The Big Picture - The 2024 Movie Auction. Plus: Jake Johnson!

Episode Date: January 16, 2024

Sean, Amanda, and Chris gather to auction draft the movies they’re most excited for in 2024, including both Zendaya vehicles ‘Dune Part 2’ and ‘Challengers,’ Bong Joon-ho’s ‘Mickey 17,�...� Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis,’ and more (1:00). Then, Sean is joined by first-time feature director Jake Johnson to talk about his movie ‘Self Reliance’ (1:17:00) and how he views it as fitting in the larger arc of his career on and off the screen. Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guests: Chris Ryan and Jake Johnson Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Did Don Draper really buy the world a Coke? Did Tony Soprano really die? Or just order more onion rings? The finales of our favorite shows can make us argue, make us cry, and make us crazy. From Spotify and The Ringer, I'm Andy Greenwald, and this is Stick the Landing, a new podcast where we'll be telling the story of modern TV backwards, one fade out at a time. Find Stick the Landing on Wednesdays on the Prestige TV feed, on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 00:00:32 Get groceries delivered across the GTA from Real Canadian Superstore with PC Express. Shop online for super prices and super savings. Try it today and get up to $75 in PC Optimum Points. Visit superstore.ca to get started. I'm Sean Fennessey. I'm Amanda Dobbins. And this is The Big Picture, a conversation show about auctioning. CR is here.
Starting point is 00:00:59 We will be conducting our first movie auction of the year today. Later in the show, an old pal of CR's. That's mine. Jake Johnson. Beloved actor and first-time solo feature director. He's got a new movie called Self-Reliance that is available on Hulu right now. Great chat with Jake. He's just one of the goats. He did greet Chris very warmly.
Starting point is 00:01:16 He did. And then was like, why weren't you here? Yeah. Is the Big Pick, is the watch the Big Pick's farm system? Like, are we the feeder club for you guys? Or do you just so badly want to be part of the watch? It's kind of like a Cleveland Browns moving to Baltimore situation where we're the Ravens now and we're just good every year.
Starting point is 00:01:35 That's kind of what we're like. And we're only good like once or twice a year. Yeah, every once in a while you get a Miles Garrett and you guys are good. But, you know, you had a nice run. We did. It's great. We did. Jake greeted you warmly because I shared with him that we actually talked to Jake
Starting point is 00:01:48 on the big picture six years ago when we went to South by Southwest when he made a movie called Win It All with Joe Swanberg. And so we were chatting about that a bit. Self-reliance is fun. It's an interesting chat with him. I can't wait to check it out. We are going to auction today. We did a Most Anticipated Movies of the Year episode a couple of weeks ago. And so some of the titles you heard about there will be mentioned. Chris gave me a little sneak preview of some movies he's super interested in this year. I would say none of those movies were on our list. So this could be an interesting podcast. Can I share the two texts that I received from Chris Ryan last night? Absolutely. Chris, is this okay? Yes. You give your approval? It's fine. Number one, have you gotten into
Starting point is 00:02:26 the tinned fish at Trader Joe's? I'll be as candid as you want me to be right now. Yeah. I'll tell you something. I find middle-aged women making five-ingredient
Starting point is 00:02:35 Trader Joe's meals on Instagram kind of erotic. Talk me through it. It's just like I find it incredibly soothing and when they're like, look at my crazy Trader Joe's haul.
Starting point is 00:02:46 I'm going to make gyoza. And it's just like, God, this is soothing, you know? And also approachable because I feel like I could do that too. Have you made any efforts to create those meals? No. What was the tinned fish recipe in question? They were just making toasts. Oh, yeah, sure.
Starting point is 00:03:01 I said to you, I've only really done the salmon and the tuna. I haven't branched out. But, you know, if you want to send me a reel, I watch all the reels that you send me. Thank you. I want you to know that. I haven't really broached this with Sean. I send Zach reels sometimes, but I haven't started sending reels. That is actually…
Starting point is 00:03:15 Are you really into reels right now? Yeah. He's hugely into reels. And it is… I know when he sent Zach reels because suddenly, like, weird sounds are coming from Zach's phone and he's cackling for like 20 minutes straight. Is reels having success? No, I, I'm doing it as Twitter method. Oh, as Twitter method. So if I'm watching something that I just feel compelled, join Amanda and I on threads. Yeah. We're doing very well. Did you know I'm posting on threads now? What? Yeah. Listen, I'm sorry. You cannot be the king of reels
Starting point is 00:03:45 and then make that face. When did this happen? It was this week. Yeah. Oh, okay. So this is new, late breaking. This isn't like you guys have been like thread guides. I started posting on threads last week,
Starting point is 00:03:57 just posting links to the show. And I was like, it seems like people are migrating there. Twitter is a fucking cesspool. Exactly. I mean, it is awful now. Basically, and then I was like, oh, this seems fun.
Starting point is 00:04:06 Really, I have a lot of women who look suspiciously alike who are pitting heart on Rewatchables' pots. Yes, you certainly do. They're all named Kyra. Yeah, and they all love tinned fish. They're from Ukraine.
Starting point is 00:04:22 So Threads is a good place. Reels is a good place. I'm just blogging on Threads just blogging wait what was the other text what are you talking about on threads uh well i post podcasts and then also books i read and other things i like i linked to my car her pants oh you didn't see them you didn't see me yesterday but i was wearing new pants uh that i liked and i recommended those recommended some literature you know is it a one-way street or are you engaging with people great question it's at this point just because the number of followers it's sort of a one-way
Starting point is 00:04:51 street not everyone is there yet um and i haven't been able to bring myself to do that thing where i post on stories that like follow me on threads like i can't be okay you know this has to be organic this is that yeah um but. Yeah. But it's like blogging is back. I'm having a great time. Bobby has been posting on Peach recently, which has been going
Starting point is 00:05:10 very well too. I don't even know what that is. Really? Yeah, really. Wow, Gen Z. Gen Z right there. You don't know.
Starting point is 00:05:15 My preferred social media platform right now is the comment section in YouTube videos from Jon Bernthal's Real Ones pod. So I've been very active in a couple of debates happening in the Sean Penn episode.
Starting point is 00:05:27 Yep. Have you been sharing your experience with law enforcement? El Chapo, journalistic ethics, Shia LaBeouf's theater career, like a bunch of different conversations are happening. What's it going to take for us to get Sean Penn and John Bernthal to come in here and draft with us? Well, okay. So, would you be cool if Sean Penn was like, hey, I'd love to do the 2002 draft, but I am going to chain smoke American spirits indoors the entire time.
Starting point is 00:05:55 I'm fine with it. Okay. Amanda, are you okay with it? I mean, I would like notice just to wear clothing that… You're going to burn afterwards? Well, or that I'll carry with me. We should all wear v set of shotguns. As the audio guy,
Starting point is 00:06:07 I'm looking at the smoke detector that's right above us. You'd make it about five minutes before it would ruin the sound. He's in the Bernthal pod. He's wearing jeans and a black t-shirt, barefoot, and is sitting in front of a
Starting point is 00:06:19 snake eating itself, the don't tread on me kind of symbol, and a Ukraine flag, and an American flag and it smokes american spirits the whole time how many american flags you have in your home just be honest um i i think i have three yeah when you were just doing that math was it you were like i don't want to offend my maga bros no i more just thinking I was like which ones did I buy the last time I went to Monticello you know
Starting point is 00:06:45 I can think of Chuck let's talk about hold on second text oh second text the second text was do you feel like there are not very many
Starting point is 00:06:54 Oscar supporters well you have to explain the rules for this but yes for next year for this year I completely agree which is
Starting point is 00:07:00 which is a segue into this auction and the new and the new rules well let's recap 23 first because because 23 i think is interesting because 23 that was a really good segue that you just didn't let me do you want me to do the new rules first just just to just to serve the segue it followed because that was what chris was talking about you know that with the auction
Starting point is 00:07:21 and in general well here's okay so i i came up with some new uh concepts for the auction. And in general... Well, here's... Okay, so I came up with some new concepts for the auction this year. Because frankly, the auction, it's impossible to know how someone can win. When we do one of the... Like, you can vote on it on Twitter, but the movies are not out yet. So we're just voting on like the hype meter, I guess, for whatever is going to come soon. Even when you vote on a regular draft, it doesn't mean anything. But even with the auction,
Starting point is 00:07:45 it's even less meaningful. So I wanted to put some long-term parameters around it. So when we look back a year from now, like we are about to with our 2023 slate, we can say, okay, well, this person checked the most boxes and has the best slate ultimately. And it also, I think,
Starting point is 00:08:02 will give us some guardrails in terms of not just like wildly trying to draft something we know is not coming out because that's another mistake we've made. Right.
Starting point is 00:08:09 So not looking at anyone in particular sitting next to me. It was not my fault. That was a strike. Okay. We're going to get into that.
Starting point is 00:08:17 We will briefly get into it. If no one has ever listened to an auction draft before, there are some core rules which is that each bidder, that is Amanda,
Starting point is 00:08:24 Chris, and myself, get $1,000 to bid on a slate of films. Each film on our slate must have a 2024 release date or an almost certain expectation of release in this calendar year. We all get five movies. We have to get five movies. You can't run out of money before getting that fifth movie. Bidders open with each new title and we move into snake fashion. You have 30 seconds to make a new bid. Do we still do 30 seconds, Bob? What do we do? I just kind of let you guys roll. I call it 40 seconds.
Starting point is 00:08:49 But this is the first time we've done it with Bobby in studio. Never been here with Bob. This is true. There's also been some truly joker-fied auctions where we're like literally vamping for 45 seconds and at the very last second are like, I bid $2 extra.
Starting point is 00:09:03 You know what I mean? I think in some ways that's entertaining and in some ways it's awful. I realize I'm the number one culprit so I'm trying to have some self-knowledge about this. 2024.
Starting point is 00:09:11 He also doesn't want me to bring up my discussion topics that I've been saving literally for this auction. I don't know what any of those things are. Movies that were previously auctioned but did not get released
Starting point is 00:09:22 are now back in the pool except, what is the rule? That for $100, you can lock and hold it? Yeah, you can pay a $100 surcharge to keep it. So, do you pay
Starting point is 00:09:31 the amount that you bid for it last year plus $100? New rules. We got to have some goals. So, I'm adding what I'm calling category triggers
Starting point is 00:09:42 to see if we can actually determine a winner and elevate the drama to some extent. Here they are. And if you guys don't like them or you want to change them, let's talk it out. At least two of your films must gross $100 million domestically.
Starting point is 00:09:54 I'm fine with that. At least one- $100 million. $100 million. But two movies have to- Two of those movies that you pick have to- They must or then what happens? Well, then that's one trigger
Starting point is 00:10:05 that you won't qualify for to win. So the person who has the most triggers would win. Okay. Are you following? Yeah. Sort of. Okay. The second new trigger is at least one film
Starting point is 00:10:15 must receive at least two Oscar nominations. Okay. Next trigger. At least one of your films must hit an 85 Metascore on Metacritic. Only 13 films released in the United States did that in 2023. I would like to change this. I have to pull it up.
Starting point is 00:10:30 I would like to draft three movies that get more than 80% audience meter on Rotten Tomatoes. Considered and rejected. Here are the movies that were released that received at least an 85 Metascore. Our Body, the documentary. Past Lives. Men Use Placiers, the Wiseman film. Did that come out? Oh, yeah.
Starting point is 00:10:54 It did come out. The Boy and the Heron. The Zone of Interest. Killers of the Flower Moon. Oppenheimer. All of Us Strangers. All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt. Poor Things.
Starting point is 00:11:04 Oh, there's more. I've got the number wrong. Okay, keep reading. Maybe I'm in 23. Poor Things, Fallen Leaves, Renaissance, Anatomy of a Fall, Spider-Verse 2, Orlando, My Political Autobiography, The Delinquents, May-December, and The Disappearance of Cher Height. That's it.
Starting point is 00:11:22 Looks like it's about 19. I haven't heard of several of those films. Well, you have heard of a bunch. And many of them will be nominated for Academy Awards as well. So there's some crossover there. So we need $200 million. Two films that will gross $100 million domestically.
Starting point is 00:11:40 We need one film with two Oscar nominations. We need one 85 Metascore on Metacritic. And this is the hardest part. No more than one sequel on your slate. I don't know about this. I don't know about this one. I think you should be able to get two sequels. Okay.
Starting point is 00:11:58 Given what we know is coming out, I think that it's really difficult to do just one sequel. Do you want to do two sequels? Sure. No more than two sequels will be the new rule. Because there's some sequels
Starting point is 00:12:12 that could get nominated for Oscars. That's right. Yeah. I'm excited about that one. See, that's you trying to throw the needle. Now, here's the thing.
Starting point is 00:12:18 You could only get two of these and Amanda and I could only get one of them and you would win. Okay. You know what I mean? You don't have to get all of them to qualify to win.
Starting point is 00:12:28 Oh, I see what you're saying. But it gives us shape in the competition. Okay. So whoever has the most triggers. I'm fine with all your other rules other than the sequels one. I think the sequels one is a little punitive. But if I'm voted down, that's fine. It is also tough because the 2024 slate is interesting.
Starting point is 00:12:46 And it's basically all sequels and then movies that we're not really sure about. That's true. This is part of the challenge of the game. You know, I was pointing that out, so I don't need you to make that look at me like you are the master designer of the auction. One, I am. Thank you for saying so two uh i think the problem with this game is that it's too open so it's like there are there's enough for everyone in a way that makes it not fun like what you need is like everybody wants
Starting point is 00:13:15 the same thing and last year was easier because it was like killers of the thorn everyone wanted that movie there that was a no-brainer got it uh i guess you got i can't even remember who got it why don't why don't we recap our list then, just so people can get a sense. We do two of these a year. We do one in January. We do one in July. And we're taking the whole slate into consideration
Starting point is 00:13:32 at the end of the year. So if you want to take two sequels now, you can. Okay. But then you can't take one in the next auction. Okay. Does that make sense? Yeah, sure.
Starting point is 00:13:42 So then you'll have 10 films total on your slate for 2023. I'll read my slate first from last year. Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part 1, $355. Oppenheimer, $325. Air, $178. Ferrari, $54. Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse, $23. And then the part two, I got Hitman, which was not released this year, for $175. The Holdovers for $185. The Creator for $300, lol. The Iron Claw for $311. And How Do You Live, aka The Boy and the Heron, for $1.
Starting point is 00:14:16 So only one of my- Good for you, Mark. Only one of my movies did not come out last year. Amanda, you want to read your list? Sure. I got Killers of the Flower Moon for $640, worth every penny. I got Barbie for $307, also worth every penny in my opinion. I got Napoleon for $38, frankly a bargain. Leave the World Behind for $1, which was a great deal. And Blitz, the Steve McQueen film that was not released. So that was $11 and maybe I'll hold
Starting point is 00:14:49 on to it. I got The Zone of Interest for $160. I got Priscilla for $727 because Sean was being a real prick, but it worked out. I got Strangers, which I guess is all of us strangers, which is incredible for $20. I got Passages for $20. Also incredible. And I got May December for $73. Thank you so much, Christopher. Nice job.
Starting point is 00:15:10 Thank you. All right. I got Maestro for $500. Wait, did you see Maestro? Yeah. Did we talk about it on the pod?
Starting point is 00:15:18 No. What'd you think? I thought it was pretty good. I thought I watched it with my mom and I watched it on a small television. Just as Bradley Cooper intended. All that effort.
Starting point is 00:15:31 Just as Lydia Tarr watched Leonard Bernstein growing up on her small TV. I think that I compensated for not respecting the product itself and its intended viewing experience. I think I compensated for it by watching every single YouTube video of Bradley Cooper on this promotional run. You are the expert. intended viewing experience. I think I compensated for it by watching every single YouTube video of Bradley Cooper on this promotional run.
Starting point is 00:15:46 You really, you are the expert. I am, I am like the Robert Caro of Bradley Cooper crying in front of people on camera. Him crying in front of Michael Mann is the shit. Did you see that one? Yeah. Yes. It reminded me a lot of you. He's like, you send me a letter.
Starting point is 00:16:01 And then Michael Mann is like, I send everyone who auditions me a letter. And he's like, I don me a letter and then Michael Mann is like, I send everyone who auditions me a letter and he's like, I don't care, I framed it. Chris, I have an idea. A new pod called Did You See That One
Starting point is 00:16:11 where you just tell everybody all the YouTube videos that you watched the day before. So I got Maestro for 500 bucks, The Killer for 320 bucks and then, look,
Starting point is 00:16:20 a lot of things happened in 2023. Dune Part 2 did not happen. I had that for $143. Challengers was did not happen. I had that for $143. Challengers was taken from us. I had that for $15. Havoc, which I think I have drafted for two years now.
Starting point is 00:16:32 I believe so. The Tom Hardy London Underworld Drug Dealing Crime Saga. Oh, that does sound good. $22. From the director of The Raid. Scott Stuber, man. Come up off that file. Let me see it.
Starting point is 00:16:45 Come up off that file? Yeah, like let it go. Put it on Netflix. Uplo. Scott Stuber, man. Come up off that file. Let me see it. Come up off that file? Yeah, like let it go. Put it on Netflix. Fair enough. Upload it. Yeah, absolutely. In part two, I drafted The Bike Riders, which had a very circuitous route
Starting point is 00:16:55 to finally getting to theaters, hopefully in 24. Yeah, it is dated. Focus Features this summer. Anyone But You, which I haven't seen. $225. Way to support your own investments and then the nickel boys 80 bucks didn't come out apartment 7a didn't come out didn't come out and
Starting point is 00:17:12 quicksand i didn't i didn't ever saw it and i drafted that for 345 dollars that was about a horror movie about quicksand it starts off like so strong. It's Maestro the Killer and you got Dune Part 2 for $143. And Challengers for $15 because you bid me up on something.
Starting point is 00:17:31 I think you had gotten bid up on Barbie and Killers without money and then I beat you on Challengers. Yeah, that's okay. Now, of course, we can all retain
Starting point is 00:17:40 any of these titles and it might make sense to retain some of these titles. For $100. For an additional $100. Not to be a stickler but in the past we have done it
Starting point is 00:17:48 so that you can only retain the things from the most recent auction. So like your part one movies that did not get released. Do you think I should retain anyone but you?
Starting point is 00:17:58 No. They already came out. Do we know for sure that Quicksand is out? It is and I saw it. Was it good? No. I think it's also like Brazilian. do we know for sure that quicksand is out does anybody it is and I saw it was it good no
Starting point is 00:18:07 I think it's also like Brazilian it's Argentinian I was like what is it oh okay I thought this was going to be like
Starting point is 00:18:13 a Michael Jai White movie I guess I might be wrong because so the quicksand is it just like in one place and everyone's
Starting point is 00:18:20 going toward it or does the quicksand spread like what you actually want like meaning does the world become covered the quicksand spread like what you actually want like meaning the world become covered with
Starting point is 00:18:27 quicksand well how does it function um seems like you just walk around it's it's your standard operating quicksand okay it is just like one it's in a remote locale and
Starting point is 00:18:36 people just jungle environment just accidentally happening that's the whole movie just get dudes just keep slipping in there like what was I'm in the quicksand and they
Starting point is 00:18:43 die and then it's like that 30 times. No, there's like the being trapped part is the intrigue. How do you get out of it once you've been trapped? Oh, so they're inside
Starting point is 00:18:52 the quicksand. Yeah. Oh, okay. I don't think you would like the film. Yeah, no. Quicksand is a fear. Is it?
Starting point is 00:18:59 Yeah. I mean, that seems awful. Where are you on avalanches? Well, you know me and mountains. So it's like I'm not trying to be there anyway. There's you on avalanches? Well, you know me and mountains. So it's like I'm not trying to be there anyway. There's just an avalanche in Tahoe. Interesting.
Starting point is 00:19:09 Were you there? No. Okay. You didn't like Mark Wahlberg your way through it? I was making the watch. I was here. Wow. Interesting.
Starting point is 00:19:17 Kind of an avalanche of content. Yeah. Where are you on avalanches? Are you afraid? No. I wouldn't want to be like camping on the side of a mountain when one happened. But like if it was at the force majeure distance, I think I would be into it. Funny moment happened last weekend.
Starting point is 00:19:32 Where are you in when it comes to doors of planes blowing off at 20,000 feet? If that happens, I'm literally that guy who's like the first guy out the door, you know, who just like blows away. It's like, ah! I'm not like sticking it out. My seat belt is off the minute i can take it off like i'm totally after that situation i could see you like does alice allow that does alice allow me to take off my seat yeah well alice is just a really stickler for strapping in on the airplane you know for herself though okay she's not enforcing the larger Yes Honestly she can give a fuck About me No I had a funny moment
Starting point is 00:20:08 Though speaking of that Which is that I was at my house I think last Thursday Or Friday And I was working In my bedroom And there was an earthquake
Starting point is 00:20:15 I don't know if you guys Felt this earthquake It was a 4.2 Earthquake There was? What? One of the worst places To be during an earthquake
Starting point is 00:20:21 Was that here? Very small earthquake I assume so And Alice was at the park. Last Friday. And Eileen was in the house with me as well. And I was like,
Starting point is 00:20:29 oh my God, an earthquake. I think my first thought was like, Alice's first earthquake instead of like, is Alice okay? So she's at the park and texted the nanny and the nanny was like,
Starting point is 00:20:39 there was not an earthquake. And I'm like, you're a third of a mile away from my house. There was an earthquake and she's like, no earthquake. And in my like, you're a third of a mile away from my house. There was an earthquake and she's like, no earthquake. And in my mind,
Starting point is 00:20:47 the entire playground was like shaking and like children were falling from the swings. Is your nanny like the Aaron Rodgers of earthquakes? Meaning she doesn't
Starting point is 00:20:57 believe in them? No, she said there was no reaction. No one there. Is there a person who is the Aaron Rodgers of earthquakes? I think I'm going to start doing that. Has anyone ever double checked the Richter scale?
Starting point is 00:21:10 Who's calibrating it? That's a fair take. What time of day was this? Friday. It was like 11 a.m., something like that. It was 11. Yeah. You didn't feel this?
Starting point is 00:21:20 No, I didn't. But I was at bar class, you know, as I am. Putting in the work. From time to time. So, yeah. It's because you have so much strength. It was my shoulders were holding everything stable. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:21:29 And you were so grounded. Exactly. That you could not be shaken by the earth. There we go. I think that for the auction, if there's really a fight for a movie, whoever can hold their arms out longer should get it for the price of $1. We'll have to see if that's worth it. If that's worth doing
Starting point is 00:21:45 that exercise literally. Okay so then we all have an option here. I guess Amanda you don't have an option if we're only doing from the last one. Chris you have three
Starting point is 00:21:52 options and I have one option. But I guess do we want to change that though because I guess there was still always a chance that Dune Part 2 could have
Starting point is 00:21:57 come out but we just didn't know that Chris couldn't have kept it until. That's a fair point. So I think that we should just allow him to keep anything.
Starting point is 00:22:03 Exactly. Right. So you're allowed to keep anything exactly so you're allowed to keep anything we could have and did that's true I'll tell you what
Starting point is 00:22:11 if you had asked me in the spring I would not have guessed that SAG would have gone on strike I would have guessed that the WGA would have and I think SAG
Starting point is 00:22:19 being on strike was the number one reason why because that was why challengers and stuff yeah so it's a trick
Starting point is 00:22:24 should we I don't know what. Should we, I don't know what's the right move. I don't know if it's the right move to allow you to carry everything or to carry nothing. I think if we carry everything, it'll, I
Starting point is 00:22:31 think you should maybe get, how about you get one, you get one rebuy, but it can be from either section. Okay. Okay. That's, that's, I like
Starting point is 00:22:38 that. That's very fair. Because that way, like, because like, I think I would probably take multiple ones here if I, if I had my druthers, because that's a pretty fair...
Starting point is 00:22:46 I got these at pretty fair prices, so it wouldn't be that expensive. Yeah. But let's be fair. Okay. So we can all take one. You get one carryover. Yeah. That seems reasonable.
Starting point is 00:22:56 So that allows Amanda to carry over Blitz if she wants to. And it's plus 100 from what you originally paid? Correct. Yeah. Okay. So I will take Hitman. Okay i mean i get it for 275 because on the one hand i don't get any box office and i don't even think i'm going to get any oscars from this movie but i want this movie okay and i think 275 is a reasonable price for what might
Starting point is 00:23:20 turn out to be one of the best movies of the year i feel the same way about dune part two i i got that. So I will get that at $243 and I can put that in a variety of categories. I don't have to decide yet, right? I may can trigger... You don't have to put it in categories.
Starting point is 00:23:32 You don't have to put it in anything. Yeah, so I'm going to take Dune Part 2 because $243 for what might be the biggest movie of the year is a great price.
Starting point is 00:23:40 I completely agree. Okay. You want to carry Blitz or no? I don't think so. Oh, yeah. I mean, we'll just put it back. We'll put it back on the market. I love it. You know You want to carry Blitz or no? I don't think so. Oh, yeah. I mean, we'll just put it back on the market. I love it. You know?
Starting point is 00:23:49 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Is there anything else you could have? You only had Blitz? That was the only one. Everything else I picked perfectly. Sorry to speak into the microphone there. Okay. So we're up, right?
Starting point is 00:23:58 Well, we got to do auction order. Yeah, we do. Yeah. I'm just going to spin a wheel here. The auction order doesn't matter quite as much as the draft order, really. I think it does. I think going first is a bit... Amanda, you're going first.
Starting point is 00:24:09 God damn it. Okay. And going second appears to be Sean. Okay. Okay. Well... Do you think this is going to be a good movie year? It's going to be a different movie year.
Starting point is 00:24:24 Because last year, we had so many knowns. Not in the movies, but it's just like every great director released a movie last year. Great year for dads. Sure. And then this year, it seems a little thin. We've got some things to look forward to. But then there is the possibility of like, oh, wow, I wasn't even expecting this. And look at this wonderful thing that I've discovered, whether it's a new filmmaker or something that you just weren't anticipating.
Starting point is 00:24:51 So that has its own virtues. No one drafted past lives, for example. Correct. So we'll see. I guess. So what do we do with the sequels? You're allowed two? Two.
Starting point is 00:25:03 Two across ten, though. So that means you can only take two across your entire slate. Okay. I had one other question, which was, Sean, you have since seen the bike riders. I have. So are you allowed to option? I'm not going to draft the bike. I try to not acquire anything I've seen.
Starting point is 00:25:21 So I've seen Challengers and the bike. Have you seen Mark Scorsese's New Jesus movie? I'm filming it right now. We're on day 11. Oh, I forgot that you... We're just about wrapping up. Been talking with Ken Jones about it
Starting point is 00:25:31 every day for the last couple of months. So I'm feeling good about it. I'm also playing Punch's pilot. Yeah. It's actually an interesting role for me.
Starting point is 00:25:38 It's incredible casting. Thank you. Okay. So I forgot that you can't do Challengers. He's a good guy in that story, right? Yeah, totally.
Starting point is 00:25:44 That's what they told me Right Good guy He's like kind of the captain He's just following the rules you know He had a job to do You know you believe in work He's just a soldier
Starting point is 00:25:52 He's like the beekeeper Exactly Okay Kind of That you can't take challengers Makes things interesting So I guess I'll do Challengers
Starting point is 00:26:02 Starting at 100 So I am I have spent Challengers starting at $100. So I have spent $243. Is that right? Yeah, that's right. And you have previously possessed Challengers at the low, low price of $15. And you released it. Yeah, I released it. At $100, you said?
Starting point is 00:26:18 Well, I'll put it at $125 up. Okay, I will put $150 up. I suppose I should say Challengers, if you're just tuning in, is the Luca Guadagnino film starring Zendaya, Josh O'Connor, and Mike Faced.
Starting point is 00:26:31 It's a sex tennis movie. That's really all I know about it. I haven't seen it yet. Bob and I went to the cinema last night. We saw The Beekeeper and they showed many previews
Starting point is 00:26:38 before the film and they showed the Challengers trailer which I had not seen and I thought they gave away too much of the movie. Okay. Well, I think that I watched
Starting point is 00:26:45 part of it but I'm not going to watch all of it. I don't really watch trailers. It used to be a country man. I know but I used to I mean trailers used to be the shit. Yeah you can't do it anymore.
Starting point is 00:26:54 I only watch David Fincher trailers now. So I'm at 150. I would like to implore the people behind Challengers to release some Five seconds. Tennis Challengers merch
Starting point is 00:27:03 that I can Ooh. Right? Oh, so like we'd love to send you some stuff? Yeah, well Like a racket cover
Starting point is 00:27:09 with Joshua Conner's face? No, that's a little too merchy. I was hoping for something like slightly more designed that Jonathan Anderson I think did the costumes.
Starting point is 00:27:19 Okay. Do you know who that is? I don't. I have to assume this has expired. It has. $150. Wow.
Starting point is 00:27:23 A steal. $150 for challengers for Amanda. You know what? You 150. Wow. A steal. 150 for challenges for Amanda. You know what? You're really nice. Sometimes you're too nice, but thank you. I'm just consumed by making sure I have enough money for Rebel Moon 2. Okay. What's the subtitle on that one?
Starting point is 00:27:36 Scargiver? Yeah. Oh, shit. That's what they called you back at Graylin, right? You were writing soccer columns? That's what Pep called you? Ah, this guy gave up. Okay.
Starting point is 00:27:50 So now I'm putting a movie up, huh? I think this is a movie that we all want to see. Okay. Are we all desperate to see it? I don't know. Furiosa Mad Max Saga. Oh, yeah.
Starting point is 00:28:03 This is a sequel. I guess a prequel. Speaking of trailers that didn't set the world on fire a sequel. I guess a prequel. Speaking of trailers that didn't set the world on fire. Yeah. I've shared my thoughts on that, which is that I think people should be patient.
Starting point is 00:28:12 Yeah. But I understand the skepticism. And I, you know, we are noted CGI when not applied properly skeptics on this podcast. Sometimes it can be applied magnificently, as it was in Fury Road,
Starting point is 00:28:23 directed by George Miller. That's very true. My mom, who is a huge Mad Max fan, and introduced me to those movies at a really way too young age, and we often re-watch Mad Max and Road Warrior, even beyond Thunderdome at times. We started watching Fury Road when I was last home. We got about 40 minutes into it, and she said, what the fuck is going on? And I said, what do you mean? And she is just like, well, I don't understand a single thing that's happening. And I was like, haven't you seen this before? And she's like, no. And it was just really interesting to watch Fury Road with someone who likes the movies, but it was completely outside of the George Miller saved action movies hype cycle.
Starting point is 00:29:01 And she was just like, what's happening? Well, that's the thing about that movie. And it certainly seems like Furiosa will have a lot more in common with Fury Road. But Fury Road is so different from especially the first two Mad Max movies, which are so nitty gritty
Starting point is 00:29:14 and on the ground. I'll put it up on the board for $50, Furiosa Mad Max Saga. I'll go $100. Okay. I'll go $125. Do you think Chris Hemsworth is going to be good in this?
Starting point is 00:29:28 Do you think he's going to be a good villain? I think he's a good actor who's no longer been asked to act, so I'm a little worried about that. Okay. I do like his persona sometimes, but not in this setting. I wish he could find a way to meet the middle ground between Extraction Guy and Taika Waititi's Thor.
Starting point is 00:29:46 Like, what is the middle of that? Is it Black Hat? It is not, having seen Black Hat recently. Have you seen his National Geographic television series? I haven't. I haven't either. Juliette Lippman has recapped it to me at length. I think Juliette could be the co-host of Did You See That One? with Chris Ryan. And she did see Chris Hmsworth just traveling around looking
Starting point is 00:30:06 at various i i want to say aquatic animals but the backstory of that show is quite sad isn't it right that he's found that he is like potentially he carries the alzheimer's gene or something yeah and so that just that premise makes me sad like it makes me not want to watch the show even though i think what he's doing is very cool as an idea. Yeah. He's working through it in his own way. He doesn't wear shoes a lot in Australia, but I think that's common there. I believe Sean holds the bid right now at $125. Does anyone else want to match?
Starting point is 00:30:36 I'll bid $175. Is Chris Hemsworth a good time to ask you about the protein plates, Bobby? Sure. Okay. So I just don't understand this. So as a... I'm going to bid $200 before Amanda gets into this. You can't make that... That was a really good...
Starting point is 00:30:52 Just to let you know, Sean did ask me to cut extraneous chat on our last episode because it was two hours and 30 minutes. You guys were in here for such a long time. So that did get cut out of the last pod, just for people's sake. The protein stuff did? Just the back and forth. Don't let him do that. Well, I didn't know. I didn't say what to cut. I just said it was a really
Starting point is 00:31:12 long pod. What was I supposed to cut? The poor things talk? Did you cut anything else that was of note? No, no. Only when you were talking. It was all of your comments. Did you cut the fashion review? No, I don't think so. Okay. Because that was very important. Okay. Wow. Okay.
Starting point is 00:31:28 So I wanted to ask Bobby about bulking and a new development I've noticed in the bro bulking space. I'm up, right? Yeah. I'm in the lead for this. No, Sean bid $200 quietly. Okay. You ask your question and then I will put in my bid.
Starting point is 00:31:43 Really against the spirit of the auction here. I'm letting Amanda monologue questions. Sweet Cream is now selling protein plates, which is just protein and grains, not a vegetable in sight. And I am just not really sure that I understand this nutritional—the nutritional science behind this. They made a slight change to it. It used to have sweet potatoes in it. It used to have, like, a vegetable It used to have like a vegetable side too. Right.
Starting point is 00:32:06 Even though that is also technically a carb. Like, so it's just carbs and protein and not vegetables. Okay. And so are you turning on vegetables, Chris Ryan, in 2024? No, I'm still pro-vegetable. Okay. Yeah. What is, why are they doing this?
Starting point is 00:32:21 Is it just because the bulking men don't want vegetables? I think honestly, probably it's like a financial thing. It's probably harder to keep vegetables fresh and source them. Wow, interesting. Sweet green moving away from vegetables. I think there's also just like a lot of people who are like, what I would love is just a piece of salmon and get out of here. And I would also like to bid $225.
Starting point is 00:32:39 Yeah, great. $250. I actually, I introduced the idea the other day to Bobby that one of the things that I'm really focused on the diet part of all of this right now and not the working out part. And I realized like were I fully to commit to the diet yet not
Starting point is 00:32:54 commit to the working out, I'd be curious what happened to my body if I just like all of a sudden start eating like just bison meat all morning. Without lifting. Yeah. Do you think it would give you an interesting energy on the pod? You know, like you're like sweating. You would just be insanely bloated all day long.
Starting point is 00:33:09 It's just like you're sweating blood in a way. I mean, you could try it. The smell of bison? Yeah, just out of your pores. That seems like a good idea. What's the most recent bib? 225. I'll go 250. Yeah. 260. You're going to get this one, aren't you? 225. I'll go 250. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:33:25 260. You're going to get this one, aren't you? You're going to chase me down. I don't know. I mean, I'm really excited about this movie. This is like Darius Slay and Mike Evans just going mano a mano. So this is running after the Eagles game, but the Eagles game is on Monday. I think Mike Evans is hurt, isn't he?
Starting point is 00:33:39 No. I think it's A.J. Brown that is hurt, unfortunately, for you. But as I said, I'm pulling for the Eagles. Thanks, man. I got your back. First of all, who cares about the Bucs? Second of all, I thought it was really rude what Bill Simmons did to you on the rewatchables. I thought it was really funny.
Starting point is 00:33:55 Spiteful? I was hugely entertained by it. Bill and I want the same things from Chris and from Zach Barron and Eagles fans. 280. 280. Yeah. 290. 310. 315.
Starting point is 00:34:11 340. It just seems carb heavy. That's kind of where I am with it. To protein plate. Do you think Anya Taylor-Joy is going to be able to pull it? Like, will she be able to carry it? I think Anya Taylor-Joy would love the protein plate. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:34:27 But it has quinoa in it now which also has protein. I would love to see one of these movies about a guy who's like, I'm not that good of a driver. You know? Has that ever happened
Starting point is 00:34:36 in Road Warrior? You think you're a good driver? I don't know if I would be a good driver in this context. Well, I mean, who would? I mean, I can't drive stick. You mean the apocalypse? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:34:45 And then also, Road Warrior is very careful about he has to go siphon gasoline from overturned cars constantly. Go juice. Yeah. Well, that'll fit right in with your bison meat.
Starting point is 00:34:57 So think about that. Yeah. He eats dog food in the second one. There's a long-running joke on Lifting Instagram the dog food is very high in protein you know low in cal three uh to me yeah 375 oh it's a sizable bid i do think anya taylor joyce can hack it you know i think this is going to be like commercial north
Starting point is 00:35:23 after never seen this from her before though never never seen her in this kind of a mode you got it she's not a very um loud actor you know right but i wouldn't say that fury road was i mean the everything around it was loud i would say one of its chief flaws is tom hardy not enunciating words right but all the rest of them are just kind of looking like regal as stuff happens around them. I mean, you know,
Starting point is 00:35:49 Charlize Theron has that big like screaming falling to her knees moment. You know. Sure, Anya Taylor-Joy can do that. There's a theatrical kind of acting
Starting point is 00:35:56 that comes in a movie like that. Anya Taylor-Joy is theatrical. Yeah, when she's on the fucking boat in Northman, she's just like. That's true. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:36:02 That's true. I forgot about that in the Northman. That is a good setup I heard you say that I'm sorry Bobby I'm sorry Bobby I didn't hear you say that
Starting point is 00:36:09 where's Skarsgård the Alexander where is he where is he no well he's in the studio let's bring him in he's coming in to do
Starting point is 00:36:17 a celeb shot for Chris's nomination he's doing an episode of sports card nonsense so we're gonna have him on in oh that would be is it This episode is sports card nonsense, so we're going to have to bring him on in. Oh, that would be... Is it...
Starting point is 00:36:29 You got it. I got Furiosa? 375, right? Or 370. You got it. All right. I'm applying a new methodology. You fucked me right here.
Starting point is 00:36:39 Did I? Yeah, because now I was trying to bid you up, but this is not the other sequel I wanted. I know. The other one is the one I want. You're not going to take that one, though, are you? Of course I am. You are? No, you're not. Yeah, I mean, I got a ride with the Irish, you know? God damn it. Paul Mescal is coming. Oh, well.
Starting point is 00:36:58 Unless you are. Oh, I didn't think you were going to. That's not what I meant. Oh. That's not what I meant. But I can't take it now anyway. You meant Joker Fully Ado? No, I didn't. You can not what I meant but I can't take it now anyway. You meant Joker folio do? No. You can just say screw it and I won't get that category. I won't get that point. You can have it.
Starting point is 00:37:10 Oh you're talking about Romulus. Uh no. Oh my god. No. I'm looking at my Beetlejuice 2? Sean look me in the eye
Starting point is 00:37:18 and there's a third movie in a trilogy that's coming out this year. I'll just put it out right now. Deadpool 3? Maxine. Oh. I got just put it out right now. Deadpool 3? Maxine!
Starting point is 00:37:26 Oh. I got some inside dope on this one too. They got me more excited for it and I shared that with Chris. Were you not excited for it in the first place? I was super pumped. It was on my list on the episode, but now I'm even more excited about it based on what I heard. Maxine is the third film from Ty West with Mia Goff about the Pearl character. Yes.
Starting point is 00:37:44 This one is now in the 80s. I guess it's somehow we've time jumped. It's about the Pearl character. Yes. This one is now in the 80s. I guess it's somehow we've time jumped. It's not the same character. It's the same like energy. All right. So now she is a, is she a porn star
Starting point is 00:37:53 living in Los Angeles in the 80s? I believe so. And it's going to be like, you can, it's your info. I didn't get this. It just sounds like
Starting point is 00:38:00 there's a real cop, LA cop movie element. Now what to you is the ur-LA cop movie? To Live and Die in LA, probably. What's the other one? Oh, shoot. I can't even.
Starting point is 00:38:13 That was an incredible. I throw you a fastball down the middle and you're looking for change up. I don't understand. It's unbelievable. The onion field. I don't think that, I don't think that I don't think Maxine's
Starting point is 00:38:27 going to be heat but Okay So are you putting that on the board right now? Maxine? Yeah, why not? Okay, how much?
Starting point is 00:38:32 20 bucks Okay 50 bucks I mean, I guess I could bid for the spirit Are you excited for it? I mean, sure I guess I'll see this
Starting point is 00:38:40 So you have 50 bucks on this? Yeah I mean, 75 You can have it I just wanted to... 75 too. That's great. Okay.
Starting point is 00:38:48 Amanda's going to get Maxine for $75. I'm going to let you have that. You should institute a hard rule. That is the funniest shit. Amanda just got Maxine. That if you get a movie in the auction, you have to see it on opening weekend. Oh, she's going to see it?
Starting point is 00:39:01 And talk about it. No, I know. You didn't see any of your movies. They didn't come out. Anyone but you. Anyone but you. Oh, but I wasn't playing in Philadelphia, I don't think. No, I know. You didn't see any of your movies. They didn't come out. Anyone but you. Anyone but you. Oh, but I wasn't playing in Philadelphia, I don't think.
Starting point is 00:39:08 Yes, it was. It's literally the breakout hit of 2024. Okay. But you saw Zone of Interest, which you thought was a prequel to Anyone But You, so you wanted to see that first
Starting point is 00:39:21 before getting into Anyone But You. Amanda holds the bid at 75 right now. Time is elapsing. She can have it. Did you see that Jonathan Glazer is like, I'm going to make a fun, like a tender film next? A tender film? He said it's about tenderness.
Starting point is 00:39:34 Is he doing Paddington 3? He's doing Maxine 2. Okay. Great pick. Thanks so much. I love Ty West. I love Mia Goth. All right.
Starting point is 00:39:46 So you're up again okay we're in snake let's do Blitz because you let that go right I did so I'll start the Blitz bidding at 150 bucks
Starting point is 00:39:54 and I would just say that this is the only thing that I kind of feel like outside of the blockbusters that I have like a really good feeling about being nominated
Starting point is 00:40:03 for Oscars as well so could hit a couple of things here obviously also an original film so you don't have to worry about the sequel part uh Saoirse Ronan uh Harris Dickinson starring in this account of the bombing of London during World War II I completely agree with you about the Oscars I I I don't know what the big I mean I do know what the big contenders are. I was looking at the betting markets and... I don't know, man. There's a couple of films, but like... It's like if Megalopolis, for instance, is not good,
Starting point is 00:40:33 God forbid, you know? Don't say that out loud. Why? Because Francis Ford Coppola is sitting in the other room. He's been funding this show for the last 10 years. He sold his winery so that we could start this show. Did you not know that? He believes in creative expression. Yeah, so do I.
Starting point is 00:40:48 And cinema. Anyway, I'm taking Blitz and Steve has... I'm nominating Blitz. Yeah, for how much? $150. And McQueen hasn't made a narrative... Well, he made small acts. So that was obviously a super...
Starting point is 00:41:03 Not since Widows has he made a feature film, which is great. Widows was so good. Yeah. Six years ago. I'm out on Widows. Shorting it. No, I'm just kidding.
Starting point is 00:41:11 I love Widows. Remember that scene with Colin Farrell in the backseat, just being a demon, talking about ruining Chicago with all of his evil ways? Great movie. 175.
Starting point is 00:41:22 Pretty bullish on this one. Whether I get it or not, I'm like, this is one to keep an eye on. Do you know Saoirse Ronan dates Jack Loudon? Yes. Where have you been? On my couch watching Faux, which wasn't very good.
Starting point is 00:41:34 It wasn't. And Googling who does Saoirse Ronan date. Yeah, they've been together for many years. There were rumors of an engagement because she was spotted wearing a ring on Instagram. Did you see, speaking of YouTube clips, Jack Loudon was on Graham Norton and shared the Christmas village that he builds every year. And he, like, I swear to God, he collects, like, little houses and Christmas figurines.
Starting point is 00:42:00 And every year he builds a village and there's snow that is actually kitty litter. Like a model. Like a model village, yeah. Like a small one that's set up. And then he was like, sure, I will share this with the public on Graham Norton. I once went to a hardcore show at The Rat in Boston
Starting point is 00:42:14 to go see, I think, Kiss It Goodbye and Overcast. Why did you say those names to me? There was a sewage leak in The Rat and they put down kitty litter to absorb it. Amanda knows she was in Overcast for 10 years. It was incredible. I have to say, I think kitty litter is toxic. I don't think we should be breathing it.
Starting point is 00:42:34 Okay. Interesting take. You don't have a cat, so it's all good. Did you hear that one from AR12? Who has it right now? 200? Amanda, 200. 225. who has it right now Amanda 200 225
Starting point is 00:42:46 how much money do you have left I don't think I have a ton you have 382 250 Sewage League would be a great hardcore band name they should have just named it that I'm sure there's a band called Sewage League if you look it up on Spotify right now
Starting point is 00:43:03 I guarantee you there's a band called Sewage League. If you look it up on Spotify right now, I guarantee you there's a band called Sewage League. 275. 300. It's a tough one because I feel like if I don't get it, I'm going to be like, should have tried to get it.
Starting point is 00:43:14 This is going to be like Avengers Endgame all over again with you. I don't know what that means. You don't remember when you almost quit the pod because you didn't get Avengers Endgame?
Starting point is 00:43:23 And you just started crying? Yeah. It was real like, I don't want to do this anymore. I gotta be honest with you. Like, are you on drugs? Like, you very openly are like, you started crying? You were crying. Okay, I was crying.
Starting point is 00:43:42 Fair enough, I was crying. Will I start crying if I don't get crying. Fair enough. I was crying. Will I start crying if I don't get Blitz? That's a big question. You said 300? Yeah. I'll go 325. Let's see.
Starting point is 00:43:54 I'll go 350. 375. Chris, I haven't seen any live-action superhero movie since Avengers Endgame. Do you think I should break the streak this year? For Madame Web? You're not going to?
Starting point is 00:44:08 Oh, for Madame Web. I think if you're on LSD, you should go do that. But honestly, I don't know. You think I should break the streak? Are you guys excited for Madame Web? Yes. I wanted to say 385, and also, you have to see that with me. We have to be sitting next to each other, or else what's the fun? Keep taunting me. See how many movies I that with me. We have to be sitting next to each other or else what's the fun?
Starting point is 00:44:26 Keep taunting me. See how many movies I see with you. You're upset because I said you cried of all the things that I've thrown at you at the last. Is the disinformation campaign. This is a place of truth. And I do not appreciate the way that you are bending that truth to your will.
Starting point is 00:44:47 You quit on the podcast. You quit. You were just like, I don't want to do this anymore. You did do that. It was fine. There's a difference between quitting and that. I continued. I finished the draft.
Starting point is 00:44:58 Yeah, but like sullenly. Well, sure. Enough that friends of ours like asked me afterwards. They're like, what is Sean okay like what was that about and I was like yeah sometimes he's just a baby
Starting point is 00:45:08 if they're friends of mine and they feel that I am sad they should contact me directly yeah but then I was you're not my messenger okay so if they reach out
Starting point is 00:45:18 in the future you say you should check in with Sean he's been pretty low because he lost endgame in a draft if god forbid you were ever
Starting point is 00:45:24 like your larynx were paralyzed. God forbid. And then I couldn't do this anymore. Which one of me or Amanda would you want to be your advocate
Starting point is 00:45:32 and not your advocate for your personal health but just be like my new voice. If something happens to me physically this show is canceled and we're deleting
Starting point is 00:45:37 the feed, Chris. That just seems rash. Yeah, it seems short-sighted. There's still more movies. I thought the whole project was keeping movies alive. Buy me! There was a brand new George Carlin special that just came out.
Starting point is 00:45:50 There's lots of things we can do with your fucking IP. I'll tell you what. If AI gets good enough that you can recreate me whilst my larynx is paralyzed, I encourage you to keep going with the show. I am not crying. I am Sean Pennessey. I am on Letterboxd. Oh no, I got blown out of a plane.
Starting point is 00:46:08 I support that. I honestly do support it. Amanda has the bid at $380. So we're just not doing time limits at this point? I mean, you guys don't seem to be interested in five. And ruin all this gold? Christmas did AI Sean for God's sake. You can have it at $380.
Starting point is 00:46:23 I can have it. Great. $380 to Amanda. How much money does Amanda? 85. Actually. 385. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:46:32 I will nominate gladiator too. I'll put it up for 50 bucks. Okay. 75. This is not a film you're interested in? $200. Okay. Okay.
Starting point is 00:46:44 So it is. The extent to which I'm interested in this can't be quantified with money it is it's true I mean I think it can and it can be also $381 that you have to spend that is the maximum amount it can be quantified I am on the highest of cliffs with this one it's actually probably $380 because you need $1 for each of your other two movies. Yes. So that's what you can spend. I'm probably not going to get it and I'm just telling you I am
Starting point is 00:47:09 fucking free soloing on this one because if this is bad, if Paul Meskel and Barry Keoghan and fucking Denzel can't make it. Barry Keoghan is no
Starting point is 00:47:19 longer in this film. Oh, why? I thought he got jacked for it. He dropped out, I think, to make a movie with Lin Ramsey. I think... Can I just say something about Barry man yeah he doesn't fucking miss all he does is make
Starting point is 00:47:31 I forgot he was in Dunkirk the other day I was just like watching a Dunkirk making yeah what about Eternals hey we all we all swing and miss sometimes but that guy he's not fucking off to go I mean yeah he's gonna be the Joker or whatever but like he he's not messing around he's not fucking off to go I mean yeah he's gonna be the Joker or whatever but like he's not messing around he's not like
Starting point is 00:47:48 oh I gotta go be in Scargiver if he's leaving he was in Eternals Chris I know I know I know he's great
Starting point is 00:47:55 I like him a lot I think he was replaced by Fred Hechinger I like him too from White Lotus from the White Lotus really good homie
Starting point is 00:48:01 White Lotus season one yeah I think that's who replaced him. Do you know the other stars of this film? Besides Denzel Washington? Yeah. Pedro Pascal.
Starting point is 00:48:11 Yeah. Pedro Pascal and Connie Nielsen. That's cool. So I bid, how much did I bid? $200. Okay. $225. $250.
Starting point is 00:48:19 $275. How much do I have left? I have $390. Okay, $300. $320. $330. $35. How much do I have left? I have $390. Okay, $300. $320. $330. $340. $380.
Starting point is 00:48:32 You get it. The best part about you getting it is one of the triggers has already been eliminated for you. Because it's a sequel. You have three sequels right now. Can I trade anything? Amanda can still go. I could still do it. That's true.
Starting point is 00:48:42 That's true. You were really nice to me about challengers, though. But I also really want this, and I don't have it that's true that's true you were really nice to me about challengers though but I also really want this and I don't have anything that's gonna make any money so this is what I was saying
Starting point is 00:48:53 there's like almost so many movies that are just sequels mm-hmm it's true I don't know whether I can go for the jugular
Starting point is 00:49:01 with you Chris by making me by taking it from me? Yeah. You can, please do. But then he might take it from me. Oh, so you're thinking that if you bid me out of this, then he's going to jump back in?
Starting point is 00:49:13 Because he has the funds. Be interesting. So. Be interesting for you. Are you worried about this at all? Do you think Ridley is moving too fast at the end of his career? In my heart, I have really enjoyed roughly 85% of Ridley Scott's films, and I have also enjoyed the movies that people think are not good in the late period.
Starting point is 00:49:30 Yes. So personally, I'm not worried at all. Okay. In kind of the more global sense, I think there's reason for concern. Also, this is a big test for Paul Meskel. This is the exact opposite of every single part he's ever played. Yeah. So, and he was cast in this role after playing Stanley Kowalski in Streetcar. Because Ridley's always watching. I believe it was the producers of the film who saw it. Okay. Do you not think Ridley Scott
Starting point is 00:49:53 is familiar with Streetcar Named Desire? I'm just not sure he's hitting up the theater on a regular basis. If I were him, I'd just hang in my castle. So it's still on me, right? Yeah. 380. I'm not going to bid against you in my castle. So it's still on me, right? Yeah. $380. I'm not going to bid against you.
Starting point is 00:50:08 Okay. Chris gets it for $380. Well, whatever. We'll figure it out when we get to the end of this. So Chris has $2 remaining. Amanda has $390, and I have $725. I actually have not gotten a movie yet because I carried overhead. That's a strange one.
Starting point is 00:50:25 Okay, Amanda, you're up. Well, I mean, I guess that seems unfun. I'm really just like bidding against you at this point. Wow. That sucks. That's not fun. What's a movie that you want? I don't know.
Starting point is 00:50:42 I guess, I guess... Let's do Twisters just to have some fun. Okay. Is this coming out? Coming out. It's dated. When's it dated for?
Starting point is 00:50:51 July 19th, 2024. Fantastic. It's a sequel? Love a teaser for this. Just not for my own benefit because I don't want Twisters spoiled for me, but more just to see that they're...
Starting point is 00:51:02 That it's real? Yeah. Yeah. Lee Isaac Chung. Glenn Powell. Daisy Edgar Jones. Daisy Edgar Jones. All right. for me, but more just to see that they're... That it's real? Yeah. Yeah. Leah Zick-Chung? Glenn Powell? Daisy Edgar-Jones? Daisy Edgar-Jones. Alright. I will do 200.
Starting point is 00:51:14 225. Okay. 240. What have you got? Challengers Maxine Blitz. $250. $275.
Starting point is 00:51:29 $280. $300. Really hard to say if this is going to be any good. Have you watched Twister recently? I can't say that I have because my 90s memory of it is really perfect in my, you know, 14-year-old. It's a fantastic movie. Is it? I really enjoy it.
Starting point is 00:51:50 I did watch it last year. I would say I enjoyed myself. Paxton is unbelievable. Yeah. Unbelievable. He is marvelous. I'm not sure that I fully was into the twisting as much as I wanted to be. Because of the special effects or just because you just don't care about tornadoes?
Starting point is 00:52:06 No, no. Tornadoes are scary. The staging I thought was, there's one sequence that is amazing and everything else I was like, I think I wanted more out of my movie called Twister. Did you guys have to do tornado drills in school? Not in Philadelphia, no. We did in Atlanta. No.
Starting point is 00:52:19 I did. And there was like a very weird fog horn. All the time. Yeah, the tornado horn. Maybe we did. I just don't remember. I don't think I ever did that. I was too busy hanging out.
Starting point is 00:52:29 Smoking. I couldn't get you to come in to do it. Smoking. Dirty tornado. In elementary school? Yeah. Like River Phoenix style. Fair enough.
Starting point is 00:52:38 What is the price? 300? 325. Why not? 350. 350? 350. 350? Yeah. What are my blockbuster implications here?
Starting point is 00:52:50 I mean, I don't have to have all my blockbusters right now, too. That's the other thing is I'll have a better sense of the schedule in the second half of the year. 350? Is that where it's at? Yeah. I mean, you can just... Do you want it? If you want it, you can bid more than I have.
Starting point is 00:53:06 You've just explained auctioning. Thank you. You can have it. Okay, thank you. You're welcome. I just don't want it on my ledger if I'm not going to love it. That's kind of where my head's at with these movies and this game. Yeah?
Starting point is 00:53:21 It's not about... Maybe that Avengers Endgame moment taught me something. That's beautiful. Maybe that taught me about really appreciating the true cinema. You're just like, you're such a wide open
Starting point is 00:53:31 canvas right now. This is like Rothko at work. What colors will you choose? Because you have so much money, so much real estate. Amanda and I,
Starting point is 00:53:38 I'm down to two bucks. Yep. Right, but don't I have another one? Yeah. Isn't it Snake? Yeah. Yeah, you can nominate one.
Starting point is 00:53:44 I'm just saying like... Yeah. We're just... Well, I'm going to spend $40 on the bike riders. Okay. Austin Butler season. I'm being punished for working hard at my job. Seeing films.
Starting point is 00:53:57 For supporting Jeff Nichols. That's right. Okay. So then the auction is over. Yeah. Well, I have four open spaces oh I can still nominate movies right that's true
Starting point is 00:54:09 yeah that's true so my next nomination will be Mickey 17 which I will take for three dollars do you think it's gonna come out I do
Starting point is 00:54:19 I do think it's gonna come out this year even if it is not even by Warner Brothers I think it'll come out are you gonna do this where you like save a bunch of money? It doesn't matter.
Starting point is 00:54:27 It doesn't matter. It doesn't roll over. It doesn't roll over. Yeah. You're up. I will nominate James Watkins' Speak No Evil remake. You can hold that. I can have that.
Starting point is 00:54:42 For $1? For $1. Yeah. You have to nominate another film. Horizon. Wow. Now we're talking. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:54:49 Okay. So I can either take it or not take it. So question, point of order. Is he nominating part one? Great question. Part two? I am nominating part one. The whole thing?
Starting point is 00:54:58 Okay, that's good because that's original. I don't know if we're going to get a part three. Yeah. By the time we record auction part two, will have seen horizon do you think that by the time we were will we have completed john ford month on this pod yeah that's just me and you yeah eyes closed holding hands potting for six hours singing she wore a yellow ribbon yeah so in the third act of They Were Expendable, Chris, one of the things that is revealed about the American character. So my thing about this is,
Starting point is 00:55:33 it could be absolutely dreadful. And Kevin Costner has not directed very many good films. And he's a great character in the arc of this podcast. Yeah. And in award season in the last two years. And in Hollywood. Would you have him on the big picture? Would you have him on the big picture?
Starting point is 00:55:50 Of course. To discuss filmmaking. I mean, a million percent. Yeah. I think he's had an awesome career and has been in many movies I love. He's a great actor. Great movie star. He's just an old guy who hasn't directed a lot of good movies.
Starting point is 00:56:04 He's starred in right well over a dozen great movies and his Hall of Fame episode will be a lot of fun there's reason to believe that this is a terrible idea
Starting point is 00:56:13 yeah that he has independently raised like 300 million dollars you know what it's every year we don't have themes
Starting point is 00:56:21 for our years but this is the year of going all in you know is it it's Coppola it's Costner it's selling off real estate We don't have themes for our years, but this is the year of going all in. You know? Is it? It's Coppola. It's Costner.
Starting point is 00:56:29 It's selling off real estate. It's mortgaging your vineyard. It's believing in yourself. It's betting on yourself. And it's betting on cinema. And here in this room, we should support people who do that. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:56:42 I don't know if I'm comfortable comparing. I mean, they are comparable, but Coppola and Costner have different histories in forming their bets. Yeah. That's why I'll be ripping out Sean Clarence. Are you going to let me get
Starting point is 00:56:53 Horizon for a dollar? So when you get it, here's what's going to happen. I'll predict it right now. When you get it, all the CR heads are going to be like, that's my guy. That's my man.
Starting point is 00:57:00 They're going to clap. They're going to be like the true Horizon son. All these guys are in an Italian social club somewhere. Like, oh! Another Horizon
Starting point is 00:57:09 for my boy! But then we're going to see Horizon and we're going to be like, that was okay. Uh-huh. Yeah. But then, I'm not going to feel good about it
Starting point is 00:57:19 if it's on my slate, you know? Okay. But maybe I'm just out thinking myself. Like, the bike riders are... Now you're out thinking yourself. Like, I know it's's gonna be funny when you get three more movies
Starting point is 00:57:27 for like three dollars and everything it's not gonna be funny but I want you to be like participating in this I know I know I think it's just
Starting point is 00:57:33 because I'm really pretty iffy on the years you should have taken one or two for me I think you wanted it I think you knew you wanted it and now you're getting
Starting point is 00:57:40 now you're overthinking I think it was Furiosa I think I should have gone a little harder there okay and Dune 2 coming off the board was hard do you want to buy it for me for face value love this and now you're getting now you're overthinking I think it was Furiosa I think I should have gone a little harder there okay and Dune 2 coming off the board was hard do you want to buy it
Starting point is 00:57:47 for me for face value love this for face value yeah I'll sell it to you for face value because I get out of the doghouse with sequels and then I can keep drafting
Starting point is 00:57:54 wow you want to buy it for me I'll sell it to you face value you got a deal holy shit I didn't even know okay
Starting point is 00:58:00 that's dead and company rules brother we just say got one and i'm like yeah and you know what the game continues because you've got a new a filled up bank account 375 and i'm off my sequels schneid i'm gonna be a little bit honest now letting you have gladiator 2 is sitting okay i got wait you should take a counter offer you should take a counter offer now you hold it now you control the bidding for Furiosa.
Starting point is 00:58:26 I'm never going to turn on you. I don't have any money left. The same gesture. I don't have any money left. I can't do it. You can trade. You can just trade me. And if you trade into open money,
Starting point is 00:58:40 because Chris has open money. So you can trade into open money to clear up some cash for yourself too okay yeah like you could trade or you could just give up a title at its price
Starting point is 00:58:51 you want to trade me Maxine for 75 it's all been leading to this I guess that's also a sequel it's all been leading to this for trades it's been leading to trades I've been trying to tell you guys
Starting point is 00:59:00 to do trades the whole time it's all been leading to this so I sold you mine for now you're saying you're upset about Gladiator 2? I wouldn't say, I wouldn't venture so far to say as upset, but I wanted to note that decision and the collegiality was sitting differently for me
Starting point is 00:59:17 in this moment. In the interest of transparency, I do not have, I do not have an Oscar film right now. I mean, Dune 2 probably will be nominated, but Speak No Evil Horizon, Gladiator 2, I would gamble on not being in the Oscar race.
Starting point is 00:59:30 So I need Blitz. And I'm open to talking about this. I don't know what we can do here. There's this $5. Can I... Right. Oh, so it would basically be a one-to-one. But that's...
Starting point is 00:59:44 Let's see. I guessone. But that's it. Let's see. I guess we could just revalue it. So then I would have Challengers, Maxine, Gladiator 2, Twisters, and Bike Riders. I think you're screwed. Yeah, I don't think you can do it. I don't think you can do it. Because you paid more for Gladiator, and neither of you have any money left.
Starting point is 01:00:00 It's a good idea in spirit. You could trade two for two. It's all about the salary cap. Okay. Because for the listeners at home amanda's price for blitz was 385 dollars by giving me furiosa for 375 chris has cleared up 375 dollars for himself right from with within which to move now what you could do is you could auction another film and then trade amanda that film ch, you could trade Amanda Gladiator 2 for Blitz straight up.
Starting point is 01:00:28 Oh, right. And then Amanda would take $5 extra. I thought that that was what was being offered. You could also, well, you need an Oscar movie. I was going to say that
Starting point is 01:00:38 you could draft something that I want and then I'm going to go pee. You guys keep talking. Okay. Okay. Okay. So I right now, I think Dune 2 will get You guys keep talking. Okay. Okay. Okay. So I right now,
Starting point is 01:00:46 I think Dune 2 will get nominated for Oscars. I also think Dune 2 will make a hundred million dollars. So I think I'm like in good state. So you don't need to do anything. I actually have like a weird sneaking suspicion that Speak No Evil, the James McAvoy version of it. Yeah. Could be in the black phone zone.
Starting point is 01:01:03 Like it could be like a horror hit. Okay. If they stick the landing phone zone. It could be a horror hit if they stick the landing on that. Yeah. So I have some confidence in that. But other than that, I would rather give you Gladiator 2 for Blitz. I get a surefire Oscar nom, but do you still...
Starting point is 01:01:18 If you give me Blitz, you're counting on Challengers really getting nominated for Oscars then. Right. And I think it probably... I think Zendayaendaya well I guess Dune 2 though yeah and I mean it's you know it's early in the year but you also have to think about it's Luca Guadagnino and and Jonathan Anderson but also like production design costume design all of that stuff. I think it's going to just look pretty sick. The thing I probably need, because I need two films that are going to make $100 million.
Starting point is 01:01:53 I do. You probably will. I know. But I also have that opportunity later in the... So I have to get $200 domestic over the course of the two auctions. Yes. Oh, so you could wait. So I could wait. And I, you know, I feel pretty passionate about Blitz.
Starting point is 01:02:14 I feel pretty passionate about Saoirse Ronan. I feel really passionate about Harris Dickinson. Okay. Just, you know, I didn't watch Murders at the End of the World because I didn't really feel that I need to, but otherwise, I'm all in on what he's selling. Obviously,
Starting point is 01:02:32 you know, I mean, that's the thing. Widows was, like, way overlooked at the Oscars. Sure. So it might not even be an Oscar thing for you.
Starting point is 01:02:39 But this is like a World War II movie. You know, it's going to be about perseverance and survival. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, it's going to be incredibly good. I don't think I want to give it up. to be about perseverance and survival. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, it's going to be incredibly good. I don't think I want to give it up.
Starting point is 01:02:48 I'm sorry. All right. So you're done then, right? Still done, yeah. Okay. And you now have $375. And we have to wait for Sean to come back then. Right.
Starting point is 01:02:58 No, this is a perfect chance for AI, Sean. He got blown out of the plane. Okay. When Sean comes back, we will be talking about John Crowley's We Live in Time.
Starting point is 01:03:13 Coming up next. I believe it's coming out and is a romantic film between Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. Oh. Yeah. And it's
Starting point is 01:03:21 not much is being said about it. Okay. But I think that they've shot it or shooting it. So we've decided not to do that. Yeah. And it's not much is being said about it. Okay. But I think that they've shot it or shooting it. So we've decided not to do that. Okay. She wants to keep Blitz. Okay. I now have $375 in an open slot and it's my turn to nominate.
Starting point is 01:03:35 It is. And I nominated We Live in Time, the John Crowley movie. Yes. Supposed to be a very good film. With Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh. Has also been talked about for some Oscars but nobody knows anything about it
Starting point is 01:03:47 because they've kept the log line pretty much under wraps. You all know how I feel about the wonderful film Brooklyn directed by John Crowley. And I think that
Starting point is 01:03:54 Florence Pugh cut her hair for this but I don't know. Florence Pugh cut her hair? Yeah. Or shaved her head. Shaved her head for it
Starting point is 01:04:00 or something. Something's going on. Yeah. Yeah. So I have $375 and one slot left. And this is the film that you want
Starting point is 01:04:08 because you feel that this will be the past lives of 2024. I think it's, I think I need something with a little bit of Oscar pedigree
Starting point is 01:04:15 and Oscar, and so like, while there's a couple of things here that I would be like, yeah, cool. I'd like that. There are also
Starting point is 01:04:22 a lot of them are sequels or a lot of them are really low-key movies. Interesting. Okay. I guess I'll, I guess I'll bid $375, right? Unless you don't actually want the movie. I mean, you have the most money. Yeah. Whatever you bid, it will sit at. Yeah. So, because I'm not likely to take it from you. Right. Even though I'm interested in the movie, for sure. But I can't draft anything else with my extra money. Correct. So, I'll take it for $375. It just so happens to fall on you to bid. Yeah. So $375, we live in time.
Starting point is 01:04:48 Could be a while before we see that one, as I understand it. I don't even know if we will. It doesn't have a date. I'm pretty sure it'll be $24 from what I've heard, but I don't. It might be like a fall release. Good pick, Chris. Thanks, brother.
Starting point is 01:04:58 I like that. That's exciting. It's a chance. It's the kind of chance we should be taking on this pod. I won't be taking a chance on my next pick. I'll just be taking Megalopolis. Okay. You are taking a big chance.
Starting point is 01:05:07 For $1. Absolutely. Just like Francis Ford Coppola took a chance on himself time and time again. Mortgaging his home. Are you now rethinking the Gladiator 2 situation? No. Okay. Do you just want to be back in the game?
Starting point is 01:05:19 No. I was honestly thinking that $1 is insulting to Francis Ford Coppola. He could probably use every dollar he could get. Yeah, that's what I'm saying. I'm happy to invert it and put another movie up and get this movie for the rest of my bank account. I actually don't know what I'm taking next, though. I was going to look for something slightly more commercial. Okay.
Starting point is 01:05:35 Mickey 17's commercial prospects, I have no idea. I'm fairly certain Furious is going to do at least $100 domestically. Yeah, that sounds right. So you don't have any... You have a sequel. So you can get one more sequel here. Or I could just hold it for next time. Or you could take Den of Thieves 2, Pantera. I just can't believe you didn't take it.
Starting point is 01:05:52 I can't believe you didn't take it. I can't... I love Den of Thieves, but I got Dune 2, and I got Gladiator 2. What does Pantera mean? You want to trade me Gladiator for... Why don't you just accept the fact
Starting point is 01:06:01 that it's just like Phil Anselmo is what it means? Is that... But is that what they're referencing? I don't... I think it's like a code... I don't know. accept the fact that it's just like Phil Anselmo is what it means. Is that what they're referencing? I think it's like a code. I don't know. What does Pantera, the word, mean? That's what I'm asking. It's just like Panthers?
Starting point is 01:06:13 It's going to be something very different than that. What does it mean? The show should actually be what Chris live Googled. It's a leopard. It's a panther. Okay. Panther. And you didn't take it? what Chris Leibkuhl It's a leopard. It's a panther. Okay. Yeah. Panther. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:06:25 And you didn't take it. I just think that like when Christian Guttegest is like I will name my second Den of Thieves called Pantera I don't want to sully that idea
Starting point is 01:06:34 with money. I understand. The only money I'm going to spend on this film is when I go see it 45 times in one weekend.
Starting point is 01:06:42 And I'm not going to go see it 45 times but I'm going to buy 45 tickets. I think, in theory, three of my movies will be out before the next auction. Depending on what happens with Mickey 17. In a good way or a bad way.
Starting point is 01:06:53 Maybe even four. We do it in July? July 1st. Coppola said Megalopolis will be out in, quote, a few months. Who's putting it out? Unclear. Okay.
Starting point is 01:07:05 Is he just going to go like I'm just going to pay what you will on my website? My interpretation of that was that it will be at Cannes. Okay. Okay.
Starting point is 01:07:12 No, we'll be auctioning it off in real life here on the big picture. He's going to come and do it. He's going to talk to the studio executives. He's screening it one time here at Spotify.
Starting point is 01:07:20 That'll be it in our screening room. Dolby surround sound. But I'm saying that because I'm wondering whether I should be trying to take a movie that's coming out soon so that I can figure out what I'm missing. I really want to see Civil War. I haven't seen Civil War. I don't think Civil War is going to make $100 million domestically. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:07:37 But I want to believe that Civil War will be great. I don't think it's going to be an Oscar movie either. It's going to be in that tweener zone of like good reviews. Yeah. Came out in April. People liked it. It to be an Oscar movie either. It's going to be in that tweener zone of like, good reviews. Yeah. Came out in April. People liked it. It made $81 million domestically. And it's a success, but it doesn't hit any of the triggers that I've set for myself.
Starting point is 01:07:54 So forget that. I'm just going to take Nosferatu. I'll take Nosferatu for $1. And I'll revert the remaining $345 as a sign of respect to the great Francis Ford Coppola from Megalopolis. Does that seem reasonable? Yeah, that seems right. Okay.
Starting point is 01:08:09 Nosferatu, Robert Eggers' new adaptation of the famed vampire story starring Lily-Rose Depp, who's CR's absolute favorite actress of all time based on his feedback on the series The Idol, which is a show you liked a lot. Yeah, I thought it was good. I was in Idol Gang for the show you liked a lot. Yeah I thought it was good. I was on I was in
Starting point is 01:08:25 Idol Gang. I know you were. For the first one and a half episodes and I was like I see what he's doing. Yeah. I get this.
Starting point is 01:08:31 And you see what I'm doing you see what Sam's doing. I saw what you were doing from moment one which is uh edgelording your way to a take and it
Starting point is 01:08:38 worked. It's not how I do things. In that case it was I say that out of love. It's like when I this is like when I stand in front of like a great piece of art at the Philadelphia Art Museum I say that out of love it's like when I this is like when I stand in front of like
Starting point is 01:08:46 a great piece of art at the Philadelphia Art Museum and I close my eyes and I let it hit me and then I come out with my take and I'm like Cy Twombly is this
Starting point is 01:08:53 you know that's how I felt about the idol I didn't check with anyone to see if it was cool if I felt that way didn't want to be part of group think
Starting point is 01:09:04 you know sorry for just being a fucking thought leader if I felt that way. Didn't want to be part of group think. Sorry for just being a fucking thought leader. Sometimes it's hard to be on the band of culture. This is a show that was racked by allegations of improper conduct on set
Starting point is 01:09:17 and that was quite literally bankrupt. I'm just reading the text. I'm not reading all that stuff. I'm just a new critic. Capital N not reading all that stuff. I'm just, I'm just a new critic. Capital N, capital C, you know?
Starting point is 01:09:27 Yeah, you are. You are certainly a new critic like we've never seen before. I believe that you, we all were together the night before
Starting point is 01:09:36 the finale of the Idol premiered, which was just like a really different energy from you from episode one, side-twambling your way
Starting point is 01:09:44 through new criticism. Just driving. And it was just like, I am energy from you from episode one side-twambling your way through new criticism. And it was just like I am backed into a corner. Yeah. Like I am stuck here. You were Sam Elliott in A Star Is Born pulling out of
Starting point is 01:09:55 Bradley Cooper's driveway. He was beautiful. For three and a half episodes he was beautiful. He was just like I don't know what I'm going to do but I gotta. I think the real ones out there
Starting point is 01:10:05 are Idol Gang. The real ones? Yeah. So we got, we're done. Yeah, we're done. We all got our five. We broke a few eggs to get there,
Starting point is 01:10:15 but I think we actually wound up in some cool movies. I agree. Look at you, Mr. Positivity. I agree. Well, Chris, given that wave of positivity,
Starting point is 01:10:23 why don't you read your slate? I got Dune Part 2 for $243. I got We Live in Time, which is the John Crowley film with Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, very little is known about, but it's being tipped for Oscars. I got Gladiator 2 for $380. I got Speak No Evil, James Watkins' remake of one of my favorite horror movies of the century with James McAvoy and Mackenzie Davis. And Horizon, Kevin Costner's Western epic. Horizon Part 1. An American saga. And I should say... Horizon colon an American saga dash part 1.
Starting point is 01:10:56 One thing that we will be able to say when we get to the end of 2024 is that Hollywood is doing great work in the colon subtitle part of the movie naming business. I agree. And like somewhere, Jack Warner and Louis B. Mayer and David O. Selznick are like, it wasn't all for nothing.
Starting point is 01:11:11 We did something here. Because they call it Den of Thieves Pantera. And he called it Horizon An American Saga. And he called it Rebel Moon Part 2 The Scargiver. And those are
Starting point is 01:11:27 these are an important stat. That's good stuff. You know what's one of the most disappointing titles of 2024? Just Hunger Game
Starting point is 01:11:34 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. That's another good example of what you're describing. No, Inside Out 2. They're just calling it Inside Out 2? Yeah.
Starting point is 01:11:43 What should they call it? Pantera? It's pretty good. Amanda, you want to read your films um yes did you ever see hunger hunger games the ballad of song for instincts where were you on that did you know i honestly thought it was one of the worst movies thank you thank god i've really that i feel really bad too, because it's not like... I had a crisis. I was just like, this is absolute trash that I'm watching. And everyone was like, oh, what beautiful songs. It was on that day when Amanda's title of Gen Z Mommy was revoked full time. I think that that was before she even got the title.
Starting point is 01:12:19 It's probably true. But all the December recordings are a blur. Yeah. Okay. My movies. I got Challengers, my most anticipated film of the year for 150 got maxine for 75 i got blitz for 385 i got twisters for 350 and i got the bike riders for 40 uh okay i got in a carryover hitman which we didn't talk about at all but is uh the gl the Glenn Powell starring and co-written.
Starting point is 01:12:47 Do you see this? I haven't seen it yet. New feature film from Richard Linklater, which is coming to Netflix at some point this year. I got Mickey 17, the recently delayed but hopefully coming out Bong Joon-ho film from Warner Brothers starring Robert Pattinson. I got Furiosa, a Mad Max saga for $375. I got Megalopolis, the two decades in the making Francis Ford Coppola film for $345.
Starting point is 01:13:10 With Adam Driver. With Adam Driver. And I got Nosferatu, Robert Eggers' new reimagining of the vampire story starring Bill Skarsgård and Lily Rose Depp for $1. Feel good? Yeah. I mean, what a twisting journey to get here, though. Many twisters.
Starting point is 01:13:26 A trade. Accusations of crying. Talking about whether or not earthquakes are real. Yep. And the erotic nature of women describing Trader Joe's recipes. AR-12 but earthquakes, I think, is a strong lane for you. I think that there is a lot of meat on that bone, if you know what I mean. Kind of a protein plate's full.
Starting point is 01:13:44 Yeah. Tectonic plate's full. Wow. Wow. Yeah. So a protein tectonic plate. That's the name of your show. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:13:53 I see it. Tectonic protein plates. That's really good for SEO. Everybody can spell all those words. It's not the San Andreas fault, you know? You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Yeah. Yes yes i do fauci or san andreas it hasn't happened they keep talking about the big one you know yeah why is that who decided that who decided there is a fault in san andreas earthquakes i'll tell you this. Maybe San Andreas is without falling.
Starting point is 01:14:27 I think there's a lot here. Yeah. I'm really, I like being, I think we both like being, I think all three of us like being present for when it strikes. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:14:35 For when it hits. Yeah, yeah, yeah. When it's like Chris, he's emerging from the chrysalis again and he is a butterfly once more. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:14:43 I just think that people would be like, oh God, did you feel that one? And I'm just like, nope. Don't know what you're talking about. again and he is about a butterfly once more yeah i just think that people would be like oh god did you feel that one and i'm just like nope don't know what you're talking about that was a real roller it's like no i was chilling i was chilling when i'm giving your eulogy when i tried to stretch yesterday i i seriously almost tore my fucking hip flexor. What did you do? I was just following this guy on YouTube. Yeah, okay, that's it. You gotta vet the videos.
Starting point is 01:15:09 And then I realized he's reversed, right? So every time I'm trying to mirror him, because of the camera lens, it is kind of like megalopolis. Are you okay? Yeah, I'm fine. Actually, I thought what I thought was this is what it feels like to release your hips yeah right but to clear them we got
Starting point is 01:15:29 to get you out of the fairway yeah i'm gonna get you swinging that stick that's not um but then i was like oh now they're now they're seizing now they're not released they're back in jail um okay let's get out of this prison of takes we're gonna go to my conversation with Jake Johnson now Jake Johnson is here Jake I don't know if you remember this but me and Chris Ryan yes
Starting point is 01:16:04 talked to you and Joe Swanberg six years ago in Austin about Win It All. And why did it take this long for you to do a solo movie, to direct a film by yourself and get into this solo? Yeah, it's a solid question. With Joe, a lot of it was this great partnership, which I really liked. I really like having partners. I like the distribution of power. I like being able to do certain things and then also leave. And what was great about Joe is a lot of the creative stuff we could talk and a lot of the technical stuff he could take over and we could kind of push things around. I did another movie with Trent O'Donnell, which we had the same kind of structure with Ride the Eagle. And then the problem with Self Reliance for me really was
Starting point is 01:16:49 it's such a specific tone, and it was a tone that I really wanted it to be. So this is the tone that I like. And I wanted it to be for this specific movie. I never need to make another movie of this tone, but I couldn't have another director that we were, they were directing, but I was given a lot of opinions, and then I couldn't have another director that we were, they were directing, but I was given a lot of opinions. And then I was telling other actors about the tone.
Starting point is 01:17:13 I'm okay to give notes. I'm okay to be really passionate about my character. That's overstepping the lines. So like with Joe, with like Iceland Debrez in that movie, I never talked to her about the tone of the love story, even though I did a lot of the writing for that movie, that's Joe's job. But if it's, I'm in a scene with Joe, we're doing that together now. So with self-reliance, I was like, I couldn't have a director come in talking to Biff Whiff, who's playing James and me not saying, no, no, no, he's perfect. Just everybody leave him alone. Nobody say anything. He's, uh, He's tonally and he's perfect. So how do you describe what that tone is that you landed on? With Self Reliance.
Starting point is 01:17:52 With Self Reliance, it's a stoner thriller. We just landed on that before. Each moment takes itself very seriously while not taking itself seriously at all but everybody's playing everything as real as they can so it is very light hearted it is ridiculous it is meant for fun but the characters in it
Starting point is 01:18:15 I never want anybody playing as if now we're in a funny movie or now we're in a thriller movie or look at me ain't I cute so everybody in it when I watch the movie, I believe everybody. I believe Gaeta as Charlie. I'm not seeing Gaeta in that moment. Even the version of Andy being Andy, I'm believing that version.
Starting point is 01:18:32 So I see it as very realistic in a lighthearted, ridiculous movie. When I was watching the movie, I was kind of worried about you. Thank you. I really, when I learned that it was written during the COVID lockdown I wasn't surprised but I was hoping you can kind of tell me where you were at in your life when you were doing this
Starting point is 01:18:51 and what spurred this on for you at this stage of your life well the original idea came from a Japanese reality show so Japanese reality shows I think in the late 90s started really pushing it and getting really wild and there was one where there was a guy, they took a comedian who won the contest. He didn't know what he was doing. They put him in an apartment, took off all his clothes. There was no food. There was no clothes. There was cameras
Starting point is 01:19:13 bugged everywhere. And the only way he could cover himself with clothes or eat was to get coupons or win things from like radio ads. And he lost it. And the more he lost it, the funnier it was for the audience. And that show really pushes it in a way that I wish I could have with mine, with the budget. But at the end of that, they bring him out in front of a huge live studio audience. And he's in a box where he doesn't know where he, he thinks he's on set and they lift it. And there's a packed room of people cheering and he's having a breakdown he doesn't know what is real but to them you know he's their favorite character and so i loved that idea i love that feeling but i don't want to make a dark psychological thriller that's
Starting point is 01:20:01 just that it sounds like old boy yeah it's like it's like old boy in a game show yes mixed with like the truman show yeah yeah and i was like that feeling of uh i think i'm in the wrong place here is a really fun story engine and then when i saw the movie jacob's ladder i was like this is a perfect movie for me i love it but if i'm going to do it, I want it funnier and lighter. And I like a love story. I like lightness. I like ridiculous characters. So in my kind of head, I was putting a Jacob's Ladder and a Bottle Rocket, seeing if I could mush that together for a tone. I had it as a limited series.
Starting point is 01:20:39 I pitched it to Netflix during New Girl. They passed. They had Maniac at the time time and they said this was too similar and too much smaller than that. It was kind of a cool pass. They said like, the spend we're doing on that will never do on yours too.
Starting point is 01:20:54 And I was like, I mean, thanks for showing me how the sausage is made. I don't like how this one's turning out. But I thought that was cool. Maniac is cool, but I like what you did. But it's different.
Starting point is 01:21:04 But I could see how it's like you can't do like from the place who brought you Maniac and also Maniac. A little more normal version of Maniac. Yeah, but still basically Maniac. And coming up next year, a few more shows that are honestly basically Maniac. So when you get a pass like that,
Starting point is 01:21:23 are you, you've been doing this a long time, are you deeply discouraged? Are you like, no problem, there've been doing this a long time, are you deeply discouraged? Are you like, no problem, there's going to be another place for it. Like what happened? How do you refashion it? Somewhere in the middle. So it's definitely not whatever.
Starting point is 01:21:35 But it's also definitely not, I don't believe an executive, an agent, a studio, a cool director can derail your career. So a pass is a pass, but it's not the end. And so what I really feel, I almost feel this like baseball where it, it's embarrassing to strike out in front of everybody to end it. And it sucks. Especially if you get like, if you like swung and it wasn't close and you go like what was that a curve and he was like yeah it was a curve yeah you saw correctly you just missed buddy yeah uh but i also firmly believe you're going to come back up to the plate so i put that away at the time i didn't want to pitch it all around town
Starting point is 01:22:19 from the response they got they were really warm i thought they were going to buy then they didn't i've pitched and missed so many times uh with different show idea and movie ideas that it's a whole dance you have to go through and it's part of your job you take like you know three weeks and you pitch everywhere and i just at that time i was working in tv i had other movies going as an actor i was like i don't want to do the dance right now so then i put it aside aside. It lived in my little dorky Jake's writing folder. You know, the desktop writing folder. Not cool. A lot of unfinished, a lot of medium ideas.
Starting point is 01:22:53 What if Mario Brothers was a drama? I mean, they kind of sort of did that this year, a little bit. Kind of, sort of. You know, just like little seeds. Seeds. Who are you in this equation you're Mario or Luigi always Luigi Luigi yeah
Starting point is 01:23:08 come on we got Luigi energy who wants to be Mario all that responsibility for what fixing the same pipes track splitting the money it's a family business
Starting point is 01:23:17 that's a good point it's always better to be number two yeah of course it is and then the pandemic hit and I was actually writing a movie that joe and i had talked about doing together and i was just doing another draft of it it was something i had written he was interested and we were trying to figure out if we could make
Starting point is 01:23:33 it and i was sitting up in a cabin with my family and it was you know two months in and i thought i'm never gonna make this movie I'm just writing to work. And then I was looking through Jake's writing folder, and I saw this old idea that had had, you know, probably 100 pages of notes. So this was not entirely born conceptually out of being locked down. Because it feels like the kind of thing that a person, the paranoia
Starting point is 01:24:06 the anxiety the you know everything you're bringing to the story the reason I said like at that time when I wrote it I felt like
Starting point is 01:24:12 oh I think I could actually get this made was because of that era and then because of Squid Game so all of a sudden I was like ooh
Starting point is 01:24:19 these things that have just happened a game comes out of a TV show comes out of South Korea where comes out of south korea where it's really dark but it's how far will human beings go to entertain others and to win money but i thought squid game would have said uh first hurt us so i had written scenes in there where the family asked tommy and they say like so the game is like Squid Game, did all this stuff.
Starting point is 01:24:47 We shot it and then put it in front of an audience and realized we didn't need it. And then during the pandemic, I was like, well, I'm missing everybody. We're all paranoid that there's something outside that can kill us. But, you know, I was up near Yosemite during that for a lot of it. And that up there, it's really divided.
Starting point is 01:25:03 So I would have a mask on and goggles and some neighbor guy up there who would be out taking his dog for a walk 800 feet away and then he would walk by and go like don't worry friend your pandemic will go as soon as they get rid of trump and i would think like how could we see this like nice guy i know the guy i like him yeah and i'm not somebody who's if their politics are different than me i like this dude how could we see something that i think is life and death so differently and then with each thing of news it would come up i would go down rabbit holes online and i would go you know what's interesting is this and i would have friends say to me maybe get some sleep and i'm like me maybe you get some sleep. And I'm like, me?
Starting point is 01:25:47 Maybe you get some fucking sleep. And then I would have other friends who would say, you know, I saw two town cars just driving around under a helicopter, and I would say to them, maybe get some sleep. And I was like, oh, these themes are right here, man. But part of what's so great about the execution of the movie is that you didn't do it the way that you sounded like you were originally pitching it which is that it's just not clear yeah what's real and what's not yeah there is an elusive quality to the story until we get very very far along so i mean obviously i
Starting point is 01:26:17 assume you feel like that was like good fortune serendipity that it took this long to get to the go from a series to a screenplay. The series still had that same feeling. It still had that feeling. Okay. So my version, and it's really funny going through, this movie has now been, we made it a year and a half ago. We went to South by Southwest. We did a bunch of screenings, talked to a bunch of people.
Starting point is 01:26:37 What I've really learned, at least for me, is how different everybody likes movies and what we all like about entertainment. And I'm really realizing that I formed my opinions in the 90s. Right. So what does that mean? It means for me, the idea of being unclear, the idea of open-endedness, the idea of even, you know, segments could be a little bit choose your own adventure.
Starting point is 01:27:02 It's how you take it. It's fun for me. While we were doing this, we found over and over more and more people were saying segments could be a little bit choose your own adventure. It's how you take it. It's fun for me. While we were doing this, we found over and over more and more people were saying how they wanted more answers. And if they're coming to a movie, they're not saying teach me anything, but if I'm going to give you 90 minutes,
Starting point is 01:27:17 you have that figured out. And so there were a lot of stuff that I originally really like about something that I'd realized like, Oh, I have to change that a little bit. Interesting. And it's been interesting. So does that mean like,
Starting point is 01:27:29 because you have an appreciation for David Lynch or Steven Soderbergh or something, that you feel more comfortable in a storytelling mode than like somebody who's 23 does? No, I'm not making that statement. But I will say that when I'm watching stuff, I like every kind of different movie and there's not a type of thing that i like so there are certain things that i watch like for example
Starting point is 01:27:50 uh i love astral weeks by van morrison i love kid a i don't always want kid a but at the right time kid a is just right yeah and i did feel a little bit like this that while there were certain things i was doing in the movie i was realizing like oh you want a certain album here you want a certain thing here and i'm close to it and i realized like oh if i were to do it again which i'm not going to direct for a while but if i were to do it again my experiment would possibly be to make a very by the number like movie like a romantic comedy that is one thing and see how that feels going and doing a press tour for it because in doing the press tour for this uh it's been a it's been fun but i'm like well the fun of it even when i pitched it when i got financing i said it's j's Jacob's Ladder meets Bottle Rocket.
Starting point is 01:28:45 And they said, I don't know what that is. I haven't seen either of those movies. Oh, you haven't? No, I'm saying, did people say that to you? No, they would say, I don't see how those two mix. And my response would be like, same. And that's why I think it's worth making the movie. Right, right.
Starting point is 01:28:58 Because I agree. I like that weird mix in one scene. And why I say Biff Whiff is the perfect tone of this movie is I 100% believe in him. I believe that could be a dude without a home. While he's in the scenes in backgrounds, like during the intervention, he's just reacting like it's really happening.
Starting point is 01:29:18 And he's just in it. And for me, I'm like, oh, he's just perfect. There's something else about the story, though, that feels not ripped from your life. You're a parent. You got a family. You got kids. And this is like a very lonely, desolate person.
Starting point is 01:29:33 It's not a personal story, to be honest. And he feels, you know, you're meant to believe, at least for a while, that there's a delusion that is kind of wrapping him. And then his family identifies. Yes. This has been a theme in his life. And it comes when he has these low moments.
Starting point is 01:29:48 Yeah. He starts making stuff up to get a little bit of a boost. And it might have been cute in high school. But come on, man. We're just not going down the road this time. So where does that guy come from? Is it just born out of that delusion that you're talking about with the town cars and the helicopters? Or is there more to it that you saw? You know people. You've seen this. I mean, all of that delusion that you're talking about with the town cars and the helicopters or is there more to it that you saw you know people you've seen this i mean all
Starting point is 01:30:07 that started from that japanese i mean really where it all started was comedically back in the day with the guys i went to high school with and we started doing comedy together putting a character in a corner and the rest of that while we're all doing bits and staying up all night if somebody says something everybody going like well you're, you're lying. You're lying. And then you're forced to go, no, I'm not. And then they go, yeah, yeah. And you put somebody in a comedic corner and they have to weasel their way out.
Starting point is 01:30:33 That's always just been really funny to me. So the real thing about it was not Tommy's. Look, all the characters I play, I do connect to because I'm the one playing them. The rhythm and the tone it'll go you'll always see a connection from Nick Miller to everything I do because that was the first huge job I ever had and it's the most hours I've ever done anything and I improvise a lot so there will always be a connection through but the reality of it is is
Starting point is 01:30:59 I don't experience what he has I You know this when you have kids. I would love to be lonely. Yeah. I do cherish my lonely moments. When my kids go to college, believe me, I'll sing another song of victimhood where I'll be. But as of now, I'm like, I can't think of the last time that it was like, I really miss people. Even in the pandemic, I would talk to friends who were single
Starting point is 01:31:28 who were like, I'm having a hard time, man. I'm by myself. And I go like, what are you doing? And they're like, you're not going to believe it, man. I'm 38 years old. I just smoke weed and play video games. I'm like, oh, fuck's sake. I want that so bad.
Starting point is 01:31:38 I'm literally trying to teach math. That is really, that is really, really crazy. I want to go back to the the Nick Miller thing you were saying though because you hear this a lot from a lot of actors who are on
Starting point is 01:31:48 long running series where at the end of that series especially one like this which is like people have a huge relationship to New Girl like they so many people have watched
Starting point is 01:31:57 that series now they're still watching it today which is awesome which is really cool but then you can become defined by that that becomes the only thing that people want you for
Starting point is 01:32:05 you know I feel like with your film work it has been certainly in the vein of like a persona that you've pursued but it is feels like materially different from whatever TV work that you have done like do you have a consciousness about that are you trying to break an expectation no not at all
Starting point is 01:32:19 I actually think it's different I think when we were coming up the way TV used to be that if you played a big character, it was really hard to break. And all the characters from like the perfect strangers type shows that, I mean, I loved.
Starting point is 01:32:32 Cheers. I did not want to see Cliff Clavin in anything besides Cliff Clavin. Yeah. Because I knew Cliff and I loved him. But back then, what'd they make like 20 movies a year and there were four networks? Yeah. And it was pre-cable. So the catch now is I actually think it's the opposite.
Starting point is 01:32:50 I think it's not that it hurts you. I think that it helps you because because of New Girl, I can go off and make a weirdo movie like Self Reliance, and that base will come and try. I can start a podcast, and in the first couple weeks, we didn't have any listeners. And I was like, well, another weirdo one from old Jakey J. You know what? Guys, nobody feel bad. It's like baseball. If we get four out of 10, we're the best of all time. And then we do
Starting point is 01:33:17 an episode with Lamorne Morris. And it's a really funny one. It's a great caller. The woman was a cat sitting, spent the whole time, masturbated the entire time while she was a cat sitting for some people. And you know, a therapist, a woman you would not expect, but she's like, you know, I have a roommate. So I was like, you know, watching videos about power dynamics, masturbating in the living room openly. And then she goes, and then the last day I saw that they had a cat cam. And so, you know, great call, like right in the wheelhouse of what I want that show to be not serious problem in terms of like divorce or life and death, but very serious to her. And Lamorne was our third, our guests on that one. And the new girl audience came out for that one. And then a lot of them stayed. And so because of that, we now have a huge base
Starting point is 01:34:05 and we're able to do this other show. And people will say, it feels like Nick Miller's got an advice show. Well, for me, I just honestly feel like, fuck, man, thank you guys for coming. I didn't start working as an actor until my late 20s. So I was on stages in New York. I've told this story before,
Starting point is 01:34:22 but my buddy Oliver and I had a two-man show. At the time in New York, they were really cleaning up Times Square. So they took all the porn theaters and barely cleaned them. But there'd be like an old theater with 60 seats that were now empty. No dancers, you know, nobody in them anymore. But you're right in Times Square above like a porn shop. Go to the second floor. There's a beautiful theater. So they started renting them out to actors and improvisers and said like, for 60 bucks, you guys have it. You take the entire door.
Starting point is 01:34:54 So we went out and we had a two-person improv show. And we handed out flyers all throughout the village, all throughout Times Square. Our big Friday night show told everybody we knew. Literally no one showed up. Not even because we had done so many shows. It was one of those nights that like all of our friends had seen it of like a few weeks before and the math worked out that it was zero. And it was my buddy Oliver and I and we were all geeked up,
Starting point is 01:35:20 like stretching in the back going like, got your back, brother. And the lighting guy came and said, it's five minutes past eight. Nobody, zero seats. What do you guys want to do? And Oliver and I looked at each other, and we've talked about it a lot since, but we said, well, we came here to do the show. We're going to do the show. And we did it hard, and we went for it. And afterwards, we both had to admit the show we're gonna do the show and we did it hard and we went for it
Starting point is 01:35:45 and afterwards we like both had to admit like we learned a lot we are going to do it if they're here they're not here and so when they continue to show up for me especially this period I'm having it as I'm getting older I'm like I appreciate it and if it's because of a connection that new girl meant something to you, fucking thank you. Whatever it is, like we're still doing this dance. And so I don't think it's a hindrance. I think it is the best thing that could happen to you. When you were in doing that show with Oliver.
Starting point is 01:36:16 Yes. The Midwesterners. In the back of your mind, were you like, one day I'm going to Hollywood and I'm going to be a movie star? No. What was the thing you wanted to be? A TV actor. TV actor was the goal.
Starting point is 01:36:28 A comedic TV actor. I wanted to be somebody that people watched on TV and brought them joy and they thought that dude's really funny. And I wanted it to be like the way I loved my family growing up. We were a TV family. Like to this day, I like movies, but I'm not like, when we get together, I like to have wine and talk about the greatest classic films of all time. I'm just not that guy. You know, and I've had friends who have gone through the phase being like, you haven't seen this. Mike Serra is a friend. Every once in a while, he used to send me DVDs and just say, just watch these. He's an insane cinephile.
Starting point is 01:37:05 Just watch these. He's like, you can't be doing what you're doing and not know it. And I'd be like, I'll watch those if you watch the Wonder Years season four. That's really funny though, because I do feel like self-reliance is kind of cinematic in a way that maybe you wouldn't expect from somebody who would say what you just said. But we get into that like did you have a moment maybe say season four of new girl where you're like i did exactly what i set out to do like is there any kind of like crisis that sets in or or you're just like i'm just happy to be doing this and just keep going no when you're in it it never uh the way people are responding to it now is not the way they responded while we were doing it okay so it's different so when we, it started in season one popped, right?
Starting point is 01:37:47 And Zoe was, those billboards were everywhere and all, we went from nothing to something. But for myself, it was really overwhelming and I was not matched. I was not ready for it. I wasn't mature enough. I didn't get it. I couldn't memorize all those lines. I was like really, like really mourning weed and being like, but if I shoot on Wednesday and Thursday, when do I get to smoke pot?
Starting point is 01:38:16 And I was like, oh, I'm a child. And none of them work because you just have to grind and work. And every, you know, every, we were doing a ton of press. That summer, after that first year, I did a movie called Pretty One, I believe, and Drinking Buddies. That's a classic. Love that. Great one, yeah. Then the second year, when we came back, the TV show got even more hype.
Starting point is 01:38:41 Then those movies started coming out. Then we were doing press. And then I got Let's Be Cops for that next summer. So it was just kind of going. I think we did the Super Bowl season two or season. It was just getting crazy. And then the audiences and critics, the critics first, turned on the show. And it was somewhere around the beginning of three.
Starting point is 01:39:02 We used to go to all the award shows. We would be like the nerdy TV cast at like the Globes, you know, and like that second balcony. Zoe and Max were Emmy nominated. I believe Liz Merriweather was for the writing. If not, she should have been. But we were like one of those shows. And then overnight we weren't.
Starting point is 01:39:19 And overnight we were that show on Fox. That's definitely not like a cool like NBC show. And I was like, ooh, how were that show on Fox. That's definitely not like a cool NBC show. And I was like, ooh, how'd that happen? And you feel it, where you're like, oh, that cool group of actors who I'm not friends with. Well, last time, I did a cool bro handshake with them. And now they're doing it with somebody else. And I was like, fuck them anyhow. But there is something different.
Starting point is 01:39:43 And then all we heard week to week is how we were like hemorrhaging numbers. And then by then, we all knew how to look at the ratings. And that was pre-streaming. It would just drop and drop. And a certain number, we thought, if you get there, it's over. We would get below. And then we had another year. They would give us another chance.
Starting point is 01:40:03 And Fox really tried but we were canceled and we we did not do on that show it didn't you know like when a loved show goes off the air they all go on like leno yeah and they all sit in director's chairs and go like well when lemur showed up and the audience goes nuts no No talk shows for the cast of New Girl. We had our final season. We had an eight episode season seven. Contractually, we all had to agree to it because you don't do eight in TV. But Fox, after Zoe, Liz, and I wrote like a letter
Starting point is 01:40:36 saying like, there are fans who care. Fox was really cool and said like, we agree and we've loved the show, but it wasn't a loved show and then it finished and whatever and then a whole new generation found it on Netflix and they adopted it as their own so looking back at it now I'm more like great. But in it, it felt like we were, if we were a sports team, we were trying to get like a wild card spot. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:41:11 Well, what you described is that feeling of like going to the Super Bowl in your rookie season and then you think it's always going to be like this. And then something happens. Yeah. And I'll tell you, what didn't happen was any change from within. Uh-huh. Because we were like, we're still doing the same show. And then what we have found in years past
Starting point is 01:41:27 is people go like, there's not a drop-off for the audiences, but all the critics universally changed at the same time. And I'm like, what happened? What happened in your guys' view between season two and season three that isn't happening with people? So, okay, there's a couple things unpacked there
Starting point is 01:41:45 and it's all related to where you're at right now i think i think ultimately maybe what happened to the show is what happened to every show on linear television which is like numbers were going down because netflix was coming to then ultimately re-air other shows that people ultimately would like because they weren't watching tv the same way but if you felt like nothing creatively changed and this applies maybe to everything you've ever done because you've been in big movies that haven't worked you've been in big movies that have worked you know you've made your own stuff that has been smaller that has been acclaimed and other small stuff that maybe hasn't gotten as much attention as you want it yes so is it just
Starting point is 01:42:17 that there's like thank you for not saying not acclaimed i was waiting for the bit you can be in some small stuff you've been acclaimed you've done some small stuff that a lot of people hate, my man. I'm not here to hurt you. Yeah, you're very classy. It was set up for a great mean joke, though. No, no, no. That's not my style. Rhythmically, you had me.
Starting point is 01:42:36 Nevertheless, is it just people are fickle and it's hard to find stuff? Like, what is it? People change their minds because it's cool to change your mind? Like, what happens? I don't know. I will I will say, uh, I don't think it's people are fickle. I do think there's a little bit of weird magic. Uh, I think that there are certain things that hit at certain times. You don't know why. I think there are certain times that like, you know, people as a group don't like things or they don't like things for a reason and then they like it later or they like it now and then they hate it later and uh what i i will say i don't try to chase and understand that because i am also the audience and there's times when everybody loves something
Starting point is 01:43:18 and then i'm feeling like i hate it now and i I don't know why. And so circle and what this town is trying to make and what we really celebrate and what we do that all the critics and all the town loves. And we all know like, man, you're making the good stuff. And then there's this other thing and that is going after audiences
Starting point is 01:44:00 and making audiences really happy. And I think I have been thinking in the back of my head, I kind of want to make sure the town is happy and it's cool. And as I'm getting older, I'm just having more and more like, you know, if we're just performers, which is what we are, we're going town to town like they used to. We get on stage, We perform for the people. They pay us.
Starting point is 01:44:26 Okay. Forgive the direct nature of this question, but is that because you're not broke? Yeah, probably. Because that's an interesting thing. Wait, no. I take no. I think it's the opposite. No, because here's why.
Starting point is 01:44:37 The more money is now coming for people who are going direct to audience. The YouTube kids and the podcasters are making so much more money than some writer who's get a development deal at NBC and has a great idea and then goes, yeah, that could be, they could be doctors. But for you as that 90s person with that 90s sensibility, did you need to get over some sort of line or something i think about i mean i relate to what you're saying but from the 90s if you remember when like johnny depp was young and cool and we were all like you know chubby and dorky and being like i too could wear makeup and people would think i was cool i could also wear nine bracelets and then i would and my brother would be like what are you doing and i'd be like what do you mean i've always worn 40 bracelets and eyeliner while while eating a quarter pounder
Starting point is 01:45:30 with cheese yeah you can't eat the way you eat it dressed like johnny but johnny depp used to say things like you know openly where he'd be like you know one for me one for them and that idea was so cool like you make one for the studios which is basically then for the audience a goofy whatever something stupid for everybody then the one for you is a black and white movie with you smoking cigarettes you know drinking coffee in a diner and we all go like man johnny really acted in that Right. But then the stupid one made it so he had a lot of money and had an island and could do the black and white one. That's what I thought the model was. And now as I'm looking at it and I'm meeting a whole new generation of people who are making
Starting point is 01:46:18 stuff, they're just going to their audience and doing what they want to do. The audience is into it. They're selling ads in that space and making a lot of money, making a lot of people happy and doing exactly what they want to do. Even if it's not what I want to do, they're doing what they want to do. And I'm thinking like, well, this idea of one for them, one for me, well, it's all for the audience and it better be all for you and so I'm like the thing in my head is changing
Starting point is 01:46:48 where I'm like well shouldn't like for example the podcast we started in our closets in our bedroom you should say the name of it we're here to help thank you very much
Starting point is 01:46:57 you're not only a nice guy but you're also a god damn professional I'm at least a professional podcaster because you're a professional we're competition but we're not we're not we a nice guy, but you're also a goddamn professional. I'm at least a professional podcaster. Because you're a professional. We're competition, but we're not. We're not. We're both on Spotify.
Starting point is 01:47:10 That's right. Guess what? You know what somebody said to me about the podcast world, which was really cool? Because when I started getting into it, the way I kind of like to do everything is I like to find people doing it and then pick their brains on it. And I like being the younger brother in a situation. And the podcast world has said that you're not trying to reach people who don't like podcasts because you're not going to. You're trying to reach people who already like podcasts, who after they're finished listening to theirs, wouldn't mind a different one too. And you're like, oh, that's how I am. The good news about that is that
Starting point is 01:47:45 10 million people have a podcast. So the audience is potentially very large. Or you're still playing in the same pool and 9,900,000 have their friends listening or they're doing the show that I did where nobody's listening. You're making a podcast. Right. But there are a lot of those. I think a lot of those numbers are a hundred people. Yes. If. Yes. And that's in a month or two months. And so you go like, oh, and I don't actually have judgment for it because that's what I did. But your show has, well, it's interesting. I'm fascinated by the 2023 you had in general, because you basically had all of the things that you just described. You've got this carry over of all the things that you've done before that is now on
Starting point is 01:48:24 streaming. So people can discover you anew every day or spend time with you if they want to. In terms of like the old New Girl shows. Any TV show you made, any movie you made. That's just crazy. They're there. It's all there. In a way that it wasn't with Cheers when we were growing up. A hundred percent.
Starting point is 01:48:35 Where it was like, maybe this is on, you know, in syndication. Oh, I remember there was like a television museum I heard about in New York that I used to dream about going to so I could find all the old episodes. I recorded on a VHS tape over family memories so that I could record Cheers. It's like a issue in my family because they were like two famous VHS tapes. We didn't have a lot of them.
Starting point is 01:48:55 That was like us in big years. And I made a conscious choice that I've, I couldn't do the thing that you would do in a sitcom where I'd go like, I didn't know. I thought Cheers was more important than the memories of my siblings and my mother. So that sounds like the guy from Self Reliance a little bit. Just going to put that out there. But then the other things that you have.
Starting point is 01:49:14 So you have all the work that you've done your whole career. Plus, you've got an independent film that is also technically going to be on a big streaming service that premieres at a festival. And it'll be connected through New Girl on Hulu. Exactly. And I guarantee a big reason why Hulu came so aggressively and bought it after South by Southwest is what a great pairing. Right. Smart. It's all synergy, right? It works together.
Starting point is 01:49:34 To the Jake Johnson fandom. And Win It All, which Netflix was really aggressive for at that time, was paired very nicely when New Girl was. So going back to Nick Miller, I'm like, hey guys, thank you. It helps. It helps, man. But then still, you have a pod that you start
Starting point is 01:49:51 with a friend and it's something that I'm sure is incredibly fun for you to do and also in theory makes money and people find it. And then, you're also in like one of the three or four
Starting point is 01:50:00 most beloved movies of the year. You're still doing the old thing that you're talking about as a voice actor. Different. Phil Lord and Chris Miller. And I'm not saying this as a little kiss-ass.
Starting point is 01:50:12 If those guys called me and said, we want to make a Backyard Indie and we want to do it for $250,000. The reason I call it Backyard Indie is Ride the Eagle we made for $250,000 in my literal backyard. We knew doing it. We're not going to make any money. It's not going to be a big hit, but we just want to make a movie in the pandemic. If they said we want to do that,
Starting point is 01:50:33 that would be a top priority for me. So the fact that it happened to turn into Spider-Verse is the luckiest break in the world for me. But I was in, I'm in the Phil Lord, Chris Miller business. I think those guys are not only so beyond in terms of how they think, but their work ethic, their care. When I talk about going to the audience, they have that in spades. I'm learning shit because I cared more about gatekeepers. And they were like, who cares about, you have to make it right. And you have to push and you have to work and you have to work and grind and grind and people can be mad at you. But it, we have to, when we give it to the audience, have to be a hundred percent proud of it. Like for example,
Starting point is 01:51:14 in working with them and my movie went to South by Southwest. And I felt like even though Hulu bought it, there was things I felt like I wasn't done yet. And because of working with those guys, my buddy, Jake Zemanski, who did a directed all jury duty, uh, and Akiva and Andy, I talked to all them and, and they all kind of basically said the same thing. And that is, well, if you're not done, then get more money and keep pushing. And I felt like, oh, I never would have done that two years ago because I don't want to piss off the gatekeepers. I need another chance. So even if, if it's, if it's sports,
Starting point is 01:51:48 if I'm not getting enough playing time, keep your mouth quiet. Cause you don't want to be a locker room problem. So with that in mind, then you said something really interesting, which is that you were like, I don't know if I'm ever going to do this again. And it sounded like directing a movie was what you were referring to. So why?
Starting point is 01:52:00 Um, I feel like directing a movie for me, you have to, so I love self-reliance. I love the tone of it. It's something I've wanted to do is honoring the 19-year-old me. But for example, when we were at the premiere party, people were saying like, I was around some Hulu people
Starting point is 01:52:18 and they said like, what's the next one? And I was around MRC who I really respect and I loved working with them. And we have a team. And we know at this budget, which we made, we're in profit. Yeah. So we've won. Now, how people perceive it, you hope it's great, but in terms of a business, let's do it again.
Starting point is 01:52:39 And then maybe we can go a little bit higher in budget and hopefully sell for a little bit more. You've now learned some stuff. We made this in 17 days. What if we gave you 21 days? And then maybe we can go a little bit higher in budget and hopefully sell for a little bit more. You've now learned some stuff. We made this in 17 days. What if we gave you 21 days? What if we actually saved some money for your reshoots now that we know you like it? And all I could think is like, I married self-reliance. I didn't date self-reliance.
Starting point is 01:53:01 It's not a mistress. We're still married. You're not only talking about like another girlfriend, if this falls apart, you're talking about another marriage. And it feels insane to me. Is it because it's that hard to do? It's, it takes, so what I'm used to is acting or podcasting, right? Podcasting is I could jump in for four hours. I could work really hard. I will not think about it for the rest of the day. I'm ruined forever because of this job. Because this is, it is, it is so much more fun and easier in its way than the things I was doing before. A hundred percent. Yes. And, but you can be all, you can
Starting point is 01:53:38 be when you're in, you're in. Yes. And the whole world falls apart. You don't even think to look at your phone. But the second I leave here, if my wife calls, I could be transitioned into full-on dealing with a kid meltdown. And by later tonight, she'll go, what'd you do today? And I'll go, just the meltdown. And all of this will be gone. Yes. I so relate to this.
Starting point is 01:53:59 But that's also acting if you have the right thing. And that is, you look at the call sheet. I'm not there on Tuesday. I'm going in Wednesday. I like these people. I love the material. I'm here. It's really fun. Now the hours are a little bit more, but great people, great fun. Directing is you're there from the sun coming up to the sun going down. Then you're the one figuring out the next day. So when my wife would call and say there's a meltdown i'd go like what i'm dealing with another meltdown for my fucking sound guy i'm dealing with another baby but this baby is in props and then i'd have to go like i know you're 57 my king but that's a joke
Starting point is 01:54:41 props and sound were not an issue but it was a it's a different thing and that movie and that cast and that crew and in prep your whole team and then in production and then in post that's your group yeah and i was happy that that group was for this movie with these people i loved it i loved being a director to pick the team. There's not one person I didn't like. I thought everybody crushed it. But to start over, it feels as insane to me as if somebody said to me right now, I've been with my wife since 2004,
Starting point is 01:55:18 if they said, so you and your wife are going to be done on Thursday? And I went, officially? Yes, it's over. And it's a success. Be happy. You guys had a great marriage. You produced two kids.
Starting point is 01:55:30 It's a profitable partnership. And then they said, let's have a meeting on Friday and set you up with your next wife that you're going to be with and hopefully have a couple more kids with and have another great 15-year run with. But we should start that now because there's good momentum for you. And my thought is, am I fucking Tommy? And am I nuts or are you nuts?
Starting point is 01:55:50 Because somebody here is crazy. And then they go, this is what other directors do. And I go, it's not my life. So if it's going to happen, it'll be in a year. I'll have a really brilliant idea. Here's another weirdo guy like Nick Miller who gets involved in a weird adventure. And then some unthinkably cool actress agrees to be my love interest. And then slowly it'll start building and building.
Starting point is 01:56:13 And then four or five years, I'll say, all right, I guess I'm ready to date again. I wonder if that is born out of not being a movie guy with your family as a kid and not being a person who's like, I waited my whole life to be a filmmaker. And so even if I hated it and it ate my life and it was an unhappy marriage, I have to keep going. A lot of directors came to me during this. And when I would be like talking about, you know, something like that, something, you know, like a little example, they would go, yeah, but you're directing a feature. And for me, when I'm, when I'm on a TV set, when I was on New Girl, even when people weren't liking it, there would be moments where I could sit there and
Starting point is 01:56:56 we just finished a scene and people are laughing and they're relighting. And I have a bunch of photos on my phone and I would take a photo from up. So you'd see the, you'd see like the new girl living room, but then up you're in a soundstage. So then you see all the beams and the lights. And I was like, I know I'm pissed and grumpy now. This is it. This is what I'd always thought of, of like, you know, you got to go do ADR. So you're on the back of like the cart. And then like, there's like people on the lot and you're in like Schmitty wave. But I was like, that's what I always thought of the Hollywood thing. I always thought you do that, you get a convertible and you get a pool. And if you move to LA, you come out here,
Starting point is 01:57:41 you're made the whole image I had was you're a fat guy with a mustache from Chicago, you smoke cigarettes, you drink beer, you eat bad food, you perform all the time, you attack the stage like a bull, that's what Belushi taught us, that's what Farley taught us, that you be the aggressor, but you've got to make your scene partners look good.
Starting point is 01:58:00 That's what the Del Close model was, the Chicago way. Don't be a fucking stealer. Don't be a stand-up. Don't be a stand-up. Don't go up there and just hit your jokes. You do something different. You attack like a bull, but you make everybody else good. Then you get to Los Angeles. And then all of a sudden, if you hit, you're on a show and you get a convertible
Starting point is 01:58:17 and you're driving through the hills with like a joint and then you got a house with a pool. And for me, that was always was always like well that's what happens it was never you direct a feature film and you're in post-cutting and it's hard but great and you put the piece the puzzle together and then you go to like the festivals and you go to the i was like that was never it so that has all been really interesting and really neat and i've learned a ton but it's insane to think it's soon. Cause it's a hard, it's a hard job. It's a marathon.
Starting point is 01:58:48 Okay. It might be a while before you're back on this pod then. Yeah. You're not making another movie. Um, I, we end every episode of the show by asking filmmakers, what's the last great thing they have seen. You are a filmmaker for now. Yes. Yes. Uh, have you seen anything good? It doesn't have to be a movie. Do you want to talk about Cheers? What was the last great thing that I've seen? I realized I had thought I had seen all of The Sopranos,
Starting point is 01:59:17 and I hadn't. And about nine months ago, I sat down and watched every episode. Now, it took time, but I was like, this is a show I have talked about like I know it, and I've said it's the best. And I'm like, I think I missed seasons, buddy. And I sat down and I watched it, and I thought when it ended, that shit was the best.
Starting point is 01:59:43 It really is the best. It might be the best. I was like, well, I also did it ended, that shit was the best. It really is the best. It might be the best. I was like, well, I also, I did it during the pandemic with the Larry Sanders show. Another show I've claimed to be the best. And then I realized
Starting point is 01:59:54 when I first started watching it, because I didn't have cable growing up. So I'm like, I don't know when I would have watched this. And I sat and watched that and thought, oh, this is so good that one in particular when I was a kid turned my brain on I was like I didn't know you could do this yeah it's so good it happened so but when you say like my movie is cinematic and it's got a certain look to it
Starting point is 02:00:16 well I love great tv right so I love tv that has a look to it. Do you know? I love the look of Larry. Larry Sanders is shot beautifully. So I don't like, when I say I love TV, I don't love a multicam with really, you know, generic lighting. I almost did a multicam years ago, and the big talk I was having with the network was literally about the lighting. Because I hate the way they're lit, where it's just so everyone can see it.
Starting point is 02:00:43 I never want to act in what looks like a target. It's a fake world. It's a fake world that's so bright so you can shoot everything. Like I like shadows. I like a little darkness. I like it feeling like a living room. And so TV that does that, but that you can keep coming back to these characters.
Starting point is 02:00:58 I feel like I want to, I know that I want to make something that feels filmic. I want to do a TV, a show that feels as rich as an indie movie. But in success, you can grow with these characters for seven or eight seasons. That to me feels like a dream. Jake, thanks for doing the show. This was great.
Starting point is 02:01:17 Yeah, this was a lot of fun. Thank you to Jake. Thank you to amanda thank you to chris and of course thank you to our producer bobby wagner in the studio this week later this week amanda and i will dig into all of us strangers among other things we'll see you then

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.