. It's fun to get to see Steve. It is fun to get the button. He gets this like a little mischievous glint in his eyes. He's about to activate the soundboard. Great stuff.

Yeah, I do genuinely enjoy prequels. I really like origin stories. I think some of what, why that aspect of it. And again, I liked the movie so it doesn't actually. actually feel quite right to say didn't work for me, but it was actively on my mind watching it in a way that was like almost a little distracting to me, while we know thing X, in a way that felt like much more like a hindrance than what I typically enjoy about prequels and origin stories, which is like, okay, we get to, yes, we get to better understand the journey there.

I think because you've got some stuff coming later in our outline on characters on an arc, But and while I think the nature of like the journey in an arc, and again, like a mythic sense is a central preoccupation of George Miller's, I would not say that like detailed beat by beat, this is who I am as a person and what drives me. Like, okay, my wife and kid were run over in the middle of the road and that drives me. That's a thing we know about Max, right? Yeah, in that level, yeah. but they're not actually like super detailed and like plot oriented and character-oriented stories. They're about the scope and the spectacle and the splendor and the misery and the awe of what it would be like to try to navigate this existence. And so then you're saying, well, don't you want to learn how this character got there?

And it's like, yeah, we were super hyped about the movie. We liked the movie. So the answer is yes, that was interesting and appealing because Furiosa in Furious. Fury Road is like a revelation, right? That's an incredible performance. It's an incredible, like, genuinely, I overused the term, but like instantly iconic installment. The important thing that's ever happened in cinema. And in the history of cinema, it's like definitely one of the most important things that's ever.

So you're watching the movie and it's like, okay, but like we already, the Green Place and her mother and the quest to get back and what was lost and winding up at the citadel. all of the endpoints felt not like things we were marching toward but just inescapable reality is watching the movie, right? I'm watching young Furiosa tattoo the constellation of the star map onto her arm to guide her way home, but I couldn't stop thinking about the fact

that I know she's going to lose the arm. There's something interesting about that, like, does she do it to shield who she is from Wixis? Right, right. Or does she lose it tragically? The Morton Joe Citadel thing, though, the wasteland war was the biggest, as you tease the biggest aspect of this

because it's just like, it did sap a lot of the tension from the Dementis. And I will just say we haven't talked about Dementous much. Like, I thought the performance was delicious and joy to behold, and I loved it. But like, we know that a Morton Joe is going to win. And because we've seen Fury Road. To your point, it actually, that is not necessarily something that disqualifies a prequel from being interesting for either of us. We love something like Andor and we know exactly what's going to happen to Cassie and Andor. Yes.

But the most important thing about Andor is that we are watching him and we are interested in how he goes from where he starts to where he ends. And I believe it was actually the Midnight Boys who brought up this idea that like Furiosa starts as a little badass and ends as a slightly taller badass. And there really isn't like she doesn't like get tougher or learn a ton of new skills or whatever. She was already incredibly capable. And then she ends incredibly capable. So I'm not watching a character on an arc in this inside this movie. Exactly. Whereas Max in every single movie is going, even if he resets by the time the next movie starts,

often the story of Max is, I'm alone, I'm alone, or I'm alone, I'm alone. Oh, wait, what if I helped this community? I pulled me back in. Just kidding, I'm alone again. You know? We love that. Do we? We love that for Max.

Yeah, like the Andor, the Andor point is a great one because, like, watching that character fundamentally reset his relationship to the idea. of rebellion and the fight is frame by frame just riveted. And in the Mad Max movies, and I say this, not as a demerit, I say it is like one of the things that we all love sitting down to consume for somewhere between 93 and 120 minutes, but no longer than that. 125. It is like the propulsive, astonishing jaw-dropping action, the movies are built around the set pieces and the nature of interaction between the humans

in terms of the actual like cost-benefit analysis of what will unfold between them. Well, it is plot-oriented. And what is also true. And so if you know the end point of the plot. Well, what's also true is that George Miller is a master of storytelling through action. Like, you know, so many of the Mad Max films, Chris Hemsworth, who we both really enjoy this movie,

has by far the most lines out of anyone in any Mad Max. Max movie. He is constantly talking and that is an anomaly in the Mad Max. Not even close. Yeah, it's an anomaly. And so usually George Miller is making basically like silent films. He, you know, he's basically making like Buster Keaton the general. Like he, this is why the first Mad Max film played so well internationally. Like it was huge in Japan because like sort of like the James Cameron Avatar movies, like you don't really need to understand the plot or the dialogue to get sort of immersed in this world. And when you look at Furiosa, two of the best sequences, I would say, the motorcycle chase and the war rig fight, those are incredible character moments for we understand everything we need to know about Furiosa's mother. Or we understand a lot of what we need to know about Portorian Jack and Furiosa's connection in that war rig fight, more so than like when they later have actual conversations with each other. And that's what George Miller is brilliant.

I want to ask you this other, something of I find so fascinating. about George Miller is that when he talks about making the first Mad Max film, which again, he made for one thin dime, he was a doctor. And he was like, what if I were a filmmaker instead? He was trying to come out. He had made a short- He was an organic mechanic? He was trying to come up with an idea for a feature because he had made a short film that got some attention. And he had this idea because he had witnessed so many car crashes. And he was like, I grew up in Queensland. There was a pressure road where there was no speed limit so people would just go however fast or what you know so all of that was bouncing around his head the like grotesque accidents he had seen all of that but he kept

bumping up against this problem which he's like the kind the way my style works does not work in our world right now and that's how he came up with setting it in the like in mad max the first one is like the most slightly near future right the most the world that most closely resembles ours um but he was like I needed to make a genre film to match the kind of maybe mythic or maybe even the sort of like frenetically visual storytelling that he wanted to do. And Mal, I know you love to talk about like we're back in our House of the Dragon mode. So I was just thinking about when you talked about Amar, Amon and Vagar and like how much it mattered that this kid was going through this with a dragon. Like how much the genre elements matter. And genre is what we talk about all the time.

on House of R, the Midnight Boys, Poup, like, so why do you think it matters that these Mad Max, these mythic Mad Max stories, take place in a world that is not our own? I think that as moviegoers, television watchers, readers in 2024, one thing that we are not short on ever is a dystopian tale, right?

But if you went out into the world on the street by the office, at a genre convention, anywhere in between, and pulled 100 people and said, like, what are the five things that pop into your mind first when you think about a dystopian tale? I bet you a huge percentage of them would mention the Mad Max films. They would mention it specifically, and then a few of the other things they said would just be, like, hallmarks of a Mad Max movie. Right, yeah, exactly. They're like dusty, errant landscape, I don't know, leather. It feels like not just a part of the tradition, but it's a true archetype, right, of a slice of the genre world that we really love spending time in.

And so the fact that it is, in many ways, the template and the blueprint for what leads to that world is familiar, right? Many stories in some way connect to there wasn't enough water, there wasn't enough fuel, people turned on each other rather than trying to figure. Trying to figure out how to solve their problem together. Tales all this time. But some of it is like the visual tapestry, right? Now I know you're a huge college football fan. And so you long said and always say that like the Texas Longhorns burnt orange is one of the the signature. Actually, I do know this.

There you go. Okay. I love it. Perfect. Mahoney is going to be so proud. It's going to be so proud. every time I think of the Mad Max movies, I see that color in my mind.

Like, it's one of those associations that just makes you feel something. Like, it could only be in that movie, even though everybody else then tries to capture it or mimic it or pay homage to it. And so the world feels like, okay, yeah, this is what it would be like if society fell. People would rig up their trucks. You'd try to, you'd suck gas out of whatever rig you could jump on. and turn into a cabbage-based economy. I personally hope to...

Yes, we love it. We love a cabbage in a genre tale. I personally hope to never make my way into the rotting, festering, limb-den with the maggots. Of the maggot hole, yeah. Maggot hole, I don't love the phrase. I mean, I love it, but I don't love it.

I just need you to know on the big pick there's an extended sequence for Sean and Chris talk about being podcasters of the maggot hole. And I called us the lords and ladies in the maggot hole. So just that is, that is, you don't want to join us to podcast from the Maggot Hole? I, it's, you could be truth telling for the Maggot Hole. And Martin Joe controls all the propaganda and you could be telling truth down to the people in the maggholes. I'm not, I'm not uninterested.

Yeah. You know, I really thought. Steve would have to edit out a lot of the wrestling of the maggots as they slither and squirm. I did feel that watching House of the Dragon season one had hardened to me to watching maggots crawl of rotting from Bessaris. But I was wrong.

I was like, oh wow, that's a thing to see. Anyway. So when you go, like it's not just cars on a road, right? The way everybody's

dressed, the way they interact, the way they behave, the fact that you could step away from the movies and say on some level, the movies follow a very similar rhythm and a bead

and often the same thing happens. There's a war rig. There's an attack, etc. It feels like you're in the universe that is so utterly specific

to the tales of the films are set in. And then, like, you go to Fury Road, you go to the Citadel and the details of, like, the mother's milk, right? The breeders. And it's not just the idea that those things exist. It's that we see the hideous, like, belts, right, that they, that are, that are chained onto them. And we see the latching. And, like, every aspect of how that would function, right? We, we see when we're with our beloved war boys, like we see that Nux has named his goiters, his tumors. Like every little detail has been accounted for, but you don't have to think about the fact that they've been accounted for as you're watching it.

If I ever get a goiter or a tumor, will you draw a little smile-faced on it for me? I will. Thanks. You're a friend and a pal. All right. So we love a character on an arc. Yeah. That's the thing that I know about us. Love a tail cutter. Love a character on an arc.

Yeah. George Miller, like us, loves to talk about Joseph Campbell. Good old Joe Campbell. And myth-making and the hero's journey. Yes. Max is a hero on an ever-looping journey, right? He's a loner. He refuses the call.

Then he reluctantly becomes a joiner, and then he becomes a loner again, et cetera. And his mythic static, the sort of laconic nature of him as a mythic figure is part of that global appeal, as I mentioned, like he's big in Japan because they all understand this archetype. And I love this quote from Miller where he says,

in Japan they saw Max as a samurai. The French called it a Western on Wheels. To the Scandinavians, he was some sort of lone Viking. So this idea of Max as this iconic figure that appears again and again and again in our storytelling. He's Shane.

He's whoever he is, you know. Furiosa. Fury I saw Does not have the same, I would say, mythic sense about her. I think she does in Fury Road. I don't think watching this movie makes her feel more mythic to me.

In fact, I think it slightly demystifies her in a way that, like, I didn't necessarily mean. But need, but I did really like this idea that George Miller has about when Max, especially in Fury Road, specifically in Fury Road, and Max goes from being a passenger, literally a blood bag, strapped to the front of Nux's car, to becoming a driver, is when he sort of takes control of his destiny.

And there is a similar, you know, Furiosa has a lot of agency from the front. She is biting through fuel lines, etc., etc., but she is thrown over the back of someone's motorcycle. When she is the one driving the war rig, when she's the one driving the motorcycle. Is that enough of like an arc in development for you? Is that an interesting image? Or does knowing more about her backstory lessen her mythic stature in this universe?

Hmm. Interesting question. I think understanding the steps on that road and like what the inciting incidents were for her to take that step. And then crucially, of course, because relationships that are parsed in the Mad Max universe are limited, understanding how, like, a character like Jack was connected to that, like the idea of, I mean, I'm curious to know over the course of the movie, which of the set pieces was your favorite, but that, that raider attack on Jack's whoring, which is like, that's the best part. Astonishing film making. It's not even close.

Absolutely like just astounding. Now that's pod raisin. It is. I mean, the camera angles, the sounds, the movement, the fluidity. And so you're building toward partnership, right? Exactly. And this acceptance, like I see you've been hiding. Character development through action.

100%. This is what you're saying earlier. Like, it's such a beautiful example of that. And so for that to be a huge. push toward the move into the front seat rather than just hiding underneath below is like meaningful and cool to see and to see how like the the meat cute you know the highs are are limited in this world you hold on to them while you can take what you can find your joy it's not a lot and there's find the joy because there's not a lot of it to go around so jack is in the movie maybe

overall relative to the total runtime, like a little less than I would like? I think I could do with more Jack, both because Tom Burke is a fantastic performer who we love and because I was intrigued to know more about that history and what role of that relationship, not just the tutelage, but the emotional bond played in Furious's life, calming on the heels of like losing her tether to that green place that we know she worked to get back to. And, and to try to bring my wife Zoe Gravitz and our galotti. Yeah. It's always fun now to go back to Fury and my Lottie.

She was like 16. Wild times. Yeah. And, you know, to think of something like, I think the most astonishing visual, I mean, there are a lot. It's hard to pick one. But I think the most astonishing visual for me in Fury Road is the navy blue nightcape as we drive through the skeletal trees and the crow lands and the fig.

gears on stilts, and then we learn and realize later. That's the green place, baby. That was the green place. Like, the thing that you thought you were working toward doesn't exist anymore, where you have to go make it on your own. And so, like, understanding from when she's, you know, captured at the beginning to everyone she meets along the way to making her way into that seat so that she can then try to make her way back, all of those steps are interesting and matter and do contribute to the myth.

And, you know, the narrate, like, the narration in Mad Max movies is so interesting to me because you open with like at the beginning this basically like a handy cheat sheet catch up of how the world fell, right? And then you're a feral kid, obviously, best example, but it's a... Shout out the history, man. Always. Multiple films, this sense at the end when you realize she was speaking to you that these are stories being passed down and told again.

And so again, that helps me kind of like accept some of those like retcons or timeline continuity issues. A very house of the dragon. You're like, who's telling the story? Exactly. Is mushroom involved? Mushroom who was not there? We're going to talk about a mushroom-friendly subject in a second.

Oh, exciting. And our segue into that. Is it the size of a penis? It's to talk about Chris Hensworth. We love a character on an art. We also love a foil. We love a dark mirror. Yeah.

And so this idea of Dementis is sort of like foil for Max, both fathers who lost their families. And this is sort of like, this is how one man was affected by this. This is how another, This is the direction that someone else went. Someone else is like, guess what? I'm going to swathe myself in a parachute.

And if I ever get hit by a cloud of red dust, that's just going to be my new look forever. Nipples, I don't really need them. Steve, any comment? Great stuff. Wow. He gave me the Tom Hardy from Fury Road reluctant thumbs up out the window. The nipple scene made me think instantly of the slicing of the nipple in our first meaningful moment with the unsellyed. A lot of Thorn's mentions.

But of course I think we would be remiss not to note that the red dyeing of the cape as a nod to Thor throughout the film was wonderful. Genuinely wonderful. I'm my brain did not even go to Thor. I love that. Okay. But he's also this sort of dark mirror for Furious in that scene that played at the top of this episode, this idea that he's like, look at you, look at me, look at the vengeance that you want. You lost your family. I lost my family.

Like, look at us. Here we are. Just the two of us. Look at us. Little D? I ever thought. Little D? Is that you with the most specific and distinct looking eyes?

Is that you? Little D? Could it be? Could it be? Hounsworth in general, as we already said, we really like. Sensational. I was entertained. Oh, 100%.

It felt like he was in a different movie, but I enjoyed that movie. I'm not sure I did this movie as many favors as it could have, but I thought he was wonderful. I thought he was really funny and, like, pathetic and wonderful. But should we talk about sex in the Mad Max universe? Oh, I'd love to. Yeah. Why doesn't anyone have any?

Yeah. Dementus is, like, swagging around. His, like, hips, like, his pants slung low on the hips, right? He's just, like, you know, the nose is nosing. But, like, the rest of him is Chris Hemsworth. So, like, you know, the wives and the breeders, that's obviously not sexy. That's, like, procreation. That is terrible.

Awful. Terrible. Max and Furosa have a spark that they, you know, other than like a little, like blood is the only fluid they share, I will say in that in that regard. Wow. Why is this not a sexier? Why was there not? It's the question that we ask on Lost. Why wasn't there more fucking on that island?

And why is there not more fucking in the post-apocalyptic universe? Is it just because sand is rough and gets everywhere? Don't like sand. It's coarse. and irritating. And it gets in my festering open wounds. Is it that the maggots are on the loose in the maggot hole and you can't find a free space? Yeah, like when you're talking about maggot holes, what do you mean? Exactly in this context. I think you know. So I have a lot of thoughts. And they're in conflict with each other because on the one hand, I'm a more with myself, Jill. On the one hand.

Conflict inside Mallory's human heart. I think about this a lot. on, obviously not to the extent of actually being in a post-apocalyptic Mad Max universe. But I think about this a lot on Survivor. Whenever there's a showman. I mean, I just, I love love. I love seeing people fall in love. That's, it's beautiful. Whenever there's a showman's on Survivor, I am like recoiling and cringing.

Because you could smell. Yes. I'm like, I don't, maybe this is, this is, this is. an unbecoming thing to say out loud, it's reflex poorly on me. But I just simply, and you know, maybe it's context and circumstances

and you adjust quickly. Cannot imagine being like sexually drawn toward a person who had not bathed in that long? Now, I guess if this is your world, you get used to it. Everybody stinks all the time. It's like you've got to fuck someone. Yeah.

Which brings me to my next point. Great. Why aren't people fucking all the time? Yeah. What else is there to do? What, like, be thirsty. They're just being literally thirsty instead of the kind of thirsty that they should be. Don't just guzzle that mother's milk.

Yeah. Guzzaline, if you know what I mean. And I think you do. I just don't understand why people are fucking all the time. Like all the time. Life is fleeting and connection. It's rare. And so if you find somebody who you want to nuzzle greasy foreheads with as we saw here at just a

Immediately, immediately, tear each other's clothes off and fuck on the sand dune. Why not? And they were up on like a shaded rocky outcrop when they were nuzzling greasy foreheads. We're like an ideal scenario. One billowing drape away from a Bachelor fantasy suite at that point. Like what more do you need? There was like essentially a hot tub right there. I just didn't understand why they didn't take advantage of it.

I do want to give you your space to talk about the tree coming out of Hemsworth of the M because you did request that. But I do want to say on the theme of loving love, I don't know if this is as commonly known as it should be, but I just need everyone to know that the end of Fury Road, Riley Keough, Daisy Jones herself, yep, an heir to the Presley family fortune, married and is still married to the Dew Foryer. That is a showman's that really happened and really is still going on. And I love that for them. Good for them. Good for them.

Let's go back to the tree. Okay. So I'm excited to talk about the tree. I mean, you've already heard your thoughts on the tree. I have a controversial take. I loved your point about foils and dark mirrors and the parallels between Dementus and Max and then Dementus and Furiosa.

Can I offer a hot take? Please. This universe is like losing your family like the thing that you can build your whole arc on? Like, don't people die all the time? I don't mean to go full like Last of Us episode five. I can't wait. Kids die.

For your scorching. They die all the time. Your Melanie Linsky scorching hot takes out of the maggot hole where you're just sort of like coming to you live from the maggot hole. I'm Mali Rubin here to tell you that if you lose your kid. Yeah. Oh well. Like it's obviously not actually.

It's probably better. It's probably better for them. Or actually how I feel. And I did love the teddy bear was like a great touch. Yeah. And obviously understanding why Dementis is. kind of so inclined to like instantly adopt. Lest to her.

Yeah. That was all very compelling. And there was a little voice in the back of my mind. I was like, wouldn't this be everyone's thing in this world? Like I lost my family, something terrible, befell the people that I loved. It was supposed to just be a routine check-in at the old bullet farm. And then I added another stuffed animal to my belt. So it's another day in the Mad Max universe, alas.

Rotting genital flesh fruit. Wow. Okay, I have some notes. I have some notes. Now, again, how do we get here, Steve? I clearly see the path that you laid for her. It's canon. It's canon.

I don't think I knew. Let me say this. Rodding, genital. Let me say this. We are here together as friends and as creative partners. I don't know why you would believe me, Steve. We embarked together on many a mission, and I want this on the record. I want it on our internal house of our record.

I wanted a public record on this podcast. If we find ourselves in the apocalypse at any point, and I assume we would be making our way through it together, as you know. No, I'm dying right away. No, I don't think so. Yes. I don't think so. I don't think so.

I don't. Okay. We're going to meet up. We'll pick a spot off Mike. Who at the ringer is dying first? Who's affected by the sun the most? Probably me. I'm out. Very pale.

This is very common glass. This is what Chris and Sean and I were comparing in the fish belly white of our forms. We're all quite pale. Very pale. However, you're scrappy. Always well stocked on various jerkeys. Is this a bandolier of jerky?

No, yes. A bandolier of jerky, but also mallory would be the first to make jerky out of her compatriots. Right, yes. Oh, organic mechanic. Even with me, I would simply not eat, my friend, to quote our own podcasting history, if I may. Who says they're friends? Okay, fair, fair.

So who the ringer is dying first? I believe that all of my trusted beloved colleagues would last. What a lame answer. Would make it. What a lame answer. I won't cast anyone into an early grave. The ringers built strong and tough. Jummi said that he had a, he would particularly be going first.

A, because you'd be running away from things and he's not doing that. B, to the Midnight Boys point, there are no black people in this post-abucalyptic world. Jesus. All right. If we find ourselves in the apocalypse. And we are gifted in a tragic parting of Peach Pit. A precious morsel. Now in Fury Road, we'll see that whole, like, satchel full of seed. It's like a doctor's bag.

It really is. Yeah. It really is. But for young Furiosa in this film, this is the most, you could, argue, I think. The most precious thing in the known world. I am not blinded and driven by vengeance, though I may be, planting that beneath the living corpse of my sworn enemy so that it may flower and fruit through his rotting, festering groin. I am not doing it. I do not want the peach that I am providing to my fellows and myself as the sustenance of life itself, that sweet reminder

that you can rebuild. I do not want that sprouting from Dementis's shriveled dick. I'm sorry. But no. You don't enjoy the satisfaction of getting to like look down and sneer at his face. The tradeoff to me is not worth it to have to consume. I don't think you know true vengeance then. Maybe not. Maybe I don't have it in my life. I don't know that you've lived long enough. I love a peach. I have a new credo for you. And it goes like this.

Peace is a lie. There is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The force, the crotch fruit shall free me. I ruined my one peach tree for no reason.

Is it ruined? She plucks a juicy looking beach. Yeah, it looks more like red than it should. Hey, it's, the color was wrong. It's hot out there. It's going to ripen quickly. What else is ripening quickly? You know? Now, where the tree is sprouting from, I have my notes.

I don't want it. Very rich, dramatically. I did love the competing tales, right? Yeah. Like some people say. Exactly. And some people say we get the quick execution. Cross tree.

Totally. Without a doubt. Mushroom, who was not there. Mushroom, who loves to consume the. dickfruit of Okay, House of the Dragon way back

very soon. Depparted Dementes. It would be funny to do a mushroom pass on this film. That would be

way more fucking than we actually get to see. I had another section but I really do feel like we should leave it with rotting

dickfruit unless there's anything else you want to talk about. What was your favorite set piece? It's actually really a toss-up

between the motorcycle chase at the beginning because I think Furious's mom is so sick. The sound design of that was also incredible. Yeah. Or the War Rig. Yeah. The War Rig, which I'm just like, hell yeah, I'm watching Fury Road again and it's great. That was fantastic. I think those are my two. I mean,

the Bullet Farm ambush was also amazing and obviously the pursuit of Dementis was great. But I think those are my top two as well. I think it was just aggravated that they like left the bullet farm without killing Dementus. I find that incredibly aggravating. Can't kill him if you want to grow peaches out of his cock. Cool story. So that has been House of Ours

a brief preview of the Acolyte and our medium cross fruit drive dive into Furiata. Hobbes and Drag is to Demel.com if you have any motivation for Mallory Rubin to shave her head. I think we could get it like I'll be here all summer. Yeah. Just whisper like warm tongue whispering,

Grima warm tonguing into your ear to tell you to shave your head. But I would love any backup from the bad babies on this subject. I think that the moment is past for now, but maybe one day. Maybe one day. Hobson Dragons at Gmail.com. Thank you. To our junior room, good pal for his production work on this episode. Thank you to Jomey at Dineron on the social.

Thank you to Steve Allman here in the room with us and on the soundboard looking angelic. Thank you, Mallory Rubin. It's great to be with you. Delighted. Can't wait for the summer. It's going to be great. We'll be partying from afar. I'll be in Texas, a different state entirely on Friday when we were talking about. But it will be at the Austin Television Festival. So if you're there, come see Child by Content Live podcast in Austin or the interview with the vampire panel that I'm doing or anything else that I'm doing or anything else that I'm a part of at the Austin Television Festival. I'll see you on the Fury Road.

Bye!