How Did This Get Made? - Last Looks: Shark Attack 3 Megalodon (w/ Jordan Morris)
Episode Date: July 19, 2024Writer/comedian Jordan Morris chats with Jason & Paul about comic books, music, movies, and his new horror-comedy graphic novel Youth Group. But first, Paul dives into corrections and omissions from S...hark Attack 3: Megalodon, shares bonus content from that live show, and reveals next week's movie. Jordan's new graphic novel Youth Group is out now! Grab it at: linktr.ee/jordanmorrisstuff HDTGM is coming to NYC on Nov 15th! Go to hdtgm.com to buy tix, merch, and for more on bad movies.Order Paul’s book about his childhood: Joyful Recollections of TraumaFor extra content on Matinee Monday movies, visit Paul's YouTube page: youtube.com/paulscheerTalk bad movies on the HDTGM Discord: discord.gg/hdtgmPaul’s Discord: discord.gg/paulscheerFollow Paul’s movie recs on Letterboxd: letterboxd.com/paulscheer/Check out new HDTGM movie merch over at teepublic.com/stores/hdtgmPaul and Rob Huebel stream live on Twitch every Thursday 8-10pm EST: www.twitch.tv/friendzoneLike good movies too? Subscribe to Unspooled with Paul and Amy Nicholson: listen.earwolf.com/unspooledSubscribe to The Deep Dive with Jessica St. Clair and June Diane Raphael: www.thedeepdiveacademy.com/podcastCheck out The Jane Club over at www.janeclub.comWhere to find Paul, June, & Jason:@PaulScheer on Instagram & Twitter@Junediane on IG and @MsJuneDiane on TwitterJason is not on social media
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It's a twister, it's a twister!
That's right, today we are talking about
Twister's fiber optic cables
and would Jason accept a kiss from me?
All this and more on today's How Did This Get Made?
Last looks, hit the theme!
Just when you thought it was safe
This time it's personal
It's hot It personal. It's hot. It's summer.
It's sharks.
Hot.
Shark.
Summer.
Hello all you mama Megalodons and elderly male tea drinkers.
How are you?
I'm your host, Paul Scheer,
and welcome to How Did This Get Made?
Last Looks, where you, the listener,
get to voice your issues on Shark Attack 3,
Megalodon, a movie that Discord user Gray's Tea Hound
thinks should have had the tagline,
we all die on a yellow submarine.
Or should I read it like,
we all die on a yellow submarine or should I read it like we all die on a yellow submarine
I don't know why I put a British accent on anyway people here's the deal today
we are gonna do the normal stuff corrections omissions plus we're gonna
give you a exclusive deleted scene from shark attack 3 but even more excitingly
we're gonna be welcoming writer,
podcaster Jordan Morris to the show.
Jason and I are gonna have a chat with him
about everything.
What has he been up to since our Skyline episode?
We're gonna get the inside scoop
on what it was like to be in All About Steve.
Plus we're gonna talk about his graphic novel Youth Group
and get into, I mean, we get into a lot.
We get into ska bands in a little bit.
Anyway, that will be coming up in just a little bit.
Plus we will reveal the movie for next week's episode,
but a first thing first.
Well, it's not even first, it's like fifth at this point.
A big shout out to the Action
Jackson 5. I love that name. That was a truly electric opening celebrating our hot shark summer
edition of the show. In a couple of weeks, you're going to see hot shark summer taking over 42nd
street as our how did this get Made billboard is gonna go up,
celebrating all the shark movies
that we're doing all summer long.
And here's the thing, I love opening themes,
but you know what, maybe it's time for us
to settle down and pick one.
We're gonna pick our favorite one for a limited time
and that will be our new opening theme,
but don't despair because you can still send in themes
for Corrections and Omissions, you win nothing songs,
and just chats, okay?
Send them to howdittisgetmade at earwolf.com,
but keep them short, 15 to 20 seconds is best.
Now, what's going on with how did this get made?
Well, we'll be back in New York City on Friday,
November 15th for the New York Comedy Festival.
Tickets are available right now.
Use the code NYCF.
Just go to HDTGM.com for the ticket purchase link.
Again, that pre-sale code is NYCF.
Also, Jason wanted me to let you know that season two of Star Trek Prodigy is now available
on Netflix.
So if you've never watched it, because you don't have Param Trek Prodigy is now available on Netflix.
So if you've never watched it,
because you don't have Paramount+,
you can check it out on Netflix.
And guess what?
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
What's that?
Oh, it's just a twister.
How do I know?
Because I'm in the movie Twisters.
Very small part.
I'm not gonna tell you when.
Well, I can tell you when.
The very last scene.
So check out Twisters this week
and while you're waiting on the line
for hopefully sold out shows
as I enter into my summer movie era,
why don't you bring a copy of Joyful Recollections of Trauma?
You can also be listening to it
and I can also personalize the book for you.
Just go to my website, find out where I've left signed books,
how you can get a personalized signed book,
and if you haven't bought the book, why not, people? Why not? No, it's been amazing. I've
been so overwhelmed. Thank you for all your reviews on Goodreads. That has been amazing.
And I'm giving away a free book on Storygraph, which is like a competitor to Goodreads. So
check that out as well. All right, last week we talked
at length about Shark Attack 3 Megalodon. We had questions and we might have even missed a few
things. Here's your chance to set us straight. Fact check us if you will. It is now time for Thank you, John Cohen, for that theme song.
Let's go to the Discord, Sean McBee.
How is it that when the mama meg got blown up, John Barrowman wasn't floating in a giant sea of gore?
There wasn't even a hint of red nut water,
as if the torpedo, which had been fired from a sub
that would definitely not be equipped with torpedo tubes,
just atomized it.
You know what?
Well, the answer is CGI.
But no one has brought up
that that sub would not be able to have torpedo tubes.
I wanna give you points for that, Sean.
Maddie Ice writes,
I started watching Shark Attack 3, Megalodon,
and immediately saw a film by David Worth.
I thought, why is that name so familiar?
And then it hit me.
David Worth was a cinematographer on Bloodsport and even gave Bloodsport a five star review
on Amazon.
He was also the cinematographer on Never Too Young to Die.
So this man is, how did this get made royalty?
You know what?
You made me remember that review.
And here's a little clip of me reading his second opinion
review for Bloodsport. So, uh, enjoy.
This one is probably my favorite one to date.
Five stars by David Worth, and it goes something like this.
Of course I'm gonna give Bloodsport a breakout film and I was thrilled to be a creative part of
it.
I also worked out so well that two years later in 1988 I was once again back in Hong Kong
with JCVD as the director of Kickboxer.
The budgets of both of these films combined were less than $5 million.
They still do a ton of business worldwide,
became martial arts classics,
and launched the career of JCPD.
Not bad for the price, five stars.
Like, that's, we really think about that.
He's on Amazon writing reviews for movies he's worked on.
You know what, that is why when I rated Twisters
on Letterbox, I gave it four stars.
I'm not gonna give it the full five.
And I have to say, many people really complimented me
for that, so there you go.
Dr. Gutz, 10.03 writes, this film was produced by New Image,
a production company that was founded
in part by three former associates of Canon Films.
New Image went through a few name changes over the years,
but eventually became Millennium Films,
which produced other how did this get made films,
including The Wicker Man, 88 Minutes, and Drive Angry.
Okay, Dr. Guts with the facts.
So what we're basically saying is,
this is like the Miramax of Canon, like the Indy arm.
Okay, we got one phone call,
so I'm not even gonna make it like,
let's go to the phones.
I'm just gonna say, John from Massachusetts, what up?
Hey Paul, it's John from Down By The Water
in relatively shark-free Marshfield, Massachusetts.
You mentioned that the end of Shark Attack, that last line is, Megala who?
And I think you would agree with me that they missed a perfectly good opportunity to have
that last line be Megala done.
Love the show, kiss Jason for me.
I will not kiss Jason. No, I will. By the way, kiss Jason for me. I will not kiss Jason.
No, I will.
By the way, I'm not weird.
Jason won't let me kiss him
is what I guess I'm wanting to say.
Anyway, yeah, you fucking nailed it.
I guess that's a Megalodon.
I like that.
I like that for the end of the movie.
And it just goes to show you how much time
they spent on the script. Let's go back to show you how much time they spent on the script.
Let's go back to the discord.
Corgi Herder comes after me.
Paul commented that fiber optic cables
wouldn't need electricity.
And while that is true,
the cables themselves don't need electricity.
Undersea fiber optic cables need repeaters
to amplify their signal.
So they actually do carry electricity.
Now there have been recorded
incidents of sharks and other sea creatures biting cables and this goes
back to the 19th century when they were laying down telegraph lines across the
Atlantic and sharks were actually attracted to these lines because of the
electric current. The film has a kernel of truth so that's in there but these
incidents are so less common today because cables are better armored than
the standard practice now is to bury these cables
a few feet in the sea bed.
Well, Corgi Herder, you came after me.
So you know what?
I'm taking you off the list.
You're not going to get the winner of the week.
I'm sorry, but when you come for the king
of corrections and omissions, which I guess is me, unless it's too good, no chance to win.
JXL writes, along with being a sloppy beat by beat remake of Jaws and having Captain
Pendeo rip off that bit from Seinfeld where Kramer steals the other folks lobster traps,
Captain Pendeo's story arc either intentionally or inadvertently
rips off Jack Burton from Big Trouble in Little China
in that we follow him around.
And while he is the lead character,
he is completely incidental
to all the action sequences taking place.
JXLI say nay, anyone with a line like he has
about what he wants to do when he's so wired,
that honestly, we don't need him to do any more than that.
He did do something.
All right, so many great corrections
and omissions this week, but there can only be one.
And that one is the one caller, John from Massachusetts,
with a brand new end line to Megalodon.
John, you win and you get this amazing song
from Garrett Parker. People of Earth.
You win nothing?
Thank you, Garrett, for that song.
Remember, if you want to submit an alt movie tagline or chime in with your own thoughts
about the latest episode, hit up the Discord at discord.gg slash HDTGM or calls at 619
P-A-U-L-A-S-K.
Coming up after the break, Jason joins the show for a chat with Jordan Morris.
And as always, I will announce next week's movie.
But first, I wanna close the books on Shark Attack 3
by playing a few more of the amazing Second Opinion songs
our audience sang at the live show.
Take a listen.
And now it's time for Second Opinions.
Woo!
Hi, I'm Ethan and I don't have this accent so bear with me. A megalodon is an aquatic dinosaur.
It's a gigantic specimen of what is known as shark life.
They're attracted to leaky electricity cables that run straight through what is known as
shark life.
John's got a great instinct, so he gets in a submarine
and fires a torpedo at himself.
He loves every bit of it.
Shark life.
Why is everyone so horny?
You should cut down on your sex life, right?
Have a cold shower.
Shark life.
They get eaten.
Everyone's eaten.
And the shark keeps changing size every time it bites a five stars.
Amazing.
Thank you, Ethan.
Great work.
And now it's time for second opinions.
Grace? for second opinions. Woo!
Grace?
Shark in this house, there's some sharks in this house. There's some sharks in this house.
There's some sharks in this house.
Big old fish, barramund a dish,
wet ass Meg-Lo, you wish you were a bitch.
Yeah, I get five stars on Amazon for this wet ass Meg.
Grab a bucket full of chum for this wet ass Meg.
Now that's a second opinion on this wet ass Meg.
Ow.
Amazing.
And great length.
I'm speechless.
Great length.
That was the perfect length.
That is.
And that was so good. Now it's time for second opinions.
My name is Simon and I'm representing the balcony.
They like them. Please feel free to join in if you know the refrain.
Shark attack do do do do do do
Captain Jack do do do do do but five stars do do do do do probably not
baby sub do do do do do do random church do do do do do random boobs do do do do do do
sharks don't growl
barramund do do do do do makes cat come do do do do do with her tongue do do
do do do he's so wired deep blue sea do do do do do is more
for me do do do do or make three do do do do do with the state
it's up to you do do-do-do-do-do-do with your review,
do-do-do-do-do-do Megalohoo, do-do-do-do-do-do.
Second opinion!
Yes!
Oh, my gosh!
Great job.
Great job.
Two nights in a row.
I'm shocked. I'm shocked we went through all of them
before someone did that song.
I know, me too.
I know and I didn't know how much I needed it actually.
We got Brit pop songs, we got hip hop songs
and we got that at the end.
I was certain that there would be every one.
That's great.
But you know what, he closed it out
just like that great line closed out that scene.
How did this get big? How did this get big? closed it out just like that great line closed out that scene.
People are you checking out our matinee Monday?
I am sure you've noticed that every Monday we are releasing shark
theme movies because we are in the middle of hot shark summer.
I mean, just go with this here.
Anyway, we are closing out our sharknado trilogy next week with Sharknado three, this week we had Sharknado two.
So keep on checking out these replays
of classic episodes every Monday.
And now, without any further ado,
a little just chat with Jason
and special guest Jordan Morris.
If you don't know Jordan, he co-hosts the popular podcast,
Jordan Jesse Goh.
He also wrote the Eisner nominated graphic novel, Bubble.
And his second graphic novel, a YA horror comedy called Youth
Group just came out earlier this week to play us into today's Just Chat.
Here's a new ditty from John Cohen.
John, two, two themes.
Love it. ["Just Chat"]
Jordan, welcome back to the show. You might remember Jordan from our Skyline episode.
Or you might remember him from his star turn
in All About Steve.
Thank you, yes.
Oh God, that was a dream project.
Love, Sandy.
Looking for another project to do together.
Do you want me to do my famous line from All About Steve?
Yes, do your line.
That's one of the many reasons
that the audience has been clamoring to have you back on.
Please can you deliver it?
Of course.
Yeah, I know why you asked me on.
Okay, I'm happy to do it.
Excuse me.
You know you need unique New York.
Okay.
You know, it's so funny when...
Oh, that wasn't it.
Those were my vocal warmups.
That wasn't the line.
Those were the warmups.
Those were my vocal warmups.
Oh, oh, oh.
So I thought that.
Wow, Paul.
Very rude.
Very rude.
This is Jordan's process.
Thank you.
Yes, this is my...
I'm warming up my instruments.
This is his craft.
This glue is making me high.
Wow. And it's so interesting because you've now been living with it for so long. This glue is making me high. Hahahaha.
Wow. And it's so interesting because you've now been living with it for so long.
It's interesting to hear how their line has changed in your understanding and your interpretation.
It's kind of like watching an actor revisit a stage role.
Many years have passed, yet you bring something new to it, but also something that we love about the original performance. That reading, though, also sounded like it was informed a little bit by Fred Schneider
of the B-52s.
It sounded a little bit love, Shacky.
This glue is making me high.
And bring your glue box money.
The glue trap is a little old place. Is a little old place.
Trap where we will chew our legs off.
It's a song for mosquitoes and flies.
Like it's the Weird Al version of it.
You see them all stuck on a glue trap.
Now, Jordan, since you last visited us,
you were already a staple of one of the best podcasts
out there, Jordan, Jesse Goh, still going on,
still going strong.
I feel like that's a podcast, Jordan.
I feel like I heard you on podcasts
before we started podcasting.
Oh, absolutely.
How long has that show been going?
At least 16 years, right?
16 or 17 years at this point.
We were the first podcast, um, you know,
much like The Velvet Underground, playing CBGBs.
We inspired everyone.
Andy Warhol put you guys together.
Uh-huh, yes.
Um, exactly.
And, no, so yeah, we started podcasting early.
Jesse Thorne and I, we did college radio together.
This is, is this Sound of Young America days?
Yeah, so our college radio show on.
That's the first time I ever heard you
was on the Sound of Young America
when I lived in Brooklyn, gotta be 1999, no 2000 maybe?
Yeah, that tracks.
So yeah, it was.
No, a little later than that, but yeah.
It broadcasted all of 37 feet in Santa Cruz, California,
but it did have a very early, like,
real player streaming component to it.
So I think, yeah, it's possible you could have listened.
Yeah, and we were just kinda goofing around
and interviewing comedians we liked.
We were comedy nerds, so.
Well, I remember it was a big deal
because Human Giant was featured
on the Sound of Young America.
That was kinda, I think, after the Santa Cruz days,
but it was also in this zone where it was like,
that was our Terry Gross, right?
It's like, oh, if you guys approve of this,
then we are in.
Yeah, so yeah, that was kinda like how we started
goofing around via audio.
And yeah, when Jesse and I graduated, we moved to LA
and he had the kind of beautiful idea
to do our old college radio show as a podcast
and there just weren't a lot of them.
It was a very like niche, very nerdy world.
It was like us and Mac Tips and Harry Potter fan fiction
and that's it.
Like those were the podcasts.
Wow.
So yeah, and we're still chugging along.
And modestly popular.
But here's what I'll say.
That show, legendary.
But now you come back to our show
as a two time Eisner nominated writer, right?
Your graphic novel, which I love, Bubble.
Yes.
You know, and also you've been writing for Archie Comics,
the Chilling Adventures as well, right?
Yes, that's true.
You know, you are now, this is,
I think we all have multiple things that we focus on and do.
And I feel like this,
you've really been embraced by this world,
you've written great stuff, but it's really interesting to see.
Yeah, thank you so much.
Yeah, I mean, I know Jason's a big comics guy.
Paul, you've also written comics too, right?
I have, yes.
I've written comics for Marvel and I also wrote some for DC and I wrote one independent
comic, which was the hardest thing that I had to do because we were dealing with an
Italian artist,
and the book was a funny book.
Don't get me started.
Don't get me started on these Italians.
Like Mike Mitchell of the Dull Boys says,
like Mike Mitchell says, you can't trust the Italians.
You just can't.
Why are these characters waving their hands everywhere?
Yeah.
But that was the hardest thing.
I really loved, you know, it was just hard to communicate,
but I feel like you have this amazing relationship with,
was it Bowen McCurdy, right?
Yeah, yeah, the artist on my new book is called Youth Group.
It is a YA horror comedy about teenage exorcists.
Yeah, kind of based on my experience growing up
in like a goofy Bible study where a, you know,
youth pastor with a bunch of tattoo sleeves,
like turns the chair around backwards
and tells you about a pretty cool guy named JC,
who was kind of the first punk rocker, if you ask me.
You know.
So yeah, I had one of those guys and yeah,
I kind of always wanted to write about
that weirdo little world.
And like, of course I love horror comedies. I love Shaun of those guys and yeah, I kind of always wanted to write about that weirdo little world. And like, of course I love horror comedies.
I love Shaun of the Dead and Buffy
and thought it'd kind of be fun to, you know,
mash in some horror specifics into that weird little world.
And yeah, the book is Youth Group
and the artist is Bowen McGurdy
who does a great horror comedy series
called Specter Inspectors.
Cool.
It has some kind of similar demon fighting exorcism themes in it
Yeah, and they just did such a beautiful job with the book
It's it's a lot of like character based comedy and they're they're teens
So they're like having like big teen feelings all the time and like bones characters are just super expressive, but you really like them
Yeah, the style is kind of like anime meets early Disney.
It's just gorgeous.
And this is just so people know,
because maybe not everybody listening
is comic savvy or anything like that.
This is a graphic novel.
This is, when it's out, we can read the whole thing.
It's not something that comes every month
or anything like that, right?
This is the book. So get it now and you can read the whole story.
It's not an ongoing thing.
It's not a, you know what I mean?
It's not like a little floppy comic.
You know, a single issue.
Yeah, and yeah, you don't need to know anything
going into it. You don't need to have read,
you know, Detective Comics 835 to understand what's going on.
But...
The introduction of... No, I'm just kidding.
Wouldn't it be great if I knew a specific
about Detective Comics 835.
That would have been an amazing poll.
When Asriel dies?
What?
The introduction of Huntress?
But I will say that what is really kind of cool about it
for Jason and I who are very vocal Buffy fans,
it reminds me of Buffy in a way, like this book.
It's got this kind of fun,
like what looks like a normal on the surface youth group
is tinged with this demonic possessions and exorcisms
and there's a seedy underworld
to a very nice looking outside.
Yeah, yeah.
And something, and it is set in the 90s, I should mention.
So yeah, there something, and it is set in the 90s, I should mention, so yeah, there's, you know,
pookashell necklaces and giant pants
and a few references to Smash Mouth in there.
But yeah, I mean-
I mean, there's pagers, there's pagers in there,
there's pagers tech.
There's pagers, yes.
Was that- Was the pager humor.
I'm curious, Jordan, was that an effort to kind of dial
into your experiences from your childhood so you could play in that?
Or were you trying to be like, I don't want there to be phones and GPS and all of the technological stuff that mystery solving in modernity is really just about tech.
Yeah.
Versus in the 90s, if you wanted to solve a mystery,
then you're still talking about shoe leather.
You gotta walk around, you gotta do a stakeout,
you gotta do it practically and physically.
Yeah, yeah, I mean, I think we all know at this point,
like cell phones and the internet are just like
awful for storytelling.
Yeah, it creates so many plot holes.
It's interesting, so when I first pitched the book
to Calista Brill over at First Second, they're the publisher of the book, great publisher,
love all their books, the pitch was set in modern day. So everybody had cell
phones and there was the internet and stuff like that. But Calista's like, hey,
I want to do this but why don't you set it in the 90s? I think she
could tell that like,
I was drawing on a lot of really personal specifics
and it was interesting reading it back the first time I got the pencils back.
That's kind of the rough sketch of the book
that you read for the first time.
I was like, oh wow, this is really personal.
And I didn't really know it,
but I was just putting in a lot of like my childhood anxiety and the feelings I was having as a kid whose the family was
kind of falling apart and so I just put in a lot of real-world stuff and when I
read it back I'm like oh wow this is like very very confessional I even kind
of thought about your book recently Paul because like you were a you're a you're
a funny guy who makes everybody laugh on this
show and all these other places, but like you have some super personal stuff that's
out there now.
And I feel a little bit like that as a guy who just wants to do funny stuff, but now
I have this little bit of me that people can read about that is pretty vulnerable. Well, I think it's always the hallmark of something that's really, that goes to the
extra level, which is sort of like, it's not this generic, like, you know, you're not writing
about like youth groups because you've just read about them or you've been, you know this world,
you know these things, that personal element to it, these things that are going on,
I think you can tell,
and that's why I think people like this so much,
is because it's what makes it incredibly unique.
It's like, yes, you might've heard of these things before,
but it's gonna be told through an eye
that is incredibly special.
Well, it also, like, it rings just more true, you know?
And you can, when you're just like,
oh, wouldn't it be funny if I did a story blank? It is actually like, oh, let me, you know, they always say, write what you can, when you're just like, oh, wouldn't it be funny if I did a story blank,
it is actually like, oh, let me,
they always say, write what you know or whatever,
but the specificity that you can bring
to an even loosely autobiographical story,
it are the specifics that people will gravitate to
rather than just the manufactured stuff.
I feel like those little kernels that feel real
or that feel authentic or that feel lived in,
those are the things that I feel like become
the immersive elements of any story.
But now let me ask you this,
because this is the question I've been thinking about
this entire time.
You're telling this story and I love the style of this.
I think Bones did an amazing job of this,
but Bones is 26, right?
And I imagine her version of the 90s is,
I mean, is she even born at this point?
Probably, I mean, at the tail end of the 90s, right?
Yeah, so it's interesting.
In the back of the book,
there's a little like spread from the yearbook
that Bones drew and it's gorgeous and it's funny.
And the publisher had the great idea
is to stick actual photos of us in there
in the little yearbook montage.
And so I found these goofy photos of myself
from high school where I've got a giant wallet chain
that's down to my knee.
I am wearing a ska band, a t-shirt.
What band?
Oh, Safe Ferris.
Oh, of course.
Of course.
Yeah, you have to.
One of the great Ocean Skull bands.
Yes.
You know, and just being kind of an embarrassing drama kid.
And Bones just has a photo of them as a baby.
Oh, my God.
I love that.
Yeah.
Holy shit.
And so part of our creative process, like before we started working on it, Bones asked
me, would you send me playlists
for each of the characters?
Like YouTube.
Oh, I love that.
And like, so we have like a stoner character
and his playlist is all sublime, 311, Smash Mouth.
We have kind of a gothy, mopey characters.
So it's like nine-inch nails, tool, deaf tones.
And so yeah, it's a good way to get into a character's head,
but also because we were doing it on YouTube,
you get to see all that fashion.
You get to see the giant pants.
You get to see the wallet change.
You get to see the Birkenstocks with socks.
Just all the...
Wow, that's interesting.
I love that.
It's a great technique, yeah.
I love that building the playlist.
That's a blast. Have you published the playlist?
No, you know, it's a good idea.
We should do that.
Yeah, you know what?
I'm gonna steal your idea, Jason.
Yes, I'm gonna find a way to put the playlist out.
Please, it's not even my idea.
That's just like that to me,
I would love to read a book that had some,
that to me was, had a component that I could be like,
wait a minute, I can put on a soundtrack for this book
while I read it?
Fuck yeah, I love that.
Something I discovered, so we have a character
who's kind of a like peppy, like class president type,
kind of an Elle Woods type character,
and like her playlist has on, you know, like pop music.
It's got Spice Girls and Hanson,
and I'm like, oh man, Hanson fucking rocked, didn't they?
And I was a punk kid, so I could never admit that,
but Hanson rocks.
I loved revisiting Hanson.
I was so wrong about it.
That's like great, great pop music from that era.
That's like, you can't, that's like incontestable.
Well, you know what's so interesting to me?
I feel like when you're in a school environment,
you draw these lines of who you are by what you like,
and more importantly, what you don't like.
And I've been really interested to watch my sons.
My one son is 10, the other is seven.
And a lot of my 10 year old's friends,
unprompted will say, Taylor Swift sucks.
Like it is a rallying cry that I've heard so many times.
And my son is like, I like her.
I'm not a big fan, but I like her, right?
So he's not like on the she sucks bandwagon.
But I'm also thinking like,
oh, it's gonna be interesting for these kids
to look back and go, oh,
I might've been wrong about that, right?
Like I look back at Hanson, I'm like,
oh, Hanson seems dumb, seemed dumb to me.
I'm roughly the same age.
It's like, but you hear it, um, about now.
And some of you are, oh, this is like really,
like this is good.
There is talent here, right?
And that's the thing is, I feel like you get stuck in a,
I'm a this, I'm a punk ska kid,
or I was an alternative indie kid before that tipped
into Nirvana and becoming popular and stuff like that.
I loved the alternative,
the stuff that I could hear on college radio or whatever.
But then, and so like something like popular top 40,
if Taylor Swift existed then,
I would have been like, oh no, I don't like Taylor Swift.
Not because I didn't like her music,
but because she personified like top 40 radio.
Right.
You know?
Well now here's the thing,
and I think we should all do this. Safe First is playing out a top 40 radio. Right. You know? Well now here's the thing,
and I think we should all do this,
Safe First is playing out a lot, by the way.
This summer, big time, they're out and about.
Like tour dates, nonstop.
I could see them being on one of those tours
that's like, there's 12 bands,
they each play for half an hour,
and they all had like some modicum of success in that era.
And so now they all gather together.
I mean, this is the tour that you can go see here in Los Angeles.
Goldfinger, Save Ferris, Unwritten Law, and Eurythane.
Not like, not, I know what you're talking about, but not like...
No, no, that's not what I'm talking about.
Yeah. It's interesting that they are...
Jordan, will you be going? Oh, to that? Hell yeah. No, no, that's not what I'm talking about. Yeah. It's interesting that they are, they are. Jordan, will you be going?
Oh, to that?
Hell yeah.
Oh, what a day.
That's, yeah, absolutely.
Polydiscopate.
Polydiscopate.
But I do love all that sort of stuff.
I think what's kind of interesting with your book
is it will have that kind of cross section.
Like, yes, if you're people of our age,
you're gonna of our age,
you're gonna enjoy the book on a certain level.
But I think one of the coolest things is working
with somebody like Bones to, I think,
to bring in today's 14 to 18 year old, like that group.
Cause that, I mean, that's a big audience.
And I think it's the way that-
Well, going after that, you mentioned Buffy,
but going after that stranger things,
going after that audience that is tuned into
scary, spooky, coming-of-age stories.
You mentioned earlier all the afterlife with Archie,
thrilling adventures of Sabrina, like all the, you know,
what's, forgive me, Jordan, you'll know the guy's name
who runs the Archie imprint now, who does all of the...
Oh, right, Roberto Aguirre Sacca. Thank you. Jordan, you'll know the guy's name who runs the Archie imprint now, who does all of the...
Oh, right. Roberto Aguirre Sacca.
Thank you.
Yes, the reveal.
Who's done such an incredible job with Francisco Francovia and all sorts of great artists and
writers doing wild takes on the Archie stories.
Well, that's like who did the Flintstone ones that are like that, that I really like?
That's Mark Russell.
Oh, yeah.
Mark Russell beat us for the Eisner.
That son of a bitch.
How dare you, Mark Russell.
But you're gonna be also going to some cons, right?
I am, yeah, I'll be at San Diego Comic Con.
Where are you at in that?
Are you gonna be in the Artist Alley?
Where are you gonna be?
Are you in, yeah, Artist Alley, baby.
Why don't I get my panel information?
Oh yeah, yeah, please.
I'm assuming hall H.
Yes, hall H, I will be moderating the Fantastic Four panel.
Yes, finally.
Slipping in references to my book when I can.
No, I'm doing a great panel on July 26th.
The end is called Using Fantasy in Graphic Novels
to Understand the Real World.
And I'll be doing that with Lu Yin Fam,
Vera Brugosi, and Gene Luen Yang,
who I think is one of the greatest
comics makers out there today.
So yeah, we're gonna be doing that
one o'clock, room 23E, ABC.
So I hope people will come by.
Who, I'm curious Jordan, who are you?
Because I've been to many cons,
and I always try and go and walk through Artist's Alley,
who at this point either have you been
or are you excited to see or meet like in that comics world?
Like when I met Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz
at New York Comic Con like 12 years ago,
I lost my mind, you know?
Just because those are the guys that, to me,
were my childhood. Like, the New Mutants,
the Demon Bear Saga, like, that era of comics
is so massive to me.
But, like, are there people like that for you
that you've now gotten to interact with,
or that you see and are like,
oh, no, I don't wanna, I can't, it's too much?
I mean, I jokingly, you know, jokingly curse Mark Russell,
but he's a goddamn genius.
So fantastic.
Yeah, I did, you know, a couple drinks
and go up to him at the bar and say,
way to kick our ass, Russell.
Oh.
I think he also didn't know who I was.
Did not, was not aware that he had kicked my ass.
Which book of his did he win for he won for?
Not all robots. Okay. I read that book great book. Yeah, the funny satirical sci-fi thing
Yeah, a world full of robots. I am really
Psyched I've gotten really into Josie Campbell. Do you know the writer Josie Campbell? I don't please tell us
She does a great series called I heart Skullcrusher, which is...
Oh, I do know that. I do know that book.
Yes, I'm sorry. I didn't know the creator's name.
And she's also the kind of like showrunner
of the My Adventures with Superman anime.
Oh, yeah. Which I think is a fantastic show.
Did she do...
Oh, it's awesome.
Did she do Shazam? Or am I wrong on that?
She is. She took over Shazam from Mark Wade.
Okay, cause someone said-
Oh, cool, speaking of legends, Mark Wade, man.
I would flip if I was ever near him.
He's one of the best.
Mark Wade, it's so interesting.
I do feel like there are these certain things
that are happening right now.
In a time where entertainment is in a weird zone,
there are certain things that are being
embraced by the right people.
I do think that there's a comeback,
the fact that Ed Brubaker right now
is being able to shoot criminal is so fucking cool.
We're in this world where things are being done right.
I listened to our friends over in the Blank Check podcast. They're doing a whole series on Martin breast, who I love as a director directed
Martin, the run, it's absolutely fantastic. And they had on the, uh, the directors of bad boys,
three and four. And it was so interesting to hear them talk about, uh, Beverly Hills cop because
they are very much, um, they came up as like Bruckheimer fans and they
wanted to make like a Bruckheimer ask movie.
I think that's why bad boys three and four actually work really well because
it really captures the vibe and the spirit of what those movies were.
And I feel like we're in this interesting zone right now where.
The like as kids, we might've been a lot more disappointed by people taking over things that we love,
but now people that equally love it for the right reasons
are able to take it over and actually make
another good version of it.
I know what you mean, and what's interesting about it, though,
which is so funny, and when I think about it,
it's like, I love that, and I listened to that episode, too,
and I thought it was fantastic.
They are also the directors of the shelved Batgirls.
Yes. Right.
Which is, I mean, at some point, some day,
I'm hoping we'll all get to see probably together
in some random theater that someone has rented out
and is showing.
But there is something about it too,
and I find this in the Star Wars discourse as well,
which is, boy, aren't all these people,
aren't all these smart people, Leslie Hed it is, I want it to work too for like the me's
that are now doing great things for me to receive.
And I'm like, I want, and I assume it is,
I want it to work too for like the me's
that are now doing great things for me to receive.
And I'm like, I want, and I assume it is,
I want it to work too for like the me's
that are now doing great things for me to receive.
And I'm like, I want, and I assume it is,
I want it to work too for like the me's that are now great things for like me to receive. And I'm like, I want, and I assume it is,
I want it to work too for like the me's
that are now 12 and 13 and 14.
I want them to be hyped on all this stuff.
You know?
But I think that it actually does work
because I think what there isn't a true,
like I do think the reason why Bad Boys
was like a hit at the box office
was because they just leaned into making something good that they want.
It wasn't like, how do we appeal to this audience?
It's like, no, no, let's just make this movie our way
and then it will work.
I don't know, there's a weird, I just, I'm always-
I thought Bad Boys 3 was a blast.
So I'm excited for it.
Oh, and I, yeah, and that's where I'm like-
And it's the same directors.
Same directors, and you're right,
but they are, you know, if this is their way in
and they get to go do this stuff,
it's like, there's a, I think a good rite of passage.
Anyway, I'm excited about some of this stuff
that is coming out.
I was gonna say, the thing that's interesting to me
that ties back, Jordan, what you're talking about
a little bit is comics and comics characters,
especially ongoing comics characters,
you can have impactful runs by multiple different authors,
multiple different interpretations
of these characters.
Your Frank Miller Batman is not the same
as your Tom King Batman is not the same
as your Scott Snyder Batman.
You know, you have...
Well, Jason Aaron's made Thor palatable to me.
I never really loved Thor until Jason Aaron's made Thor palatable to me.
I never really loved Thor until Jason Aaron's got in there.
But then you go back and you read Walt Simonson's stuff.
And you're like, oh, this is also super interesting,
but it's not as immersive.
You are really in, like, Norse mythology.
Yeah, right.
Oh, yeah, it's so great to just have different flavors
of these characters, right?
Because I think we're just in a zone
where people are gonna be making a lot of IP stuff
I think it's just kind of how things are and it could be a good thing
It could be a bad thing
but like the fact that we get to have so many different flavors of Batman is really cool and if like you're you know not
Into the you know, Paul Dini animated style Batman, you know, you've got another
Batinson movie coming if like that's your thing. So by the way, I have to say I just looked at my own
my own personal like childhood by being in
the new Batman animated series done by Bruce Tim know which was
one of the coolest things of all time because you say that was
I
Can't I don't think? I... can't.
I don't think yet. I don't think I can.
I will tell you as soon as this ends.
It's a fun, it's a fun part.
Um, but it's not, yeah.
I don't think Paul can say it.
I can say he's Batman.
Yes. Hey, put that down.
And that's a scene...
This glue is making me high.
And that's, and that's his Bruce Wayne voice.
Wait till you hear, The Batman voice is deeper.
Booty-booty-do-down.
It's just like...
Paul Scheer is the sexiest catwoman ever.
But I guess it's just, there's something right now
where there's a couple of things that have come out
that have excited me in a way where I have not felt let down and I'm not used to that feeling. Like, you know, it's whether it is in the comic world, whether it's in,
like, it's just like, Oh, these are things that I want to be good.
And I've been, I remember watching Sex and the City 2 with June, um,
who was so excited to see it cause she loves Sex and the City 1 and it wasn't
very good. And the look on her face of seeing this thing
that she loved being bad, and like, now you get it.
Now you get what my life...
Now you get the Phantom Menace.
Yeah, you get what my life is.
Like, you're getting so pumped for this.
Like, I was talking to friends...
It is weird that Jar Jar replaced Samantha, though.
It is with a weird move.
Misa... Misa Honey! I think it. Misa, Misa Honey.
I think it would be like, Misa Honey.
Oh man.
I have a question for you, Jordan,
just because your comic exists in that kind of horror,
coming of age horror story,
are there other things that were either influential on you
or things that I know you talked about some of the mixes
and stuff like that.
Anything else like we talked about Buffy,
is there anything else either in comics or other media,
stuff that you felt like what informed the book?
Yeah, I mean, I thought about Shaun of the Dead a lot
while I was writing it. Oh, cool.
Great tone.
And like Shaun of the Dead is like,
the funny stuff is so funny,
but the horror stuff is real, right?
Like the horror, that movie is very scary
and really gory and like it works as a horror movie.
Like if there's no laughs in that movie,
the horror stuff works.
And I just, I thought about that a lot.
I'm like, I don't want this to seem like a spoof.
You know, like, hey, do I like a scary movie
starring the Wayans? Sure, absolutely.
I will, I will. No, but there have to be stakes. Yeah. So yeah, so I think I, you know, kind of
resisted the urge to do like spoofy stuff where I'm like spoofy, because it's a lot about exorcisms,
right? And I'm like, there's a lot of like, you know, space ballsy, scary movie type jokes you
can make about exorcisms. But I kind of like roped in that instinct and just like, you know, space ballsy, scary movie type jokes you could make about exorcisms.
But I kind of like roped in that instinct and just like, let's keep the horror stuff
real, but like make the comedy come from the characters because they're just like goofy
weirdos and they're, you know, clashing in different ways. And I'm like, let's let's
try and make that the source of the comedy.
You know, I think that honestly, what you're talking about about too is this thing, you know, why we love movies or TV shows first to a certain extent is a great ensemble.
I think you're seeing that with bear.
I think you can see that all the way back to the movies that we love growing up.
You know, it's like, it's, and what is so interesting about it is when you look at
a great ensemble, you can look at them and go, all these people are very different.
I think for a long period, we had people who looked identical and it was like,
here's a young guy, here's a young guy, here's a bunch
of young white guys that all look about like, I'm like, but you're the nerd?
You're the nerd.
You don't look like a nerd.
You're just wearing a shirt that, you know, is like a green lantern shirt, but
you know, we're supposed to believe that that's a nerd.
And I watched, I recently watched Independence Day to get ready for the
holiday, uh, you know, cause I have to, I have to learn, you gotta prepare.
You gotta remember, you gotta remember what we're to learn. You gotta prepare. You gotta prepare.
You gotta remember what we're fighting for.
And I didn't love that movie like a lot
when I saw it the first time, you know,
and I rewatch it and it's like, oh, wow, this is so fun.
And part of the reason why it's so fun
is because you have Harvey Fierstein in it.
And you're like, oh, this is,
you would never see that casting now.
Like you would never be like,
oh, we'll get Harvey Fierstein in there.
We'll get Jeff Goldierstein in there.
We'll get Jeff Goldblum in there.
Judd Hirst is an action star in this movie.
Yes.
I just think it's important to like,
you know, embrace ensemble.
We don't do that anymore.
We don't do that anymore.
I think about this all the time.
Like a lot of times our big action ensembles
used to be a group of people, you know,
a couple of leading men, you know,
types, and then a couple of character actors, a couple of comedians, and that's the ensemble.
You know, comedians die first, you know, character actors next, and the leading men survive.
And now every ensemble is wall-to-wall hunks. Yeah. Everybody, from the Joker to the
is wall-to-wall hunks.
Yeah.
Everybody, from the Joker to the romantic lead,
everybody is absolutely handsome and fit and like,
you know, my example is always the Triple Frontier movie,
where it's Affleck and Oscar Isaac and Garrett Hedlund
and Charlie Hunnam.
And every single member of the team is a brooding hunk. And I'm like, this doesn't happen this way.
Well, I am a fan of this book.
If you are a fan of great books, you're a fan of,
I would say, I don't wanna just say it's a supernatural book.
I think what it is, it is a personal book
that is based in something that is from your life,
that is, but then
also amped up in a way that I think is incredibly unique.
I think that that's the thing.
That's the secret sauce of this.
And, you know, this is the year that I feel like you got to fucking take down.
Is it Mark Wade?
No.
Who are you taking down?
Mark Russell.
Yeah.
Mark Russell.
I'll have to fall back on his PBS parody songs.
Mark Russell. Stiffen Mark Russell.
No, yes.
Yeah, I mean, yeah, I'm stoked if people check out the book.
I'm like so proud of it.
It's so nice and yeah, I can't believe it's coming out.
I'm so thrilled.
Obviously, people can go and right now buy the book on Amazon,
but is there a way that like like, we're always talking about,
if you have a local comic shop,
please buy the book from your local comic shop.
For us, if you wanna support my local comic shop,
order it from Secret Headquarters
here in Los Angeles, California.
But if you have a small owner operated comic shop,
please go get it there, order it from there.
I'm a big, you know, because I've been in this world
for a little bit with the book, my book,
I really recommend to everybody,
if you want the ease of use, right?
This thing where you're like,
I want to support indie shops,
but I don't want it to be more complicated
than just going to Amazon.
Bookshop.org is amazing because they can, the book is there, you can order it, but here's
the thing, you can support the shop that you want to support.
So you can kind of pick it there.
It's sort of like, it's a great way to be-
Shop locally with the convenience of-
Amazon.
A web browser.
Yes. Yeah. Yeah, definitely, absolutely.
Everything you said, yes, yes, yes, yes to all this.
Yeah, and so yeah, local comic book shop will have it
or they'll order it for you if you ask.
And definitely your indie bookstores too.
It's a graphic novel so you can get it at an indie bookstore.
And I will be signing a stack of copies
at Book Soup here in LA.
Oh, they're great.
Yeah, I'm gonna leave a stack of signed copies
at BookSoup, so if you want a signed copy,
hit up the BookSoup website
and they will mail it right to you.
Just like Amazon or other-
They're very easy.
Oh, well, this is, what a blast to talk to you.
Welcome back, and if you wouldn't mind,
give us that line one more time.
Okay.
That line.
Okay.
This glue is making me high.
Ladies and gentlemen, Jordan Morris,
get his book at any indie bookshop.
You can get it at comic book shops.
It's called Youth Group.
You can get yourself an autograph copy at BookSoup
and just support your local stores.
It makes a huge difference.
Thank you, Jordan.
Thank you.
Thank you so much, guys.
You're the best. Thank you again to. Thank you. Thank you so much, guys. You're the best.
Thank you again to Jordan Morris.
And remember his new graphic novel,
Youth Group is available in stores now.
People, our next movie is one
that is gonna blow your mind.
We're going from the Mexican shore
to an underwater grocery store.
That's right.
Next episode, we are continuing
How Did This Get Made's Hot Shark Summer
with 2012's Bait.
Okay, be aware, there's many films out there called Bait,
but this is the one where a freak tsunami traps
a group of people in a submerged grocery store.
As they try to escape, they are hunted by white sharks
that are hungry for meat.
Okay, Rotten Tomatoes gives this film a 44% score on the tomato meter.
And Jamie Graham from Total Film says,
Bait is more funny than scary.
Well, I don't agree with that.
And often feels like Deep Blue Sea meets the mist.
But what's wrong with that?
Well, honestly, everything, because what you described there is not what the movie I saw is.
Anyway, take a listen to the trailer for Bait. Get everyone out of the water. Out of the water now! Please help me!
Help me!
There's a 12 foot great white shark in here.
Oh shit!
All right, so remember people, Bait 2012.
It's a shark movie.
Okay, it's not a Jamie Foxx movie.
And the original title was Bait 3D.
It's available to stream on Amazon Prime Video,
to be freebie stars.
And look, let's get into the library system
and rent these things for free.
And you can rent them on Hoopla, Canopy and Libby.
They are free digital media services offered
by your local public library that allow you
to consume movies, TV, music, audio books,
eBooks and comics for free.
Also a huge thank you to the ALA
for bringing me down to their annual convention.
I loved meeting librarians.
I loved hearing all about these platforms
and how so many people watch,
how did this get made movies through them.
So thank you librarians.
I always have a respect for you,
but to see so many of you in
one room was just truly unbelievable. I mean, it's the Comic-Con floor, but all librarians.
That is it for the show. If you listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, please rate and review us.
Please make sure you are following us and have automatic downloads turned on. It helps the show
and we appreciate it. Visit us on social media at HDTGM and a big thank you to our producers,
Scott Sonny and Molly Reynolds, our movie picking producer Averill Halley and our
associate producer Jess Cisneros and our engineer Casey Holford. We will see you
next week for BATE.