The Big Picture - The ‘Babylon’ Watch-Along

Episode Date: March 26, 2024

In a hundred years, when you and I are both long gone, anytime someone listens to this podcast, you will be alive again. Chris Ryan joins Sean and Amanda as they discuss Damien Chazelle’s 'Babylon.' (The movie is now available on Amazon Prime Video and Paramount+, so you can stream along with 'The Big Picture.') Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Chris Ryan Senior Producer: Bobby Wagner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it's Brian Curtis from The Ringer, and I want to tell you about the Press Box podcast. The Press Box is a podcast for anybody who likes news, whether it's about sports or politics or pop culture, and wants to understand how that news really gets made. We have new shows every Monday and Thursday. We have long interviews with everyone from John Krakauer to Joe Buck. Your social media feeds are bursting with information every day. Let us help you sort it out. Join us on the Press Box.

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 who wants to see my dad fight a fucking snake?

Chris Ryan is here. We are coming to you live to tape to watch Damien Chazelle's maligned, misunderstood masterpiece, Babylon. We want you to watch this movie along with us. You may be wondering, why are we doing this right now? Maybe it's because this 2022 movie still resonates deeply in our hearts, or maybe it reflects a Hollywood that remains rotten to the core, or maybe this was the Margot Robbie snub we should have been talking about. Either way, this is one very long, very fun movie. We're glad you're along for the ride with us.

If you want to literally watch along with us, you can stream the movie right now and listen. The movie is available to stream for subscribers on Amazon Prime Video, as well as Paramount Plus, and of course available to rent on Apple, Amazon, Vudu, Google Play, YouTube, wherever you watch your movies. I'm also willing to bet many of you listening right now own this movie in hard media. So pop it in and sit down and watch with us. So when I count us down to begin the movie,

join along and press play when we reach the end of the countdown. If you'd prefer not to watch along and just listen, you can do that too, of course. We do think that that is psychotic behavior. Okay, here we go. Five, four, three, two, one. Sorry. Hello, everyone. It's Amanda. I have a view of what's on CR's laptop right now um there was a washington post um book controversy and now something called mountain tough but that's mtn tough where chris is gonna join the bodybuilding i'm already part of the community yeah and oh you're part of it yeah well then why is it asking you to join again no it's you can see my accounts right up there yeah that is true yeah there it is. I'm already into the body weight on ramp.

What's up, man? How are you? I'm good. I'm here to watch a film. Are you ready to watch a film or are you thinking about your body right now? I think I'm going to have to think about my body because we're about to sit here for three hours and change. And it's, it's this movie is the perfect manifestation of we're so back, it's so over. How so? Because it's like everything that's good

about Hollywood, everything that's bad about Hollywood, the promise of, of the 21st century of movies and perhaps the dark doom that we all face.

Do you, does that resonate with you? I wasn't listening. I was trying to figure out where they are right now filming. So this is like,

this is Bel Air in 1926. Right. But actually in Los Angeles now, we think it's like on the way to Santa Barbara. Looks like Bakersfield to me. Okay. Could be farmland in the northern part of Southern California. It's north, right? Yeah, but I feel like this is kind of the field's end towards where you're going to like ventura you know oxnard

central valley that's not quite central valley you think this is central valley no i think this is like in it's beautiful yeah uh california is beautiful then and now it's incredible commentary from you thus far thanks so much for your insights i'm talking about the film we're seeing uh manny the the star of this film the protagonist of this film, is played by Diego Calva. First time I'd ever seen Diego Calva. Me too. Has not done a whole heck of a lot since this movie. What do you think that's about, Chris?

One and done? You think he's just like, I can't beat Babylon? Yeah. Could be. This was an incredible way to open his career. This is the legendary, infamous elephant scene that opens the film. Nice little tidy metaphor for the experience of trying to break into Hollywood. What happens?

What do you have to endure? Uh-oh. See, I feel like this is Cracker Jack filmmaking at its finest. He does a great job with this. He should make an Indiana Indiana Jones style action movie. Oh, that's an interesting idea. Damien? Because I figure we will talk about what he's going to do next.

Babylon is his fifth film. And he's talked recently about how maybe he's not going to get quite the budget that he would want for his next one. Oh, the elephant just pooped everywhere. Yeah. This is what it's like. This is when CR is going into those generals. And he's like, my big when CR is going into those generals and he's like,

my big idea is Damien Chazelle's action movie. And they're like, sir, please leave and leave the bottled water we've given you. I don't know. I think Zaz would give me

a blank check for that one. You do? I think that's a good idea. I think if Damien Chazelle was like, what we need is like a diehard or, you know, Indiana Jones,

like throwback, stunty action movie. I think that would be sick. Tell me about you and Zazz how have your times together been have you guys connected we have

yeah we both have a passion for the sea for yachting and for vests apparently neither of you likes the Looney Tunes either

that's something I've learned it's true Amanda you're pro Looney Tunes yeah sure yeah Looney Tunes are great how would you feel

if he put me in charge of Turner Classic Movies David Zaslav yeah I'm pretty good about it pretty good would it sting a little meaning

because I would want to be in charge yeah yeah do you want to be in charge of Turner Classic Movies I'm extremely happy with my station in life

this month is April and we're just playing Margin Call. Okay. I think it would be fun to see how your mind works. I do think it would skew less classic, more Q Shaman. No, I don't think it would be like that. But I do think I would be like, we've watched Now Victory like enough.

You know, we can like put the Betty Davis movies in a box. Wow, that's rude. They can come out every once in a while. Yeah. But there's like a whole. Because you want to silence women? No, I just think that the 80s are where it's at. You see, this Oscar season, I can't remember who like asked all the nominees what classic film star you would want as your date to the Oscars.

Bette Davis was the winner. Really? Yeah. Yeah. Interesting. I'm surprised she still has a strong rep with folks even that are in their You know one of the people

who picked her? Bradley Cooper. Well, uh-huh. Yeah. I certainly buy that. I'm just putting that out there. Very interesting. What do you think

his favorite Betty Davis movie is? All About Eve? This is a very famous scene in the movie where a woman gets astride a fatty arm buckle type and begins urinating on him.

Well, when you saw this for the first time, Amanda, you thought what? I'm sorry. I have some Juffe in my mouth. I think at this point, I famously really like the middle two hours of this movie. So right now I'm focusing on carbs. Famously. Famously, yeah. I was like, okay two hours of this movie. So right now I'm focusing on carbs. Famously. Famously, yeah. I was like, okay, they're peeing, you know.

Once the elephant shit happened, I was like, oh, I see what you're going for here. And the next 20 minutes, it's just like a lot. Right. And, you know, they're all doing a lot. I'm happy for them. I don't think I would want to go to this party. I don't think I'd want to go to this party i don't think i'd want to go to a party with an elephant i think sean and i have been to this party it's it's a

little bit a little cobra snake energy it's got a little proto vice yeah you know i definitely feel like i was at a couple of parties not quite as naked as this party but similar energy a lot of drugs a lot of music. And yet, nothing can capture the heart of Hollywood. I was like, guess what? The stills are playing. Yeah, not quite as good as this Louis Armstrong stand-in that Giovanna Deppo is playing in this movie.

This is cool. I think more movies should have overture sections like this. I like the idea of stretching out for 20 minutes and throwing a lot of different like virtuosity at the screen and yeah this is the world storytelling to it but like there's also like uh you get a sense of like just how these people are treating their nervous systems it's also pretty classic storytelling structure the through the eyes of a nafe know, a young person who is not really familiar with this world, who's been thrust inside of it, who wants to be a part of the club,

but is just the help. Here we see Jean Smart. Yeah. Interesting timing of Jean Smart blowing up again with hacks simultaneous to this, and it's still not mattering, because she's such an important character in this movie. Still, nobody cared. Nobody saw Babylon.

With a little bit of distance, why do you think that was, Amanda? Why did people not see this movie. Still, nobody cared. Nobody saw Babylon. With a little bit of distance, why do you think that was, Amanda? Why did people not see this movie? Well, it's three and a half hours long, so it took us at least two months to be able to organize the three of us being in a room watching it together. That's a very good point. This was much delayed. Right. So it's sort of a logistical thing. Ooh, is that a chicken? It is so i think in general parties with animals it's not something i'm i don't really want to interact with the animals you know what about a petting zoo or whatever no no thank you if you're at like a party and there's a house cat that's okay you know domesticated but in general like the zoo makes me pretty nervous um even

though and even though, well, for a number of reasons, both like humanitarian, but I just like, I've witnessed you face to face with an ostrich. Didn't go well. You seemed a little freaked out.

Ran away from that. Um, I really hate it when the peacocks are just roaming a venue, you know, uh, which you could see at this party. You know, we went to a, here we go.

Oh, there she is. There she is. This is, this is the great Margot Robbie. Guys, I noted with interest, I was listening to the Town podcast. Matthew Bellany and Lucas Shaw was on this episode. They were talking about juice. Who has juice in Hollywood?

Sure, yeah. I listened to that on the way here. Great episode. Very fun. Most of the folks who had juice were in the C-suite. They were of the folks who had juice were in the c-suite they were in of the executive class the one exception aside from taylor swift who of course is incredibly powerful who was listed was margot robbie now if you had said that one year ago i think people i think people would be like what are you talking about so i wonder was there a little bit of a

reactionary bent to that because in fact i feel like after this movie came out people were like margot robbie is she box office poison well it was this plus amsterdam right in the same fall which were which was one just like deeply catastrophic on all level movies and this was a box office failure and a critical chris is standing behind david orusso he has been telling me for weeks i actually have a good interesting a series of what ifs that come out of this film okay but one of them i know pandemic aside and everything if barbie had come out before babylon how big is babylon bigger definitely bigger although might have been held to an even higher standard than it was from the man who brought you la la land this is from the man who brought you La La Land. This is from the man who brought you La La Land and the woman who brought you Barbie.

Yeah. And Brad Pitt becomes Babylon. Right. So maybe it's for the best. Maybe this can now be the kind of cult fetish object that we want it to be in safety. Yeah. I mean, the other thing is also this fall with those two movies was sort of a blip for her. Like, you know, our 35 under 35 list is sort of conveniently timed

to skip that fall because before she was number one and she may be number one again. Right. And it was like, these just didn't pan out. That's coming up very soon. We're doing that episode

immediately after Challengers. Chris, any, you want to throw any names in the hat on 35 under 35? Austin Butler. Yeah. Yep. Where'd you want to throw any names in the hat on 35 under 35? Austin Butler. Yeah. Yep. Where'd you net out

on Masters of the Air? I think it was, had some cool moments, but was ultimately like mishandled, I guess is the best way to put it. For 35 under 35, are you just like

casting around and being like keep an eye on this person no okay it's gotta be like this person has a legit resume already

yes it's 50% what they've done 25% what they're about to do 25% what they could be star power that's a lot of cocaine my last

my only like scouting report for you then on that outside of Kaylee Spanning would probably be My last, my only like scouting report for you then on that, outside of Kaylee Spanning, would probably be Anthony Boyle, who's in Masters of the Air as like the third guy, besides Callum Turner and Austin Butler.

And is... Oh yeah, I forgot Olivia Wilde is in this. Oh yeah. And this was right after Don't Worry Darling. It was. Tough fall for her as well. I continue to be a fan of Olivia Wilde, the actor. The filmmaker, I have some questions. You liked her in Richard Jewell?

Characterization notwithstanding of our journalism class. I thought you gave it her all. Yeah. She always comes to play. I think you gave it her all. Yeah. She always comes to play. I think she's a very spirited performer. And this is a funny cameo. A clever idea. There's Brad.

There he is. How's the Fast Cars movie with him coming? The Kaczynski F1. The F1 movie? I've been talking to Kaczynski all morning about it. He's been giving me updates.

Seems like it's going well. A lot of vroom vroom. I don't know. I hope great. I did read some reporting that there were some troubles with the story. That they're working on the script. It's amazing, this town, you know? Funny that we're watching Babylon.

You read stories every week that are like, we are eight weeks into shooting a 300 million dollar movie but we don't know how it ends we've replaced three actors and brought in a new showrunner or a new director or whatever yeah it is really quite crazy that man has a penis drawn on him so John very artistically guilt. Who's he playing? Brad Pitt is playing which is like his historical kind of mirror. Right?

Is it John Gilbert? John Gilbert is a big influence. Yeah. I mean I think that there's Fairbanks or whatever. Douglas Fairbanks. For sure. This is the programming

we can expect on your TCM. Do you remember when we did the Real Life Comps video for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood? Yeah. Why did you not recommend we do that for Babylon? I think because nobody saw Babylon, so I didn't think the content would have it. I don't think Chris saw it until like over Christmas break, you know, until it was like already done.

I saw it in between Christmas and New Year's by myself. That's beautiful. And then I walked out and I texted both of you, I think, Babylon! You did. Yeah, so I think Rudolph Valentino is the other one that was a big influence

on the writing of this character. And Amanda, you've been doing a thorough revisit of the Valentino catalog. What are your takeaways on him as a performer?

Big fan? Yeah, as you know. Quite dashing. this is a very smart utilization of Brad Pitt's skills. I wonder if he, can he still do a part in which he transforms? Because of the level of... Do you mean physically or where he's not doing Brad Pitt?

His persona. Has his persona fully become embedded in every performance he gives? I think him winning an Academy Award for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood oddly may work against him because it is such a strong utilization of his iconography. Yeah. Do you feel like... I got to be honest.

Nine times out of ten, the Brad Pitt performances that I really like are ones that sort of explored the perfect version of Brad Pitt and aren't him

being a character actor. Like, with the exception of cameos like Floyd in True Romance and stuff like that. Bucking the conventional wisdom on Brad Pitt. But it's not like I'm like,

I love California or the Devil's Own or... I don't know what are we thinking here Legends of the Fall like the ones I like are his performances in Ocean's Eleven

and Moneyball and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood this which is basically the flip side of the coin what about 12 Monkeys yeah

that's okay he was okay in that he's cool he's cool in that I guess would you consider Tyler Durden a character piece or a Brad Pitt piece? I think it's clearly playing with the expectations

of a matinee idol, of the coolest guy in America. What if he was your doppelganger? Yeah, he's been messing with that for like 30 years. This feels like one, though, that is like uber self-conscious. Yeah. Yeah. this feels like one though that is like uber self-conscious yeah yeah here we see Mandy and Margo's characters exploring

drugs doing a mountain of cocaine yes lots and lots of drugs now it's been this movie was criticized as a movie made by someone who's never done drugs

does that feel accurate to you guys? who criticized him about that? I think it was Donald Trump Donald Trump. Donald Trump sent a missive on True Social. Never done any blow.

Little Damien. He put Neil Armstrong in space, but he never did any cocaine. You've been working on your Trump, huh? Yeah. Getting ready for turn two. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. Little Damien is going up there.

Little Damien. Stick to dancing, Little Damien. It's great when you do the musicals. Stay out of space. Wow. That was a little bit Shane Gillis, a little bit James Austin Johnson. I'm not trying to say that I have in any way, yeah, I don't have any Trump notes to play

that haven't been played before. Okay, but you play them so well. Thanks. I think it's really opportunistic. I'm trying to illustrate where Damien Chazelle finds himself, where little Damien finds himself. I hope Damien Chazelle is listening to this. I'm really sorry. Damien, you't listen to this. I'm sorry.

Damien, you're big to me. I love this movie. It's the movies that got small. Yeah. I think this is also something that was happening at those vice parties

circa 2006. A man and a woman retire to a boudoir and they stand before a giant pile of cocaine and hoover it all up.

Yeah. And the guy starts talking about French new disco outfit justice and their and their 12 inches that he has. So the first time I saw this movie

obviously the the elephant shitting scene made me perk up and pay attention because it was a different tone but this sequence with uh li jun li as a kind of stand-in for anime wong is when i felt like this was a real fusion of the things that chazelle had done to this point that this is kind of la la land and whiplash blending together this is the one character i wish we had more of in this movie even though i know it's quite a long movie i think we could have spent a little bit more time the anime wong's story um if you're

listening and not really familiar with her, was a silent star, often typecast in movies, but was an incredible performer and very unusual and was rumored to be a lesbian, which is crazy to think about, someone who was a screen star 100 years ago. This part of the movie and also just sort of like this table setting sequence where you get to meet

upwards of 10 people who are going to have relevant storylines throughout the film we saw Lucas Haas there's a bunch of people Giovanna Deppo you mentioned kind of reminded me

a little bit of Chazelle's dalliance with long-form television and doing the Eddie for Netflix which was essentially forgotten upon arrival like I re-watched the pilot because I couldn't even remember if I'd seen it before it's Andre Holland plays a jazz musician living in Paris yeah and he has his own nightclub. That is Kai Gerber. Sorry. Oh. But that was... At the party. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'd forgotten.

And, yeah. So there's always that interesting tension in this film where it's just like, is this like a five-episode or six-episode show that he's got the story for? But he's kind of trying to... I think that the momentum of it and the pure cinematic energy of it

obviously lends itself to a film and it would be ironic if he did a six-part series about saving cinema yeah i don't think you could ever make this particular movie into a tv show given what this movie is ultimately about but i'm sure someone tried to convince him to do that because this movie was greenlit at the time when the great streaming race was off so they made the movie for paramount probably got it greenlit right around when paramount plus was launching i'm sure they were looking for fresh content for their service i'm very thankful we got this in movie form you know this is a very similar issue to me as the um killers of the

flower moon debate which is that for some people this this is just too long. They just don't want to sit through a movie this long. Obviously, I feel quite the opposite. I like something that digs into this world this deeply. I know you guys have weighed in on this a lot. I'll just make an official statement from my office on it, which is that it's not the long movies that bother me in the sense of a long Martin Scorsese movie along David Chazelle movie along whoever movie. It's the long bad movies that are like blockbusters that feel the need to be

two and a half hours long to wrap up stupid superhero plots that actually wind up making me feel like overall we've got a running time problem. And we saw Immaculate, the Sidney Sweeney film, 89 minutes.

Perfect. Like, did you need another 40 minutes of Immaculate? No, but I did Greenlight at the Ringer, a 12-episode series about the origins of Immaculate. And so it's just about the convent and the previous 500 years of the convent where it takes place. So I hope you'll watch that.

No, I mean, of course I agree. I was reminded recently that Transformers colon Age of Extinction, which is either the fourth or fifth Transformers movie is two hours and 45 minutes. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. That's insane. I like Transformers movies and that's insane.

Margot's about to black out right here. Here's a question for you. Margot's character is obviously very influenced by Clara Bow. It's a legendary screen siren. Sex symbol. Would you think of Margot Robbie character is obviously very influenced by Clara Bow. It's a legendary screen siren. Sex symbol. Would you think of Margot Robbie as a sex symbol in our modern era? Yes. Cut to Wolf of Wall Street.

I mean, come on. That as her introduction. And I know that was, what, 10 whatever years ago. That's why I asked. But it's indelible. She burst on the scene as a sex symbol, for sure. And she's obviously tried to evolve her career for a variety of reasons, taken on different challenging parts.

But beauty is still at the center of most of the parts that she takes on. In Amsterdam, in this movie, in Barbie. Her beauty is a feature, not a bug, as they say. This is the best. I mean, the interesting thing about her is, at least in the projects she's producing, well, I guess in Barbie and then in the things she's been rumored to be going after since, she is going for a predominantly female audience. So how she markets herself as a sex symbol changes a bit there just because in the presentation. But I don't know.

If you saw wolf of wall street are you saying she can have it all a hero to win yeah men yes um at the gynecologist office this is of course voodoo mama justin herwitz's composition that is the the signature motif of the movie and incredible score herwitz i think this is his fifth movie, fourth movie with Chazelle. I, that is flea. Here's flea. I've thrown out chili peppers.

That's, the cool thing about what we just watched was, I feel like that's one of those scenes where it's just like,

I think only one person on planet earth could have done that. Great. Where it's like that athletic, that sexy,

that, that kind of damaged and tragic and also like, still it nails choreography. Yeah, it's it's exciting she learned like nine things to do that that sequence so yeah yeah she's genuinely exciting and i think the same goes for him you know i think one of the reasons why i've responded to him is a very cliche film bro but the same way when you when i watched the commentary track for boogie nights

and paul thomas anderson explained how he just ripped off images he saw in mean streets or in goodfellas or in all the scorsese movies just chazelle's weight of influence is very apparent and it's something that i always respond to that sequence in particular this whole party is him doing a very showy very very bravura kind of filmmaking. It is a little, I don't want to say it's out of fashion, but it's harder to get made. And he was able to get the budget to make something like this happen. And also be able to pull it off creatively.

Flea has a great music school in Los Angeles my son's a student just sharing that so that's this is what Knox is learning hopefully not too much in the vein of

urinating on dead prostitutes at parties Chris where are you at on pegging with bottles something you're interested in not publicly

you know okay we'll take it off wouldn't do it at a party you wouldn't no when you say do it what do you mean by that

I just wouldn't I would start with no parties and then we could talk about like between two consenting adults yeah any point were you like, I don't know about this one,

like in this opening 30 minutes. This movie? Yeah. This opening 30 minutes, I was like, I don't know. And even, I haven't seen it since I saw it. And right now I'm like,

yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Great job. You can move the cameras all you want. You can choreograph everything. You can bring an elephant and max out the production design. Like all of that is immaculately done and it rings hollow to me, which is perhaps the point. But I'm like, yeah, you are a virtuoso and I don't feel anything. Is that because you're no longer in the play hard phase of your life?

Because this is the play hard side of Live Hard and Live Hard is coming up soon when the work starts. Sure, but it's so try hard, which is again, possibly intentional because these are all, you know, Hollywood is all surface and fake and performative. And that is a theme of this movie. But, you know, you said athletic as a, I guess you're talking about Margot Robbie, but you could also describe the filmmaking, and I, you know, I always raise my eyebrows at that. Would you describe Barbie as an athletically made film? Um, no. Okay.

Chris, take us back. You're in your 20s. You've moved to New York. You're trying to make it. Not make it as a screen star. No. But you have a voice that you want to be heard. Yeah.

I'm like, people need to know what I think of Built to Spill and Dipset. I mean, honestly, yes. Yeah. Did you ever have a conversation like that

with someone where you said, I'll do whatever you need me to do. I'll clean the floors. I just want to get in the biz. No, I mean, I don't think so. I think I had more of a,

like, I'll just have a day job while I write kind of attitude which is you know I mean like it's a different industry but So she's not an actress yet. Well she says she's a born star

but she hasn't really worked. But she's just shown up. She's not in the system yet. Yeah. She needs to get a job. Great shot. Look at this shit. I mean it's

yeah absolutely beautiful. I ask. Because you know. This is a story about. A young ingenue. From the east coast. With a foul mouth. But big dreams.

I see. Who comes west. And makes it big. And I wonder if you relate to this movie at all. In that specific way. Do you think I walked up to Bill. And was like. Mr. Simmons.

If you ever have. Maybe something for me on set? Just curious. I kind of, so Diogo Calvady, what was he in before Babylon? Narcos Mexico. That's it? I think so.

As far as I know. I remember watching Narcos Mexico. Yeah, I guess he was in, he was in a Mexican film in 2015. That was pretty much it. He's in a couple of Mexican TV series. Okay.

On Netflix. One called The Inmate, one called Unstoppable, and then he was in he was one of the stars of Narcos Mexico. So this is Bel Air in the 20s. But there's just no one nothing as far as you can see. Nothing's been built up.

I mean, yeah, I understand that. But like from the mountain or from the hill at the top of Bel Air, number one, you can see the ocean. And like surely you could probably at least see something from, you could see Hollywood or one of the studios further west, right? Like, okay. I mean, most of those places were not built. Even in the 20s? Like MGM, the studio? The big studio lots are really nascent at that point.

You know, they don't even own much of the property that they would come to own at this point. Really? Yeah, but it's like a... Okay, what year is this? It's 1926. Okay. Many houses in Los Angeles, including the one that I live in currently, were built in like the early 20s.

So, I'm just saying. I just think Bel Air is much further north before the land was really developed. I guess so. I don't know what to say. You want to check the veracity of the research? There is some flubbing of the timelines. I mean, Paramount wasn't really fully Paramount until after this. It was like a much smaller studio previous to this.

I think Warner Brothers was built in 1923, and it didn't really get going until Sound in the 30s. So it's still pretty early but like here I mean here's a home.

I don't know where this home is located. Spanish architecture. It's beautiful. This home looks like it's in Santa Barbara. Yeah. I mean that's what I'm just going to let Brad stretch out here.

Just talk about Bauhaus. See, Beverly Hills is developed. Right. And Beverly Hills is not that far from Bel Air. And you would be able to see it. Are they on the other side of the hill it's possible and okay so the idea should we call Damien Valley well but maybe back then it was Bel Air and that's not to get uh not even serious but just have a question for you I was wondering because he just you know the Brad Pitt character just said that said that people go to the movies to feel less alone.

Yes. Do you go to the movies to feel less alone or to have privacy in the dark to watch movies? Well, that's a very good open discussion to have. I like both. I like going to the movies at 10 o'clock in the morning on a Thursday by myself in a big beautiful theater sometimes but I also like not to bring up Immaculate again but I liked being in a crowded premiere elbow to elbow yeah with other Sidney Sweeney fans sick goths you know who were there to see her that was pretty fun so we went really fun and like there was obviously like a if you want to go to some after party or whatever it's got goth. It was like goth was the dress code.

Are you sure? Or were you just among those people? We maybe we were just among those people, but it seemed like even like people who are working for the studio and all dressed up like that. Wow. And then there was also like a lot of like theatrical kind of elements to it with like priests wearing red masks and choirs and stuff

I was like you know what I like a little bit of old fashioned show business thrown on top of this like this you like the event aspect of it

yeah every once in a while switch out Nicole Kidman and get a choir in I mean that was really cool there was a choir? yeah did they sing the AMC speech

well I guess it wasn't they were singing yeah oh wow and here we go, the credits. How many minutes are we in? Like 30? Bob, how far into the movie are we right now? 31 minutes and 45 seconds.

What a flex. It's a flex. He goes for it. I enjoyed it. Many people do. I don't know about costumes, but it is fun to be a part of a thing that you see in a movie. Yeah, a couple times a year.

That is like the, that's the joy of it. It depends on the movie, you know? Like, if it's like Terrence Malick's Hidden Life, I don't need to be around 300 people to watch that movie. Yeah. You know? Well, I maybe do. Like, I mean, sure. to be around 300 people to watch that movie yeah you know well i maybe do like i mean sure but it's yeah if i'm just watching it by myself there's a discipline that other people bring you know it's like okay now we're showing up and we're like taking a movie seriously together and you

feel even if there's no interaction you like that you like that church-like respect for the experience yeah i i do there's like a um it also demands focus exactly and demands and demands focus which it's like if you're at home and you know that no one's holding you accountable you know your lesser instincts can completely agree i was like i was thinking about this because you know often we're like you must see dune 2 in theaters which which is true. But I would also probably argue that you should probably see Driveaway Dolls in theaters. Because Driveaway Dolls is like kind of the kind of movie that you'd be like, I'm going to go see what's in the cabinet. Did you watch that movie? In the theater.

Oh, you did? Yeah. You did. And you liked it enough in the theater? I thought it was like a totally fine movie. Were people having fun in the theater? Yeah, people were giving some chuckles. When we saw it together, did you. Were people having fun in the theater? Yeah, people were giving some chuckles.

When we saw it together, did you think people were having fun? Yeah, no, it was a very rowdy, responsive crowd, which definitely added to it. Because I thought it was, I was like, oh, some of this is funny. But, you know, the fact that other people were really enjoying it, while also just checking their Instagram and having like a tremendous number of likes and mentions. Did you notice that guy in front of us? I did, I hated that. I know, but it was like,

I mean, it was really obnoxious. You hated that because he had his phone out and he had clearly posted a picture of being at the premiere of a movie right before it started and then left it out with his IG notifications

popping up. for every single like. At drive-away dolls? Yeah, and was just going through all of them. Yeah. Oh, I like this scene. Well, this is an

incredible sequence. Yeah, no, I mean, this is when it's just like, here we go. I just turned away from the screen. She was told to show up on set at a certain

time, right? Yes. Right. And I don't think... Is she late? She might be late. I mean, I think there was like kind of a

two-hour window here between when the party was over and when she's supposed to be on set and they did show her sleeping so you know some questions there but it's okay it's the magic of movies oh that's right this is where she cries on cue right yeah yes and this is intercut with this extraordinary making of this war epic that Brad Pitt is making with Spike Jonze's character. And... Can you imagine if this movie started with this sequence?

I mean... Does it win Best Picture? It could. Wow, that's a great call. Yeah. Like, if this starts with Margot Robbie waking up in a pool of her own vomit and then showing up to set, and then it's just, like, this scene and then the Spike Jonze scene.

Yeah. Well, I mean, I wonder, obviously, a big part of the movie, as you already mentioned, is, like, this is a bit of a thumb then the Spike Jones scene. Yeah. Well I mean I wonder obviously a big part of the movie as you already mentioned is like this is a bit of a thumb in the eye of Hollywood and so the

shitting on Diego Calva's head and the party sequence is meant to show like the underbelly before the magic but this scene you know this launches not just her career but

we have that amazing moment where Brad Pitt shares the kiss on camera. Yeah. And those two things together there's Rory Scavell, the stand-up comic,

who's really funny in this movie. You're right. This is, this is, it would be, it would probably be understood differently, the movie. I think that's a really interesting call.

That's Olivia Hamilton, Damien Chazelle's wife and one of the producers of this movie also very very funny as the as Ruth Adler one of the stand-in filmmakers

it's hard when you do the watch-alongs because sometimes you just want to watch the movie do you generally go for do you think this movie works better because uh there is a kind of oh my god i can't talk through spike he's supposed to be really really special uh eric von stroheim yeah evs we call him who calls him that you guys at TCM

yeah over at TCM we call him EVS EVS month yeah what's your favorite Sturvon Stroheim film well he's in

Rules of the Game right no he's in yeah he's in Rules of the Game isn't he or Grand Illusion I think it's

Rules of the Game okay and then my favorite EVS movie well I have a lot of like private collection stuff yeah sure sure

you want me to give you one? shall I give you one? give me one EVS movie yeah sure um Shanghai Express he didn't direct that oh wait no

I'm thinking of Lady from Shanghai my bad no no no no is he supposed to be Josef von Sternberg who directed Shanghai Express? I mean...

Erich von Stroheim is in Sunset Boulevard. I think it's... I think it is von Stroheim. He's in Grand Illusion. Yeah. And he's also Grand Illusion. Yeah. And he's also in Sunset Boulevard. And he directed Greed.

Okay. That's kind of his signature silent film. That's so good in the background. It's amazing. Lucas Haas, man. This, Inception. Are those his great works yes

what about all the time he did with the pussypots I was gonna say witness yeah god damn it have you ever been on a set

like this either of you guys no no this is not what it was like making briar patch did you visit the set of briar patch I did Have you ever been on a set like this, either of you guys? No. No. This is not what it was like making Briarpatch. Did you visit the set of Briarpatch? I did. What was that like? Much calmer than this.

How so? They were just shooting an interior scene with a senator and another character. They just shot it over and over again to get it right and to get the stuff that they needed coverage wise and you just really i think one of the things that this movie in a strange way it's like it can't help but being romantic about filmmaking you know what i mean like it's that's the thing that obviously chazelle is more in love with something like this than he is like hollywood you know but i think filmmaking for is a lot of waiting and a lot of drudgery. Which is what we see Brad Pitt's character do through the bulk of this

sequence. I mean, this is just really good. I mean, this is how they had to do it. I know. Before CGI, you know? Yeah, damn straight. And before PETA got involved, right? We do lose some horses here in this sequence.

Do you think it was worth it for the horses to give their lives for cinema? I think that, you know my stance on horses and their relationship to the screen. You believe they should have had nine seasons of the show, look. Yes! You like horses? Were you a horse girl? No, I wasn't a horse girl. I'm not brave enough.

Again, animals, you know, and horses are very- Are you afraid of horses? I have the proper respect for them. I think they're smart and strong. Sure. I'll go with that. And they're up to their own shenanigans. And yet we use them.

Sure, but I don't anymore. okay or and i didn't really ever and i wasn't gonna like try to make them jump over a fence or whatever but you know how you have to feed them like with your hand flat so they don't eat your finger or whatever that's not the i'm out you know someone else can feed them i. What do you think accounts for your fear of wildlife? I don't know. I just, I don't, I,

I both, I respect it, but don't trust them, you know? Sure. So you don't know what's going to happen. Is there a majestic creature of some kind

that you do want to spend time with? Um, I can't think of it off the top of my head. Good to know. I'm surrounded by animal interest all day long, so I think about this constantly.

As am I. Knox is fascinated. I'm so ready for you to be put in a corner and have to get a cat. No, fuck no. It'll be it. This is what happens to me if I get a cat. A giant pole in my chest.

You did have a drinking problem. That's a good line. I want a dog at some point in my life. I know. Just get a dog. But I need a bridge dog. So here's the bridge. Have you heard the bridge dog theory?

No. One, I don't want to get a dog that is bigger than my child. So I want my child to be big enough to be able to take the dog for a walk, to be able to help navigate the experience of the dog, which means you probably got to wait eight, nine, ten. Okay. Two, I want bridge dogs. Oh, there's our guy.

Oh, yeah. Max Minghella. He's playing Irving Thalberg here, the rare real person whose character I asked in the movie. Max, friend of the pod. Shout out to Max. I want to have a dog so that when my daughter goes to college

You don't feel alone? Yes. Okay. What do you think I'm here for, man? That's when we have our Wait, when Alice goes to college, what are we doing? That's when EPMD you gonna wait when Alice goes to college what are we doing that's when EPMD gets back together man

that's when we write Lethal Weapon 6 what do you mean we were already going to Immaculate on a Friday night what more can we do what if you just

heard Eileen and was like don't worry when Alice goes to school Chris is moving into the AD and we're just gonna crush tape

will you be the full time curator of the Museum of Sean the Museum of Sean like all of your DVDs yes yeah the archive and the movie posters don't forget those

yeah the movie posters all my books are you gonna be dead no but I need I need an attendant someone to take calls like a greeter you just got demoted

from curator to person taking tickets yeah I went from curator to docent to volunteer. Yeah, there's a small stipend involved. Answering the phone. Okay.

I love that idea, but maybe what you can do is you can join me and my dog, my bridge dog, when Alice goes off. Where's Alice going to school? Any thoughts on that? They're not going to have college by then. I know. I still don't understand why it's the bridge dog. It's a bridge to another phase of life or a bridge, not a bridge to another dog. I thought you wanted like a, you know, like a starter dog.

No, no, no. Like what I want to get a dog to help teach Alice how to take care of something, how to care for something. Right. Which I think is a noble thing to do. That was done for me. It was very helpful in my life. Okay.

And also when Eileen and I are empty nesters, that we still have something to love. Yeah, exactly. So maybe I'm overthinking this, but it has occurred to me to not get the dog too early. Because what can happen is if you get a dog when your kid is three, the dog dies when your kid goes to college and you're like, oh God. You got to get another dog and then break the dog in. Right. Okay.

Can I do something really quick? Yeah. I'm going to read the filmography of the greatest actor we've ever seen since 1994. Okay. Spike Jonze. In terms of his filmography. Me Vida Loca, 1994. 1999, Three Kings and Being John Malkovich.

Incredible in Three Kings. 2002, Jackass the Movie and Adaptation. Yep. 2006, Jackass No. 2. 2007, Jackass 2.5. 2008, Jackass Presents Matt Hoffman's Tribute to Evil Knievel. 2009, Jackass The Lost Tapes

and Where the Wild Things Are voice acting. 2010, Jackass 3D. 2011, Moneyball. 2013, Her.

2013, Jackass Presents Bad Grandpa. Wolf of Wall Street. Yeah. Jackass Forever, Jackass 4.5, and Babylon. A true king.

I mean, you could just do Moneyball, Wolf of Wall Street, and Babylon and you're in the Hall of Fame. Yeah. He's one of the goats. The problem with him is that it's been 11 years

since he's made a movie. I know. 11 years! And he was supposed to do Harold and the Purple Crown? Was he? Yeah. That was his thing.

Isn't someone else doing that now? No, Where the Wild Things Are was his dream project. Oh, I thought Harold and the Purple Crown was his thing. Well, he did do

Where the Wild Things Are. Do you like that? I kind of like that. I haven't seen it since it came out, but I remember it being very emotional. You're a big Sendak head, too.

I mean, huge. In fact, you gifted our family with a beautiful collection of Sendak books. Yeah, Pierre. Herb Sendak, too. In fact, you gifted our family with a beautiful collection of Sendak books. Yeah, Pierre. Herb Sendak, North Carolina State Wolfpack basketball coach. He wrote a number of wonderful children's books that Spike Jonze based films on.

But didn't they do something with Harold and the Purple Crayon so he looks like a... The renderings, I think, were not what we were hoping for for the new film that's coming out yeah yeah in august it's coming out i don't know i haven't seen it i do have a collection of books it was sort of like a sonic version one and version two oh situation if i remember interesting wow they just bared some margot robbie breast chris how did you you're just enraptured right now uh that it's now. It's always just tantalizing when you get the quick shot, you know? Of a breast?

Yeah. Yeah, it is tantalizing. That was PJ Byrne, speaking of Wolf of Wall Street, who plays Max in this movie and is one of the funniest things about this movie. So currently, Diego Calva's character

is looking for a film mag, right? Or a camera? A camera. And he's in downtown Hollywood. They just showed the DeLong Prey sign. And in the meantime, Margot Robbie is killing her walk on part. Yes.

She is. Her star is rising. Quite literally, as she performs in this silent movie set in a bar. And we're also getting a look at what. He really is obsessed with singing in the rain. And like, so am I i and so is my family currently so it's like a three you know i'm on like a three day i feel like you should be an

even bigger fan of his no i'm a huge fan of his but it's like that is you know gene kelly um don lockwood gets a walk-on part in a bar in that like in that flashback to start the movie and then he's about to do brad pitt's about to do, Brad Pitt's about to do, I love you, I love you, I love you, which is the talking scene that gets laughed at. Yeah, with Lena Lott. I mean, again, I have this movie memorized at this point. Do you ever have a job like this?

Yes, I did. You did? Was it this job? It was internship at the ringer. Were you able to race across You did? Was it this job? It was internship at the ringer. Were you at the race across town to get a camera? Yeah, to get a microphone, yeah. I had to do that exact thing

at the beginning of my internship at the ringer. And the guy at the checkout was exactly like that guy. He was like, you don't know the difference between this and this? And I was like, no, I'm 22.

Sorry. Is your intention eventually to rise to the top of the corporate apparatus? You know me, big corporate guy that's what i say to you every time you come into the studio with gum in your mouth have i ever come into the studio with gum you're not a big gum chewer no i'm not why is that i think that i wasn't allowed as a kid and was taught it was rude. And also, I'm trying not to go to the dentist that often.

So if you avoid gum, that's a big step. I don't really believe in dentistry. Well, should we get into what Zinn does to people's gum lines? Yeah, so all of us, we have an array of snacks and beverages in front of us. Actually, Amanda very graciously brought us in and out, array of snacks and beverages in front of us. Actually, Amanda very graciously brought us in and out, or excuse me, Chick-fil-A. And I ate a chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A in roughly 38 seconds. But we've got fries.

We've got nuggets. I've got a juice box, some water. Amanda, what kind of soda did you get? I got a Diet Coke. A Diet Coke. Yeah. There's coffee and tea. It's the good pebble ice as well.

Oh, nice. So that's really crucial. CR in front of him. Is applying a Zin patch. I've never actually seen this happen. This is truly disgusting. It is like really dip. There you go. Yeah, it's dip basically.

Okay, so talk about what's in front of you. Is it truly disgusting? Yeah. Well, I just watched you put your finger in your mouth. That was gross. I did see, like, we basically have the lights turned off, but I still saw a lot of your upper gum. Sorry.

You know? It's okay. I'm still getting used to that. It was like you were eating like baby back ribs full of nicotine. We'll see where this goes. One of these exploded on me

a couple weeks ago and I was kind of like, that doesn't taste great. So describe it for us. What is it? The Zin pouch has just gone into your mouth. Yeah,

so I can feel a cooling mint sensation on my gum line, which is also bordering on a burning feeling. And last time I did this. Here comes the cameras. Just in time for the light. Keep going, Chris. Keep talking. Well, no, I mean, this sequence is incredible.

Nanny's got the camera in an ambulance and he's got the light too there's Samara weaving guys come on this is just some of the best filmmaking no it's great it's so good

that's why we stopped talking about the Zim patch yeah I mean the decision to cut these two things against each other is so great and works so well That's why we stopped talking about the Zin patch. Yeah. I mean, the decision to cut these two things against each other is so great and works so well. I don't know. You know, when people came out and were like, I hate this movie, I was confused because I was like, I genuinely thought this part was really funny and fun. And funny and like, yeah, exciting.

Maybe I'm out of touch. I don't know. No, I agree with you. But like, I respond to this very differently than I respond to the first 30 minutes. Because I think some of it is, like, in spite of everything that he feels about Hollywood, like, he loves this stuff. And clearly the filmmaking is, like, so exciting. And so there is something, like, exhilarating about this that feels more genuine than the other stuff. I just think he's also got

a sense of humor that I respond to. Yeah. I know that everybody thinks he's a big dork, which is fine. Most great artists are big dorks,

but I think that this works. Like, I think the jokes work. Maybe it's the more emotional stuff that people find to be maudlin or something that they don't think clicked. I don't want to make a pot

about what other people think about it. This is you all the way up until the moment the Zen pouch hits. Sitting in the trailer all day long. You've been getting zoned out.

Apparently, you know, I think Swedish girls really like using like Zen pouches. Oh, do they? Okay, yeah. Could we,

tell me the sources on that. Swedish girls. This using like Zin pouches. Oh, do they? Okay, yeah. Could we tell me the sources on that? Swedish girls. It's like a Russ Meyer movie. Seriously. Do you know that I have started getting your Instagrams like, here's what I cook after a busy day as a chef at home. But like now they show up on my Explore, I think just because you talk about them so much. It's entirely possible.

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. But I haven't gotten the Swedish girls on Zin yet. I think it's harder to talk with these in my mouth than I thought. So I'm going to go with a Nicorette. Just to keep you updated. You got to speak

into the microphone, Sierra. So wait, you put a Nicorette instead of a Zin pouch just because it's harder to talk than I imagined with the Zin in it. So where is the Zin pouch now? Do you want me to give it to you? I definitely don't want to touch it. I just want to know where it is so I can be away from it. It's harder to talk than I imagined with the Zinn. So where is the Zinn pouch now? Do you want me to give it to you? I'm just going to throw it out. I definitely don't want to touch it. I just want to know where it is so I can be away from it.

It's in your chicken sandwich. I guess the depth of it, I think I imagined it more as a little patch. Yeah, no. No, there's a pouch element to it, I'm saying. That's weird. Here we go. You know, I was thinking about this last night amanda and thinking about all the stuff we've talked about on the show and the different categories and genre stuff that we've

discussed over the years and you know my big blind spot my big this is the kind of movie i'm not really super fluent on or don't have a big emotional relationship to is the romance yeah that's not something i really click to now obviously that reveals something about my character like douglas cirque kind of thing no no no see i love melodrama i mean like like love story okay you know like like like a traditional romance or even some of the um you know like howard's end or something like that you know what i mean like a film that has that kind of tone there's a lot more social stuff to it you know what i I mean, though? Yeah. That there is like a sweeping, down-the-middle, uncomplicated,

like romantic tragedy genre. Right, right, right. That I don't, that is reflected in this Brad Pitt scene that I don't really have a ton of connectivity to.

I don't know why that is. Maybe a child of divorce. Maybe something broke. I think because that was the standard, or at least Hollywood is like, here they are making these movies. There we go. The swell. The swell has hit.

And so everything that you like was made in reaction. Not in reaction to, but as a like, here's an alternative to your standard Hollywood sweeping romance and now we've come all the way back around again where we've got a movie about making movies and it's characterizing the way that we make

those movies oh the butterfly yes how'd they do this you think it's just one of those miracles that you don't plan for

right do you think that the butterfly actually in the making of this movie was a miracle in Babylon or in this the film that's in the film in the film that's in the film? In the film that's in the film, it's a miracle. Yeah.

Right. But in Babylon, what did they do? I think it's CGI. I think they rolled it backwards, maybe. It's a Navi. Oh, they rolled it backwards. Oh. Well, that's an interesting idea.

I don't know. Just a thought. Probably a CGI, to be honest. I also just like the showing of what it is that makes these movies. This is what the camera looks like. This is what the film showing of what it is that makes these movies. This is what the camera looks like. This is what the film stock looks like

that is running through the camera. These are things we don't think about that often but it's a trade as much as it is an art. The other thing I

like about the Margot Robbie performance is that it's showing her becoming a virtuoso star while also showing us what a virtuoso star Margot

Robbie is. Like being able to do that sequence is amazing. It's also kind of fascinating how they manage to think like that's a motorboat. How they manage to

let Margot Robbie kind of have an anachronistic performance style but largely keep everybody around her in the kind of have an anachronistic performance style, but largely keep everybody around her in the kind of more of era-specific performing style. Like, she's almost like post-actor studio style of acting, right? Like, it seems like. Well, I think like a little bit of the Lena Lamont, Clara Bow stuff is real. Like, there were

brassy dames from outside the business okay who had a kind of personality type that didn't quite fit with this more I don't know austere you know the Samara

Weaving character for example is like closer to what the screen stars of that time were like they were more buttoned up they were more refined they were

trained maybe in the theater we see some of that later with the woman that Brad Pitt's character falls in love with but I think that she is a somewhat accurate representation of a very specific type of famous person but you're right that she does still talk a little bit like it's 2022 instead of 1922 okay do you think that's an accent thing yeah it's a tough one for her right Australianralian having to do east coast new york in 1926 but does she overcompensate for that by just being like i'm abroad from east coast

from from new york i just wanted to keep talking can you say more things um what we've kind of skipped over here is also what a love letter this is both to brad pitt as an actor but probably also Brad Pitt's love letter to himself as a producer because a lot of what is going on here's the La La Land theme literally in the this is like very much

from the dream ballet of La La Land this music and the score is like being reappropriated here Hurwitz talking to himself but yeah you're right Chris that this is like movie stars are the real filmmakers. Yes.

Because we can just get everything done. Yes. And you can't do it without me. Which is what they know that that's their power.

Yeah. You think Maid's Off was any good? What's your favorite silent film? City Lights probably. Do you have a favorite one? I don't think so Sunrise

Sunrise is good I mean it's one of those things where like you don't I don't watch I haven't watched Sunrise five times no

I watched it once I watched it once to learn about it I don't have like a strong affinity for silent cinema should we do mine's the Dancing Cavalier I don't know like a strong affinity for silent cinema. Should we do Mine's The Dancing Cavalier.

I don't think I know that. That's the movie in the movie in Singing in the Rain. Oh, okay. I guess that's a talkie though, so that doesn't count. That's a good point. That's the one before. What is I don't remember what the first one's called. I liked the absence of sound in this sequence to show us what it was like to go see this movie in 1926.

And also the all-red-dyed, major Argento Brian De Palma vibes here with the way that this sequence looks. Yeah, also shout out to Margot Robbie watching herself on screen in movie theaters. This is the second time in three years that we saw that. Did Barbie have a moment like this too? Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, obviously, this one.

Yeah, does Barbie have one? I guess she doesn't really see her. Yeah. Barbie doesn't have an awareness of Barbie in the real world, or her understanding of it is very different than what it is. Maybe in the sequel she'll watch the Barbie movie. Here we see

Eric Roberts as a dadager. Do you think you'll be a momager for all of Knox's future entertainment endeavors? No, I think that's going to be Zach, right? Oh, I didn't know if you were like, we're going to get him with CAA as soon as possible. No, but you think I going to be Zach, right? Oh, I didn't know if you were like, we're going to get him with CAA as soon as possible.

No, but you think I'm the one on the phone? I'm not taking the calls. Yeah, I guess you're right. Yeah, I'm not taking the calls. I'll make the decisions behind the scenes, but I'm not putting up with that. It must be quite insane to be a movie star very emotionally confusing you'd have to think right yeah yeah because you spend most of your time alone i love the face she's making that photo yeah and then you go out and it's this

artificial insanity i think also you must be like chasing a peak all the time. Like if you're a movie star, it means you hit top somewhere. You're reflecting on something, Chris? The kind of Samara Weaving, Margot Robbie, like being like vertigo mirrors to one another. It's a genius stroke. Yeah.

So funny. Shout out to Samara Weaving for being willing to play with it. That's what you do before recording CR. Yeah. Ice on your nipples. Yeah. Just be like,

all right, Greenwald. How come we're not getting more episodes of The Watch on video these days with your nips? We prefer to... We're one of the original audio pods.

Mm-hmm. Us. Really? Okay. One of the original audio pods? Yeah. Us, Bill. Really? Okay. One of the original audio pods? Yeah. Us, Bill, and Maren. Okay.

So we like to keep it on audio. Those were the first three pods? Yeah. Yeah. Interesting. Yeah. Would you watch Maren on video? No.

You wouldn't? It exists in my mind. But you do watch, what do you watch on video? Tons of stuff. No, I know. Of pods, you mean? Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, but nothing jordan peterson right you watch every episode does he even have a pod i don't know i think he does because that's what um harry styles was listening to and don't worry darling chris i i want to ask you something in real time here i just got an email about this there's there's been talk of a potential live show for this podcast on July 9th. Okay.

Would you be available on July 9th? Yeah, sure. You didn't clear this with him beforehand? No, I didn't. Is it, would it be? I'm like arranging

all my entire summer around this. Yeah, I think I'm around July 9th. Oh, great. Thanks so much, Chris. Why didn't he even ask me just until now i'm asking him right now i'm just trying to i'm trying to make a pod more interesting

you think you're available yeah i think so here in los angeles yeah uh yeah unconfirmed yeah unconfirmed but i thought a little teaser for the listeners something we're discussing okay can i have a piece of licorice sean yeah? Yeah, of course. Thank you. You can have two. Oh, thanks so much. I did bring licorice and then I tried to eat it and it was too hard. You may struggle to speak while it's in your mouth. Yeah, Chris, that's the reason that I didn't chime in on the Jordan Peterson chat. You know, as you know, I'm very well versed in all the videos of him sitting in like a weird wooden chair in the center of like a 19th century concert hall for some reason just doing a pod by himself talking about how there's not enough opportunities

for men anymore yeah no i was eating some mic and i texture of these or they i think they're a little harder than usual okay which i think jordan peterson would say is a sign of weakness you know men shouldn't have that much sugar they weren't born to have that much sugar. They weren't born to have that much sugar. So you do or do not subscribe to Peterson's thoughts? I don't. I don't. Yeah. I'm more mountain tough.

So is that just Pilates for boys? I think so. That's great. Yeah. You should all be doing Pilates. bodies this is me listening to the polyperspectives pod for the first time this is what we've been looking for sound these two dorks talking about downton abbey poor downton abbey has really become the significant example you always cite when you talk about HP. No, it's just, it was like- Poor Downton Abbey? What's that?

Poor Downton Abbey? Why? He indicates that it's like, what a stupid thing for us to have been talking about at the outset. I think it was just because it was so formal where I was like, well, Andy, did you watch this Downton Abbey

that everyone is abuzz about? This is like when I went back to watch, to re-listen to the very first draft that we ever did and Sean was like I very seriously need to tell you guys about the rules that we will employ in this activity here Sean welcoming the listeners now it's just like we're here to have fun but in that one

it was like we were I don't know trying to solve the Trump crisis that's what it felt like. Well, now it's like, why did Amanda kill King Charles? Like, that's how we're opening up pods. That was Chris. And he's okay. You guys see the video?

Of her at the farmer's market? Of Kate, yeah, at the farmer's market. The one that's been redone by AI or the real one? Right. I was going to say, yeah. When does this come out? This pod? Yeah.

The 26th. Okay. So who knows? You guys got thoughts about American Riviera Orchard? Don't know what that is. That is Meghan Markle's new lifestyle brand. I think that's a little bit of a mouthful brand-wise. I would agree with you.

American Riviera Orchard? Yes. Is it just like, she just cranked it out apples? It's like linens and plates. Linens and jams. Linens and jams. Yeah, and there's going to be a store

and also a show. But it really is linens and jams. I have a question. What's up with rich people, especially rich ladies, who don't need to start new businesses? I think actually Meghan Markle does, but... Okay, fair point.

Is that because they have no income and... Generally speaking, though. $10 million mortgage and security. But the businesses, they start being like, we're going back to the earth. The trad wife stuff? Back to the land. I agree with you that this is like a very weird choice. I also don't believe that refined sugar is allowed anywhere in her home. Really? So, yeah, come on. Man. So, I don't know what she's making this jam with. One of the beverages in front of me right now is an Honest Kids organic apple juice box. Uh-huh. Which I brought from my home.

Doesn't look like there's any refined sugar in here either. Added sugars. What about regular sugar? How much sugar is in it? Can't see because we're watching a movie in the dark. Eight grams of sugar. Okay. Yeah. Not bad. Honest, honest you know they're doing the work yeah speaking of another rich woman yeah i'm making products exactly what i'm talking about they wonderful diapers yeah the honest corporation is that jessica alba yeah she makes apple juice

i mean they have like a whole many many things like the diapers the wipes lots of kids stuff um no free ads except i do like what they do we're a pampers family if anyone at pampers Like the diapers, the wipes, lots of kids stuff. No free ads, except I do like what they do. We're a Pampers family. If anyone at Pampers is listening and we're still using the Pampers, I can't. I can't start the bill. Chris, do you want to share the reason that we're recording this podcast so far in advance? Because by the time it airs, you'll be down in Brazil as part of Jair Bolsonaro's legal defense team. Are you flying down?

Bob, come on. You do have your JV in Brazil. I've been working on the bar. There's attorney-client privilege involved here. I can't discuss that. Yeah. This scene,

this is something I do miss about New York, which is when you just run into somebody and be like, hey, we can hang out now. Like, LA, you don't have that. We have all run into each other at the farmer's market multiple times. Yeah, but we're not in the zone of like, you're an acquaintance that I haven't seen in five

years. Yeah. You know? I feel like in LA, it's pretty rare. But don't you just hide from those people anyway? Me, personally? Yeah. What do you mean?

You seem like a real, like, I see you in the drugstore or I see you on the street and I'm walking to the other side of the street. Do you think i do that do i think you do that yeah sometimes yes i do that's what i just said you psychologize that for me that you aren't always you don't social sean is not always in the mix you know it's a switch you gotta flip and sometimes you don't want to turn it on right can should we is there something wrong with that you think um no it's just that you you decide to turn the switch on less than most people for example when you are going on a 40th birthday trip with some of your best friends and are at the airport and don't flip the switch when you all meet at the airport i like how it's been made clear that this has been discussed with not in my presence.

I think we discussed this. We have discussed this in your presence. Specifically the boarding process that you engaged in where all of us were waving at you and we're like, hi, bud. And you were like, hi. It didn't take your hands off. I think I was just in an elevated tier in terms of boarding. There was like 12 seats on that plane. So it was, I'm surprised. I've talked about it with you because we had to set ground rules for when we then flew next to each other to London. And I was like, here are some forms of acceptable behavior and here are some forms of unacceptable behavior. And you guys were so delighted with each other. And let me tell you, you A+.

You were great. I tell you what, I think I'm a pretty normal guy. I think I'm not that weird. i think i've been made to seem weird on this show most people do think that yeah yeah pretty normal that's because you flipped the switch i think all of us have kind of like created like a pretty strange persona for ourselves on this podcast i do yeah i do i think we um i don't know why we've done that yeah i guess i don't think anybody would listen if we were just like i'm just a guy who goes to j crew you know i like pants and shogun and i don't i don't really even buy but nicotine unless i'm in vegas once a year you know like you need to be on the payroll of big zen

uh there's a there's a huge it's like there's a whole thing about Zinfluencers and like how they're crypto conservative but I think that they're pretty I think it's open to interpretation. This is really in line with your Peterson content though. Can we go back to J.Crew for a second? Sure. Do you shop at J.Crew? I don't ever like go to the brick and mortar J.Crew

but if I see something on IG that like jumps out at me and the more like because that's the thing about J.Crew is that the stuff that they advertise on Instagram is nowhere near a J.Crew that is in the Maltin New Jersey. There's a real big divide gap. I don't know what you mean. The stuff that you see where it's just like, holy shit, like actor Adam Scott is wearing like a full

like wardrobe or whatever. Then you're like, oh, is that stuff like at the Jade crew down at the mall? And it's not. It's never, yeah, it's never. They're keeping the good shit

for Adam Scott? Is that what you're saying? No, it's just their business is like primarily online. It's just like much bigger online and they can't keep everything. And so even though I do think

their merchandising and their stores has gotten better i would not i would say that that's probably the case for like new york city or maybe some los angeles stores but in like pasadena no disrespect or wow or new jersey i thought i thought it's more like here are some t-shirts with pockets and yeah i mean it's it's a small store i agree with you they never have anything and then the like ship to store option you i will say are are the are the dr indiana jones of uniglow though oh thank you so much yeah um the uniglow in glendale at the gallery is actually quite nice i do i go there um and they have everything you need and then they have the checkout function where you just put the put all the stuff in the basket. You're like nodding like you invented that.

I choose to go with cashier. No, I'm nodding because I'm wearing Uniqlo boxers right now. There we go. Did you buy them at the Galleria? When you buy underwear, you're like, I need to have a human interaction with a cashier. I need to look a grown woman in the eye and say, I'll take these, please, in a size large. Did you buy those t-shirts? No, they were out.

Oh, really? Yeah. Oh, shit, because I was going to try to buy some more. Yeah. They're really soft. They're really good. Guys, sound cinema is hitting. We've just seen this long exchange. Are we doing enough movie stuff? Yeah. This is a three hour, ten minute movie. It's okay to have some digressions. And they were just like doing a lot of plot exposition

in a car. Well, Nellie and Manny were driving around New York, falling in love again, getting reconnected and then manny gets into the movie theater this is jessinger jessinger yeah which is one of your faves i've never seen jessinger i don't think i don't think i've seen it either can we take a minute to talk about Diego Calva's expressions what a face

you know he just looks like completely full of wonder and not in a fake BS movie way I think that's why he was cast you know

he does not have the strongest fluency in English but he has a great movie face for all the over-the-top semi-sarcastic ridiculousness of this movie i do find him to be authentically compelling and human in a way that not really the rest of the movie is and i think that like without him this i actually might hate this movie even though of course i'm like you know vice chancellor of the hive or whatever i love this movie but like

he really is some somewhat of a grab like a gravitational center here where was the warner's theater in new york i don't know looks like it's off broadway but i don't know yeah i mean generally i agree with you bobby i think there needs to be someone who is more open and less sticky in this part because everyone else is doing such an outsized persona but I also think that's like a fair reflection of kind of to Chris's point

about creating weird personas on the podcast as a movie star here we go this is phenomenal again like a very very direct homage to Singing in the Rain and a specific Singing in the Rain scene. But like on steroids times a thousand and incredibly funny. This is the best movie scene of 2022.

Completely agree. When this scene happened, I stood up. I stood up. This movie was applauding. People were so into this. Such an incredible assembly of sequences. I don't know always that the scenes themselves talk to one another

and that they are like a story. But like he he was like man I have nine things I'm going to do in this movie that's going to melt your face.

I think that's right and I think that's one of the things that kept people distant from it too is because they wanted it to congeal. Yeah. But it's episodic.

You know it's taking place over a long period of time. It's about archetypes. This is an ingenious portrayal of the way that an entire industry changed basically overnight. And then this is supposed to be Nelly's big, like, now I'm a different kind of, I'm not going to be just the harlot, right?

I'm not the wild child. I can be a college student, right? Yes, but I think more specifically about the challenges of transitioning from silent to sound. Sound, okay. And that is a huge echo of singing in the rain. Lena doesn't know where the microphone is or how to talk into it. There's the MVP of this scene. PJ Byrne.

This is like when I had to ask Chris to stop wearing like a swishy raincoat material to podcast recordings I would say based on her attire in this scene she still is in the wild child the harlot era era yeah now this is more like

briar patch right Chris this was the making of briar patch this is more like this kind of intensity yeah another scene you just

kind of want to watch yeah you don't want to talk over too much like the hand swing and in this is where we put

Bob during all recordings. This scene makes me think he should make a horror movie. Because this is a horror movie. The sound, the isolation, look at that closeness, the way it's filmed, disorientation, fear, concern.

What's going to happen? Hits her mark, drops her bag. This goes without saying but can you believe they fucking did it this way yeah yeah also so when does air conditioning get invented because you know like when i showed up in los angeles in 2012 my landlord was like oh yeah you can get an air, but like nobody really needs them here. Right. Now, did we just get so hot in the last 10, 12 years?

I mean, yes, but also air conditioning dates. Well, OK, this is. Are they going to be like, oh, Egypt had air conditioning? Yeah, they did. But it's like, you know, that's just. That was like a cat dragging an ice cube back and forth. Right, that's just venting. Okay.

The first portable in-window air conditioner. 1901. No, 1945. That cooled, heated, humidified, dehumidified. Okay, well, in 1901, American inventor, that's right, Willis H. Carrier built what is considered the first modern electrical air conditioning unit. Did you just do an America First thing right there? I know who I'm podcasting with. That's right. Yeah.

What would Donald Trump say about air conditioning? They couldn't run the air conditioner here. We had the most beautiful air conditioners. It'd be too loud. Natalie would have hit her lines. We would have had a great film, but no little Damien. It's just such a paradox. Him being the worst person in the universe, but just being so funny to imitate.

It's really tough. What do you make of these shoes? They're cute. Okay i i wouldn't wear them or be able to walk in them not really a high heels person no they hurt is that why yeah they're just like they're really not comfortable do you have like an i'm tall enough energy i am also tall enough and often already taller than a lot of the people around me so you know but not me not you but yeah especially living in New York

it's like you can't wear heels Chris where do you stand on high heels uh for myself um i don't i don't wear heels okay that isn't what i meant yeah thanks for clarifying like girls and heels like do i like women who wear high heels anybody any living human who chooses to wear honestly footwear is not a big deal for me okay yeah i'm just be honest answering your question i don't really do you notice it footwear yeah oh yeah okay but it just doesn't it's nothing is like sexual about it i just note it as like a kind of fashion thing you know uh i don't think that that's i don't think sean was asking like which types of shoes get you off i think he was just like I literally was not I was not asking

maybe you're just used to me pursuing your sexual proclivities you're like chicks and dunks it's a case of classic conditioning right there it's like Pavlov yeah this was

this was you three when the contact lens fell out of my eye when we were recording earlier what the fuck this is actually me like this is me sitting around

trying to listen to whatever hum in Sunset Gower Studios was coming through in Studio 2 and right there is Jeff Garlin very curious casting he looks suspiciously like harvey

weinstein she's got so much dialogue and this is it nelly doesn't put in the tape work you know she doesn't stay home grind grind lines when you're working on thad roper and you've got a 100 page script how do you study who's that roper that new bringer podcaster when you're working with to develop his persona on mic we don't we did not have a script off the dome really yeah did you have any did you think we wrote that i mean i like you didn't even have like what is it it's like we shouldn't score keep score or time it's just all artificial limit that was that was that's really beautiful you're talented thank you that's very genuinely very the second one is never gonna come out because it's just an episode of the big picture. It's just us talking about movies.

You wanted a special dispensation on this feed? Is Bill in that one? Bill was not in the second one, though. Bill cracking at the end of that clip is also truly delightful. I enjoyed it. You guys are funny. It just occurred to me that Tyler Parker's never been a guest of this show. You should change that.

Yeah. What would be the topic of discussion? I've actually got him right here. Well, Parker Tiles would be a different proposition, but Tyler Parker. Chris, you've been, you've been on camera many times in your career.

You've never had a moment like this, right? About like hitting the mark stuff. Yeah. Uh, I actually did have a moment when we did, um, the Ryan Russillo NBA player,

like support group thing, where it was like, I can't quit Jeff Green thing. I broke so many times. I think Russillo was starting to get annoyed. Oh, interesting. Like I thought it was so funny.

I would like those. And every time Tyler or Ryan said anything, I would just burst into laughter. And I think Ryan, after a while was like, this is actually like I because Ryan did like a lot of that was written and I think I may have

mildly annoyed him with that but he never told you that directly no he did tell me that he let me know. This is a great movie. It's really, really, really funny. Nice little homage to the first ad's in hollywood you really have to wrangle all the talent involved in the production

christopher nolan like on oppenheimer they didn't really have any marks that they had to hit that was a big uh freed the actors up to do a lot of different stuff how do you think that worked out in terms of like a loose situation you think that was a film that freed the actors up to do a lot of different stuff. How do you think that worked out in terms of like a loose situation? You think that was a film that was kind of just flowing? Downey makes it sound like they could just like walk into a room and do all sorts of things. And it was like Hoyta and Nolan were like, we'll follow you. Did he improvise the junior senator from Massachusetts bit?

It's so weird. We're just staring at me in the dark eating licorice asking me about kennedy i heard your thoughts on manhunt uh-huh if you could make another series about an assassination yeah what would it be about who's assassination uh you're next amanda don't laugh I mean I think that I would love like a Libra adaptation I think I would like

to see one that was I think push the boundaries of like what was documented at the time you know who do you think should make it

Peter Farrelly no little Damien you want Donald Trump to direct your adaptation of Don DeLillo's Libra about the after effects of the assassination of John F. Kennedy? Oh my God. Trump won't even release the files, man.

He can't direct it. He's broke, too. He's not going to get any bond. They did it! But didn't something get screwed up? Yeah, I mean, somebody died. Oh, right. I like Garland's half clap there.

His penguin clap. It's how Carey Mulligan claps. Is that true? Yeah, that's the clip from the Baptist. Well, he was doing the thing where he was only moving one hand. She was kind of doing that and then both at like a slow speed with both fingers like flexed out.

Was that in an effort to not break her nails or to make the minimum amount of noise? Or effort. I have no idea. I mean, I don't think anyone

looks at normal clapping, so. I'm a very loud clapper. I have a very like deep. Like Orson Welles? Honestly, yes. Maybe that's what I was inspired by. I have a very like deep. Like Orson Welles? Honestly, yes. Maybe that's what I was inspired by. I think it was.

That cane clip? Yeah. Yeah. Do you want to demonstrate? Yeah. That is loud. How does that sound? It is true.

Waterston. I mean, what a dame. Really right in my lane. Right in my zone. So good in Alien Covenant and Inherent Vice. Yeah. And the second season of Perry Mason. And the Harry Potter movies.

Yep. Where she has to find animals that aren't real. Katherine Waterston is in the Harry Potter movies? Yeah. The Fantastic Beasts one. Oh, yeah. Those movies stink. I don't disagree.

They really do. I like the Harry Potter movies. They're okay. The Prisoner of Azkaban? It's a heater. Yeah, sure. Is that because you support getting more money

to the J.K. Rowling estate? No. No. I don't really... I don't really want to spend any time thinking about her. But I like those movies well enough. I wonder if that's coming for me, though. I don't really want to spend any time thinking about her. But I like those movies well enough. I wonder if that's coming for me, though.

I wonder if that's the Alice experience, if those books are coming for me. I hear Greenwald talking about it so often. I read the books and really liked them. So I'm excited for Knox to read them. The Harry Potter books. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Because they came out like when I was in, they started when I was in high school.

Or, you know. And then I was like a 25-year-old. Like, I was like Jacob Elordi by the side of the pool and saw Burton reading the last one. But, you know, you win some, you lose some. Giovanni Dippo are we getting the most out of him he's a

a major part of three body problem that's right but it's not as big is that out yet by the time this this will be out Giovanni Diplo, are we getting the most out of him? He's a major part of three body problem. That's right. But is that out yet? By the time this... This will be out by the time we get here. And you'll have watched all of it? I heard Phoebe's really into it.

Yes. We have been binging it. Okay. Did you solve the problem? They solve it for you. Oh, okay. You don't have to do any off-camera redditing? It's an interesting experience.

I guess since this is coming out on the 26th, I'll just talk about it broadly speaking. Is it? Are Zen pouches the problem? Like what is the problem? Can you define the problem? The three body problem is that, well, I don't want to give it away.

I mean, you're going to watch it. I don't want to like, there's some reveals. I watched the first episode. I wasn't really crazy about it. I'll never watch it. The three body problem is an alien planet that has three suns and the three suns create a lot excuse me yeah s-o-n or s-u-n okay yeah and uh it creates bob i'm sorry were you hoping to go into this fresh-faced no no no

it's being recorded for everyone well i know this is not just among us by the time this comes out most people probably those true psychos will have just watched it. Yeah. Okay. It's basically about, you know, aliens coming to Earth to destroy us. Because they have three suns? They have environmental instability because these three suns create, like, a lot of, like, chaos. Yeah, sure.

Or sometimes cold. Oh, right. Yeah. So then they have to take over our planet? well we invite them mistakenly so the three bodies are the three three bodies three three probably um so it's really a three sun problem yeah okay yeah s-u-n yes Are there any S-O-Ns that kind of like bring the thematic depths? There are a lot of daughters. There's some daughter stuff. Oh.

Yeah. Okay. It's more mothers and daughters than it is. Oh, God. Wow. I'm really fucking out. How are you in orbital mechanics in school, Chris? Getting better.

Yeah. Getting better. Yeah. What were your grades like? Too much time on the baseball diamonds. My grades were like so bad. I basically had to like

plead out. I had to take the Plead out? I had to plead out. Did you serve a jail sentence so that you could graduate from high school? Yeah, like I didn't get into

a very good college. That was my jail sentence. I know, I should disperse the colleges I went to. It wasn't their fault which colleges you went to University of Phoenix

yes well you went to Trump University I went to Barry Weiss' Free People University in Texas the first iteration

oh boy that's funny Amanda you went to a good school. Did I? Yeah. Okay. Do you feel proud of it?

No. I mean, I had an assignment. Do you feel ashamed of it? Sometimes. Why? Because they get up to some hijinks up there in Hanover and New Hampshire. What do you mean? I don't know what you mean.

Just like a lot of fraternities doing really bad stuff and then it being reported on in national magazines and then the fraternity is closing down it's like not what you want um you know they were also the last of the ivy league to admit women um i see so you know in general it's like was that 2002 when was that that was my year You were the inaugural class of women at the school? But, you know, I had a nice time. I got a good education. Did you? I think I got a better education in high school, but that was on me. Because you were just paying more attention.

Yeah, because I was trying to get into college. And then once I got into college, I was like, well, I'm done. I spoke recently to a class at UCLA in an intro to film class, and they seem to be getting a great education. Well, again, I don't blame the school. I blame me for not taking it seriously. Did Lori Loughlin's kids ever actually go to USC? No, she's dating Jacob Elordi. Oh, my God. They split up, I thought. No, they're back Jacob Elordi. Oh my God.

They split up, I thought. No, they're back together. They called Entertainment Tonight to let them know. They called Entertainment Tonight? They literally did. Excuse me, Mary Hart.

Is Mary Hart alive? She is. She is still at like every Dodger game, right? Yeah, you can still see her at my home plate. That's fucking sick.

They actually did like Entertainment Tonight was the outlet that confirmed that they were still together and then she showed up at all the SNL after parties. What happened where Mary Hart and Pat Sajak

are like election deniers? What? That's true. But why, like, Pat Sajak for like 50 years has been like, you have a vowel. Oh, she's about to wrestle the snake, right?

Right, because she thinks, no, this is like her whole like, I'm a piece of trash, fuck you, right? So she's got this complicated relationship to her dad who's trying to profit off of her success. She's abusing drugs and alcohol. She's just overheard people in the bathroom talking about what an untalented person she is. And this is kind of why I was asking before about how crazy it must be to be a famous person because this movie becomes about Nellie losing her mind completely. Oh, you big dick, Mr. Men.

Oh, damn. Aaron Taylor-Johnson has not been offered the role of James Bond according to E! News. Did Aaron Taylor-John Johnson call E! News? Barbara Broccoli did. What's the average length per scene of this movie? Do you think it's plus 10 minutes? Could be.

Chaplin is hung for sure, but Gary Cooper is a fucking horse what are the schlongs like on Broadway it's that's normal dialogue that's how people talk to each other

you don't think that a woman like her really said that yeah I'm sure I'm sure that's what they're chit chatting about on the way to fight a snake well she's. I'm sure that's what they're chit-chatting about on the way to fight a snake.

Well, she's completely coked out. That's true. I think the unspoken star of this scene is the wardrobe tape that Mario Robbie

clearly has in place on the sides of those overalls. You mean that clothing does not naturally adhere to your breasts? And stay in that exact position without some help.

Something you realize when you learn a little bit about the making of movies is that the wardrobe departments are incredibly vital and important. They make clothes fit perfectly. Chris, he walks into his local J.Crew. He acquires the Adam Scott cardigan. He's like, why does this not fit the way that it did on Mr. Scott? And it's because you don't have a full-time wardrobe team. That's probably why. Yeah.

There may be some other reasons. You went to the menswear guy on Twitter? That was some real menswear Twitter. Isn't that guy just basically like Ron DeSantis doesn't wear a suit properly? I mean, he says that about most people. If you're wearing a skinny suit, you're not wearing it properly. That's one of his big... He's big on a drape.

A drape. Yeah. I don't follow him. I mean, I catch him in For You because he seems to weigh in on most things that are happening on the internet these days he does yeah

but not don't really care I kind of just like stopped participating in men's fashion in 2014 and I feel like

where we left it was good with Rag and Bone no just with like Gitman Brothers and The troll came from under the bridge there a little bit. A little bit.

You got to set him up for that one. You knocked him down. It was good. You insulted him a little bit. Insulted him a little bit. Just a little bit. I'm still not totally sure I understand the take. It's that Rag and Bone is not good?

Like, what is the take? It's just like you wearing skinny jeans from rag and bone is the most 2014 thing that you could do. These are not skinny. I'm wearing rag and bone jeans right now and they are not skinny jeans. You wear skinny jeans. It's okay. They're not stretchy. Do you think I wear skinny jeans?

Um, no. No. But he does. Okay. It's a little also your build. That's okay. My build? Yeah.

What do you mean? You're skinny. That's true. So they're fitted. Yeah. Yeah. I just don't think at any time in history baggy clothing has been a win. Incredible.

Yeah. Why does Manny love this woman? Well Aside from their shared dream of making it I mean she looks like Margot Robbie Yeah She's very charismatic He's a dreamer you never fell in love

with a girl who was just chaos Chris that's all you do Chris four words Chris I can fix her she is

that's what she is right yeah she's a top seed in the draft you know the I can fix her draft what do you think's going through his mind right now she's a top seed in the draft. You know? The eye can fix her draft. What do you think's going through his mind right now?

Brad Pitt's character. Women can have it all. They too can fight snakes. These guys, these are my people. Hurwitz cooking again right here. And also echoes of the La La Land score as well. Great jog.

I forgot about that I found this to be also legitimately scary the first time I saw it it's pretty upsetting it is really upsetting again make a horror movie

Damien Chazelle she's gonna go get the snake that also seemed kind of dangerous Again, make a horror movie. Damien Chazelle. She's going to go get the snake. That also seemed kind of dangerous. Got to suck out the poison now. You ever sucked out the poison? No, I haven't. I've always wondered if I would have it in me.

Like to do that. And then you're supposed to like spit it out? Yeah. I take it you haven't either. What if like the snake venom gets mixed up with my Zin pouch? You know, like. Yeah. I take it you haven't either. What if like the snake venom gets mixed up with my zen pouch? You know, like. Yeah. Maybe that would turn you into some sort of like snake man, spider man situation. Yeah, exactly.

The lizard. Yeah. Would you like to be a superhero? No. Super villain? No. Just a guy. You just want to be a civilian.

Those are my only two choices? Three choices? What's the, what's a fourth choice? President of the United States of America. Yeah. Yeah. When you watch it like this,

this does feel like a collection of great scenes. It's kind of all set piece. Yeah. Yeah. And in some ways, some of the things that develop over the course of the movie, like the fates of these characters,

sometimes feel... I don't know. It's not like they're not earned, but they feel like they don't have an algebraic equation coming before them. They're just the end result because like that's where

it needs to end up. Because they're symbolic of like how Hollywood eats people up and spits them out, I guess. Here we go. Yes.

Confirmation of the suggestion of this movie. Also the way that makeup worked in the 1920s and 30s on camera. I think that's important

because when you look at images of screen stars from that time and they look otherworldly it's because they're wearing so much pancake makeup and so much blush and so much lipstick.

When you look at Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer, you're like, why does he look that way? Why does he look like he's completely white? It's the other nice echo, right? Singing in the Rain was a hit in the early 30s and was then revived as part of the framework of the movie in the 50s.

So what's the idea here? Is this like a folly or like they had like everybody who was big in Hollywood came by and did this? Yes. In the spirit of Ziegfeld Follies. We should do that at The Ringer.

Oh yeah? That was sort of what that Russillo video was. It's true. What song would you want us to do? What's the Taylor Swift song I'm the Problem It's Me?

Oh sure. Anti-Hero? Yeah that'd be great. If we all did Anti-Hero that would be good. How much time has passed between the snake biting incident and this rise of Manny and the Yovana Deppo character? In the arc of the story?

Yeah. I mean, given that Manny is like now in a production chair and feels like an important person, it's got to be weeks, months. I don't know. I mean, how fast can one rise? Take us through your reign at Grantland. Like, what was my trajectory?

From blogger to assistant editor to co-host of the Hollywood Prospectus to the director of... I don't know. Of finances? Yeah. Of the Bourne legacy. I mean, that all happened in a six-month span i do so all these guys are just having so much trouble talking right all these silence film stars is this is this true that they they were like a god dialogue yeah i mean that's not what

they were doing before you know you wouldn't have a problem with that neither of you would have a problem with that adept speakers you know that's kind of you i don't think i would be very good though i scripted things learning lines you think well i think i could learn the lines i wouldn't have whatever insane system that pedro pascal has did you guys see that no where he like makes like a mnemonic device for every line and it's like and he has all of these charts and coded things. It was pretty intense. So it's like he learns that it's like the line is like ATBTB is, and then he knows all the words. Yeah.

Because he like basically creates like a. But I am not very good at delivering scripted things naturally. Why do you think that is? I don't like to be told what to do or what to say. That's right. Yeah, so. That is exactly right. It's very simple.

Know thyself. Chris, you like to act. Sure, it's fun. Yeah. Were you in the theater in school? No. No. I never did it before.

Travel baseball. Internet. The internet theater in school? No. No. I never did it before. Travel baseball. Internet. The internet came along, I guess. Was there a time in your life where you thought, I found my calling? When I was making like. Ringer Originals? Moriball? No.

No, I always knew that my role was to provide hot takes. That's not what you do. To be the Nick Wright of prestige TV. So hot it's not hot. So Jax just found out that he's out. Or that his friend is dead. Sorry. Right?

He's just been alerted that Lucas Haas' character has died. And now he's lashing out at his fiance. the stage actress Katherine Watterson is portraying. Looks a bit like Angelina Jolie. Hmm. It's true. It's a good note. Do we think that's purposeful? I agree with this perspective, even though he is a wounded person who's lashing out.

Right. For real people on the ground, it means something. That's beautiful. Also echoes of Don and Kathy Seldon but serious Brad Pitt has never worked on the stage

is that true I believe so I don't know about it if he has and I think I would know yeah I think we would know I mean he got young

at a very young age he got famous at a very young age. Was on TV. And I wouldn't. At the age of 20. It's a different type of acting. It's a verbal kind of acting.

He does a good job at wearing clothes, man. Yeah, he does. He has the ideal male form. Yeah. Wouldn't you agree? Do you think that guy walks into J.Crew and is like, huh, nothing here for me. Why don't these pants fit?

What would you do if you saw Brad Pitt at a Uniqlo? I mean, I'm sure he has to go, right? No, he does not go to Uniqlo. I can tell you that there is someone hand sewing his garments that maybe resemble something you might be able to purchase this is this is a male fashion that i respond to sweater the collard the the dawn of singing in the rain the sort of like the sweater yeah the the the fitted men's dress clothing if you you want to dress like Gene Kelly going forward, I'm okay with that.

I don't have that build. I mean, he and Brad Pitt share an ideal male form build. That is true. And if you don't have that, it's a little bit harder to pull up. But also... Gene was more into flared pants, which would also be hard for you.

If you walk around like this, people are like, you are a ponce. You are a clown. You belong in a country club, not inside of J.C j crew i guess that's true jean kelly and an american in paris is kind of my ideal you guys want to take a quick ad break for our listeners here sure yeah so before we get to this huge and important party sequence with margot

robbie's character why don't we take a quick break use the bathroom stretch your legs maybe look at the sun for 30 seconds and then come on back and we'll count you down to start the film again watch a few episodes of three body problem on netflix please don't do that okay and we're coming back and we will begin watching again in five four three two one 3 2 1 So here It seems the studio Has Contracted Gene Smart's character Who is a kind of journalist and society Gadfly

To train her in the ways Of joining the upper crust Of California They're gonna try and Pygmalion her Yes, precisely Now that woman that we just saw Joining the upper crust of California. They're going to try and Pygmalion her. Yes, precisely. Now that woman that we just saw, that older woman with brown hair, is Cary Grant's daughter.

Oh, no kidding. Cary Grant's daughter with Diane Cannon. And in fact, if you look at her face, she looks just like Diane Cannon with brown hair right there. She does. Yeah. Yet another very little sprinkle. And what's the idea here is she's got to do all this and then they'll start funding her movies again or they'll just accept her into high society and say...

I think if she's accepted by this ring, she's more castable in projects. Okay. So this is her, an Australian woman woman performing as a 1920s new jersey girl performing as an aristocratic angeleno good stuff love margo dago calva completely subsumed by the business he's working for Irving Thalberg at this point? I believe he's working for Jeff Garland's company, Don Wallach's production company,

studio. Is there any part of you that wants to be a part of this los angeles no chris if you could be a member at riv would you join this class of people no because i just get baptized riv you know it's like i don't sign up for that much pain do you want to talk about the great Los Angeles City golf scandal? I do. Yeah, I'm glad you brought it up. It's important.

I don't know what happened. No. So like ever since COVID, but specifically over the last two or three years, you basically can't get on a LA City public golf course. Well, I do know that because you guys yell about it a lot. They've discovered that a series of brokers have been bot farming all the reservations and then reselling them for a fee which is something

that i think i've always felt but didn't right couldn't prove it you also feel that about restaurants i know that about restaurants uh because i've seen the sites where they're like you want to go to donna's on fr night? It's 40 bucks just for the res. What's Donna's? Donna's is the Italian place in Echo Park. Oh, right. Yeah, you've been floating that, but we can't get a reservation.

I mean, if we all crowdsource our money and put 10 bucks each in, we can get a $40 reservation to start paying for money for food there. And then, yeah, so Sean and I are scandalized. This is our January 6 our january 6th what will you do i mean what action steps are available we missed the la city golf meeting okay you couldn't attend by zoom i would have loved it if sean and i i i i'm very frustrated by this. Now, obviously you can,

if you have the financial wherewithal, join a club and get tea time whenever you want. But if you'd like to play the municipal courses of LA, one of the big upsides of living in LA is that we have some of the best local public golf courses in America. It is why I moved here. It's what Karen Bass says every speech.

She's just like, welcome to the home of Harding and Wilson. Well, it's $35 to play on a legitimately beautiful golf course. And we did for years. It is not an ideal location, but a nice course nevertheless. Truly, some of the most harrowing

moments of my life in Los Angeles is my fucking monster's leave-earth slice going towards the 5. I will not drive on that section of the five that's over the net you're gonna want to stay in the left lane when you're headed in that direction nevertheless um i grew up playing public courses i love public courses and we played chris and i and your husband played on those public courses for years some of the best years of our lives i i remember it was just taken from us because sometimes you guys still try to give me played on those public courses for years on Friday afternoons. Some of the best years of our lives.

I remember. And it was just taken from us. Because sometimes you guys still try to give me directions places. You're like, oh, well, it's just like right by, you know, Wilson. And I'm like, I do not attend any of these golf courses or golf events. I mean, you missed out. It's beautiful. And, you know, it's a nice way to spend time with your partner if you learned how to play.

I will never do that. I might start doing tennis but um never golf um will you will you get involved in a five-side women's soccer league if you if if nox becomes a huge soccer person no no yeah i think that that's gonna that's gonna be your job okay um we had a volunteer to accompany him to basketball games hello mark anthony oh um so soccer's me, Mark Anthony gets basketball. Yeah. If he wants to play tennis, I'll play tennis with him. What does Sean get? What are you talking about?

We're movie bros. You and Knox. Oh yeah, that's true. Who's going to show this kid Suspiria? If not me. Just to put a cap on the golf thing, the person who created the app that is allowing all of these tea times

to be sat upon and then auctioned off should be in prison. Oh, I thought you knew who it was. And it was like... They sort of do. You know. And there's been some investigation into it. But you know, as I said to Chris

when we were talking about it over text over the weekend, this is not something that is affecting rich people. It's something that is affecting not rich people because it's about public courses. And so they're not going to fucking do anything about it. They're not going to take this guy down

and change the system. If this was affecting people who were members of RIV, they would fix it in one day. And I would imagine that someone somewhere is getting a little bit of money off of this

within the city golf apparatus. Does RIV have a pool? No. I think it's just a golf course. I don't think so. It sucks. It's not like a country club in that sense. I want a pool and a place where you can buy chicken fingers. Yeah.

Sounds like you should move to Palm Springs. But I don't want it to be 1,000 degrees and desert. It's a challenge. It's a challenge. There's an embassy suites. Skittles in the freezer. You know what I'm saying? Do you like skittles in the freezer yeah you know what i'm saying do you like skittles in the freezer i mean but it's just at the pool all of the candy was in the freezer yeah and yeah i get dropped off in the morning can i can i talk to you about that

i've just seen a film it's called snack shack okay you know about this no really interesting movie um basically being released independently is produced by ryan johnson's company t street and it's a here we see margot robbie losing her nerve and breaking down but uh set in 1991 and it's basically about two teenagers who um win an auction to run the snack shack at a local pool and so they like get all the snacks that you need and they use this as like the home base for all their schemes. A real throwback movie. A lot of fun. Really, really fun.

What are their schemes? Well, they're just trying to make as much money as possible. Sure. And they sell something called Fuck Dogs, for example,

where they write the word fuck in ketchup on hot dogs. Yeah. That's good. Yeah. That's a good scheme. So it's pretty clever.

Very raunchy movie. Okay. Really leaning into its time period, I would say, but say but really good yeah but that's the time period i'm talking about is she gonna hit this lobster tail or what there's so much jello on this table that's they really really liked jello as fine dining come on this is the this is this she's the one i feel like this is the scene that was reviled by people who hated this movie yeah like by this point they were like you lost me and i could not disagree i will be honest like

when sean introded is like and now mario robbie goes to another party and loses her shit i was like yeah uh-huh we have seen several of those in this film already um but not with red jello smeared all over her this i think that this might be the flaw of being like i have nine baller ass sequences yeah is that without a connective tissue seen anywhere she's gonna go back and puke

on the rug the one of a kind Chekhov's rug you know this is just I don't know I don't know what people want you want to just have

like a demure calm drama so is the bag like on the other side of her head? Okay. Oh, no. Oh, yeah. Here they go. Have you ever vomited after being exposed to vomit?

I've never done that. Thinking through it. Thinking through it. Dartmouth. No. Sophomore year. Yeah. No.

I mean, there was plenty of vomit, but it was the beer, not the vomit, that inspired it. I caught some bad beats with that in my college and early New York years. Vomiting because someone else vomited? Well, I would just get, I mean, like... You get tuned up. Tuned up, and then I would throw up and take all my clothes off. Like in a bathroom stall. But like, I just get so hot when I was throwing up.

So you'd be fully nude? No, I would just be down. But I would definitely want to get, I want to get like. There's another singing in the rain Easter egg. Very much. And they're laughing at Jack, not with Jack, right? Which is like, they're literally laughing at the exact same dialogue in this screening

that they do of the Dueling Cavalier. I love you, I love you, I love you. Guys like, did someone get paid to write that dialogue? And also that you can hear the rustling of their clothing. Yeah. So, you know, it's a bad movie. When I was in high school, i got so drunk one night i went to a house party and uh got very sick and started throwing i fully blacked out i have no

recollection of this night but it's been relayed to me by friends but as a joke friends of mine poured water all over my pants so you thought you pissed yourself so i thought i pissed myself but then i think i did piss myself because I had water all over my crotch and I was completely drunk and had no control over my bodily functions. Oh my God. So that was tough. There were a couple of photos of me

in a very unfortunate position. Those photos have since been destroyed. The human mind is amazing. I was 15, so it's not that big a deal. It's so vulnerable. It really is. Alcohol is very dangerous. That's just something I want to...

This is one of the messages of this film. Yeah. It's 1932 now, just in case you guys missed that. And Brad Pitt's character has just gotten sober. Again, another outfit that I'm like, that is, maybe that's my energy right there. I like that cut. The shawl collar.

Yeah, the shawl with the blue oxford underneath I don't know if that's your color but I'm a little pale for that yeah I'll wash you out but I also like the idea for you I think maybe if I could yeah maybe that in like a green okay yeah with maybe a white oxford cloth shirt that could work those those are like the other thing about pit the man can wear some sunglasses yeah he is exclusively wearing them in this film also so do you think that chazelle because later in the film obviously he's going to try to sew together this movie with all the cinema that comes after it. And there's this, you know, what Jack is talking about in that interview with Eleanor where he's like you don't want to stand in the way of progress. He was this

huge proponent of moving into the sound era but now he's been left behind by it. And I do think it's kind of interesting, you know, Damien Chazelle gets propped up as one of the last filmmakers who was trying to make movies like this in the face of the IP blockbusterization of cinema.

But should he get on board or get out of the way like the way Jack does? Is there any kind of self-commentary happening, especially after the fact when this movie winds up kind of flopping, right? That's a really complicated idea to unpack i mean the film takes on a different uh color after its box office failure is what i mean i don't think that he should be like signing up for the green lantern movie for james god no i don't think he should be doing that. Little Damien needs to get... I mean, I think... You gotta take Logan back.

He's a filmmaker who's working in a tradition of very homage-laden exercises in isolation, loneliness, and the impossibility of love. That's a lot of what his movies are about. That's what La La Land is about.

If you look at the end of that movie, that's what First Man is about. That's what this movie is about. It's a lot of people who just don't end up together. They don't get exactly what they want, or they touch greatness and then it falls away. Whiplash, same thing. So I think it'd be weird if he was like,

and now I'll be reviving Guardians of the Galaxy for Kevin Feige right but you don't get the impression he ever liked those movies or cared about those things yeah

he likes Charlie Chaplin you know he likes 1940s jazz drumming and like the you know not to jump ahead but the fate of the

Jack Conrad character and in this movie and what he represents. It's like there is an awareness at least of like I'm, I love this thing

and I'm doing this thing. But it's going to kill me. Yeah. And it's not, it's time has passed and maybe time has passed for me too, but I still long for it. Yeah, there's definitely an appreciate

what you have at the time that you have a kind of a thing too. I mean, filmmakers like him are usually entering their golden age, their prime. He's what, in his late 30s? This is when they start to figure out exactly how to make the things they want to make. He was a wunderkind. He had huge success at a very young age this is a very tough scene

I think there's some fair criticism that the Giovanna Deppo character is underserved in this story and

maybe could just be his own movie that there is a world where that maybe could just be his own movie that there is a world where that character could be its own viable useful story and putting Manny

in this position is interesting it's unusual for our ostensibly our hero to be asked to do something so terrible

and to be so subsumed by the system that he would ask someone to do something so terrible and to be so subsumed by the system that he would ask someone to do this. But he does and that's how Hollywood rots you. It only makes you think

about the bottom line and only getting done what needs to get done to finish the shoot. have you ever thought about driving over to uh greet one of your critics and confront them uh what critics i laughed you know it's it's uh this is a good jacket critics. I laughed.

You know, it's, it's a, this is a good jacket. Rude. It's quite a headline. yeah i mean this is this is like your climax this is the end of the second act of the movie yeah right here it's like it's everyone is realizing that they're not long for this world yeah and that this is a bad place that has made people do bad things do you ultimately feel that way about Hollywood to this point? Yes. You think it is a bad place?

I don't really want to spend my life in it. How about that? Interesting. Where will you spend it? I hope by the ocean. You're quite far from the ocean. I know. It bums me out.

Did you make a bid to get nearer to the ocean when you were settling with your family no because it's just like everything's over here you know and i can't be driving back and forth this is like chris with his like week-long dream of being mr playa vista or whatever yeah and it's done didn't shake out no what about sleeping in rossillo's guest room permanently i liked this dream where he had a guest room and then I spent the weekends there. Would you welcome Amanda into your home? As Zach Mr. Mom'd? No, Knox would be there too.

Okay. With you. Yeah. And then we'd just go to the beach. And what would Zach do? I'd, you know, use all his reservations from the system that he created to dominate LA Public Golf. That is what would happen is he and I would be protesting outside of Wilson Harding on a Saturday morning.

He knows about this? Of course. Is he like really outraged? I would say that myself, Zach, Tim Simons, and Sean are equally outraged. And it is actually one of the true unifying political moments of our life. Yes, I agree. Like there is not a single thing that I've ever seen four men be like, yes, I'm on the same page as you.

I just, I did not know that this happened. The man responsible for this will pay. Yeah, but it's just, it's like, it's very amazing that I share a house with this person. And he's, you know, pretty vocal about his outrage. Imagine the secrets he's keeping. I know. I know, he's not telling you, pretty vocal about his outrage. Imagine the secrets he's keeping. I know. I know. He's not telling you about the Eagles offseason.

He's not telling you about golf. The other night, I told Chris this already. I tried to ask him, like, I was like, did we ever find out what happened with the Eagles last year? And he was like, it was like I was a spy. It is one way in which some of your best qualities are working against you, which is your, I would say,

pointed inquisitiveness. And I just don't think that Zach took you at face value when you said that. If I could speak for him. Yeah. If I could speak for him. He didn't.

He was so, he was literally like, why are you asking me that? And I was like, it's just circling back. I really relate to this scene. This is me after every movie draft. Just on a dry spell.

You know what it is to put yourself out there. You're just a cockroach. What do you think of this? The complicated relationship between the press and the arts and where they meet. Well, arts and Hollywood are often two different things.

Well, but this movie is asking you to confront where they meet and where they diverge. Sort of, but I think also that Jack Conrad is someone who had both of them together and then leaned into Hollywood and the arts left and, you know, is now being confronted with some of that. So you think of yourself as more of an Eleanor St. John than a Jack Conrad? I don't think of myself as a Jack Conrad. Because I'm not Brad Pitt and I don't wear clothes that well. What about a Nellie LaRoy? No. Just, you know, I don't go to that many parties you know the fifth party i'd be like

i'm pretty tired chris who do you most relate to in this film uh probably pj burton's character I wonder if this movie suffered, at least here in Los Angeles, in part for the same reason that May-December seemed to suffer during awards season. I think that those are different reasons, probably. Because it doesn't pay flattering portrait of actors? That's kind of an unsparing portrayal of the transactional, emotional vampirism of this work. I kind of wonder whether or not we've moved past the self-reflective period of those things just absolutely automatically being lauded because they're about the town or about the profession or about the art form.

I think that's true. I think anything that is just inherently about Hollywood, like the Mank blank at the Oscars. Wouldn't Maestro be like something that would just ordinarily be like, oh my God, this guy just got to the bottom of both like. Very New York though. Yeah. And also he didn't get to the bottom of it. Not unlike this film. It's like, it's scenes, a collection of amazing scenes. It's a collection of amazing though. Yeah. And also, he didn't get to the bottom of it. Not unlike this film. It's like, it's scenes.

A collection of amazing scenes. It's a collection of amazing scenes. Yeah. I mean, it's definitely the similarity where the intended audience is not in on, not even the joke, but the self-loathing. I mean, they're both self-loathing movies to a degree. And there are many, many people in Hollywood who just do not have shame in that way. And that is why they are successful. But I'm sure that also means that they don't relate to it.

Do you feel that we have shame? Yes. Okay. I don't know whether we display it, but then I think we go home and then we're like, oh my God. We have self-loathing. That's no doubt about it. Yeah, of course. But I think this movie is the same way and it is what we respond to.

And there are many people who are like, sure, let me go promote. I always thought he was just an incredible craftsman. This house. Yeah. Is this, if you were going to set down here long term. Oh, a place like this would be amazing, yeah. It's like the house from Ouija. Ouija 2. Ouija 2.

Ouija 2, yeah. The Flanagan Ouija. What's the house from Ouija? I feel like it's contemporaneously set. Yeah, I think you're right. I think Ouija 1 is modern and Ouija 2 is like a 50s, 60s kind of thing. Seen Ouija 2?

I did not. Okay. Nor did I see Ouija 1. That's not what it was called. Welcome to Ouija 1. The first Ouija. That would be a fun. Are you Ouija or Ouija?

Ouija. Ouija, I think. But I didn't, I never thought about it. Have you used a Ouija board? Is it Ouija? Have I been pronouncing it wrong? I don't know why

I thought it was Ouija. I think I said Ouija even though it's, who says Ouija? I mean, I know. Some people say it. I don't say that. I know that that is how

it's spelled. It's actually pronounced O-Y-I-Ja. Okay. It's not. What are they arguing about? She's like hit bottom. She needs money.

She's got gambling debts. She's flat broke and in debt and she needs money and she's gone to him for money and salvation just as she always has. Okay. She needs money and she's gone to him for money and salvation just as she always has. The question here is, obviously he's in love with her slash infatuated with her and has been for the entire movie. Does she have feeling for Manny? No.

He's just a vessel? Have they ever been together even? Like they just have like a couple of coked out nights. Does she have feelings? I don't know know we haven't seen a lot of what do you think that represents is this movie rising or falling in your estimation as we re-watch it i think this scenes you know, I've seen it once and there were like, have been four or five times

where I'm like, ooh, it's this part. This is amazing. This is amazing. This is amazing. And I'm really, really excited to see the montage at the end again. So I think it's fascinating.

What about for you, Chris? I think it's, I think it's i think it's oh we lose sound there no it says that no audible dialogue oh she's just sobbing i uh i think the same as amanda the scenes the individual scenes are popping but the actual movie is maybe not holding together as well as it did in the theater that i remember how many times have you seen it like Like three or four times? I think this is my fifth time.

Fifth time watching Babylon. Yeah. That's great. How many formats do you own it then? Just one. Steelbook 4K. What came in the Steelbook? What came in the Steelbook?

Yeah. What do you mean? Like was there a... Like what are your little features? Was there a magic spell inside of it? I don't know. You guys spent a long time talking about like all of the little bells and whistles that have to come in the... No, this was not from a specialty imprint. It was just from Paramount Pictures.

So there was no booklet. There were not a ton of special features. I don't even think there was a commentary on the Blu-ray. But it's a nice piece of metal. I had some feedback on my recent physical media experience, which is they really got to make those things easier to open. Is this buying Turning Point? Yeah.

But there was just like, you know, the sticky plastic slabs. It took me like a solid five minutes to open it. So they no longer do that. They no longer use that adhesive. I think it's just because you bought a very old disc. DVDs, they used it more frequently than they do on Blu-rays. Okay. But I agree.

These are the kind of moments i kind of wish i still had like somber silent staring at iguana the phone's ringing and now it's just like everything is clouded with streaming television and social media feeds you know so you don't have any time to feel sad by yourself yeah okay i was thinking of instituting a phone bin time where like I do three to six hours at a time where my phone is just sealed. No pods. No Solac. You can't cheat and get extra point taken and pumped into your brain. I love me some extra point taken, as you know.

I will listen to every episode when it comes out. But I, no, like on Saturdays. Like on a Saturday, I just want to be like from 9 to 3 I'm not looking at my phone like Sam Asante bungalows it

well I guess they just do a sticker yeah like that old school like going to a movie screening of an MCU movie and they put it in a bag and you can't touch it

because I I want to experience the world more deeply sometimes that's a movie sometimes that's me hanging out with my kid

let me know the first time you do that. Because I'm going to text you 400 times and be like, I need you. Where are you? Pick up the phone. Oh my God.

PTA is making the new Captain America, JK, call me. That does happen sometimes when I'm in a screening room and I get out of the screening room that has no service in it. And Aaron Rodgers is like running for vice president. That happened for sure. Is now service in it. And Aaron Rodgers is like running for vice president.

That happened for sure. Is now the time to talk about Aaron Rodgers? Sure. Yeah. Yeah. What a fucking idiot. Yeah. I am M.

Yeah. You know? On the other hand. If he delivers for me. I like what the Jets have been up to. Yeah. I got to say. Every year they wrote me back in.

I don't know what the Jets have been up to. Do you guys still have. Every year they wrote me back in. I don't know what the Jets have been up to. Do you guys still have Nathaniel Hackett as your OC? They do. Yeah. They do. And I can't say I support that. But they've completely rebuilt their offensive line with some actually good players. Okay.

That's good. The offensive line is important and neglected in the NFL, in my opinion. Well, they've brought in eight-time pro bowler Tyron Smith. That's very exciting. Great. They've brought in, they've returned Morgan Moses to play right tackleron Smith. That's very exciting. Great. They've brought in, they've returned Morgan Moses

to play right tackle. The tackle position's been problematic. So he's, Jack is settling into being like more of a supporting actor, character actor here? Yes. Okay.

This is kind of what I'm ready for. I'm ready for this phase. Just call me when you need me. You think this shirt would work for you? I mean, I probably own that shirt. You definitely do. But you're not really doing the sleeves like that. Uh, I

didn't see the sleeves. They were rolled basically to short sleeves. I mean, a denim shirt with an unusual top button. It's kind of my energy. But I appreciated the styling. Maybe I should be living near the water. We all should, but we can't afford it.

I don't think that's it. And we'd have to make a... I think it's really more of the lifestyle thing that you put your finger on. Just like everything is over here. Our life is over here. I know, but like if we'd have to start again and that's hard, the older that you get. I know, I know, I know. This is a little bit where I'm like, oh, great.

She's doing a mountain of coke again. You know, like I get it. This is how it works though when you like, oh, great. She's doing a mountain of coke again. You know? Like, I get it. This is how it works, though, when you use cocaine. I do understand that. You just keep getting great ideas. They just keep coming to you. Yeah. So they say.

So they say. I think Rory Scovell's cape has been unremarked upon thus far. Have you considered a cape, Chris? No, I've never done that. A cloak? I have a lot of it. I think I have a bunch of pretty good jackets. I think I'm good in the overwear, the outerwear department.

I had a cape when I was like seven. Where are you at with woman wears man's button down shirt? Very pro. It's the most pro you could possibly be of anything in the universe. Rebecca De Mornay doing that? Yeah. Yeah. What like

is that what it was? Was it coded to us at a young age? I think so. As very sexy? Yeah. As the indication of sex the night before?

Wasn't there like an advertisement for like Van Heusen shirts where it's like looks good on you looks great on her or something like that? Do they sell those

at Rag and Bone? Okay. So she owns a bunch of... I gotta admit, this plot line... No, I will not hear it. No, the Toby shit, all of that is incredible. Oh, I forgot about this. Oh, this is so good. It's amazing.

I forgot about this. I can't believe I forgot about this. Now, this is something I have definitely had happen to me. Not specifically, but I've gone to a party with a friend at a weird house and been like, what the fuck is going on here? When we first moved here and I was like, what will my social life be? Yeah. And I was taking more chances.

Yeah. And you'd find yourself in a situation like this and be like, are these people fucking crazy? Like, what is this weird world where they're doing things and talking about things that I don't understand? Now, I was not encountering Ethan Supley. Or vampire Tobey Maguire formaldehyde addict. Yeah. But you know what I mean, though, right? I do.

Party in the hills, basically. That's what it is. Be careful what you wish for. And you used to be one of those party in the hills people. Not like this. Not quite, but you were throwing parties while of those party in the hills people. Not like this. Not quite, but you were throwing parties while you were living in the hills.

That's true. And then people above Amanda, like higher up in the hills, they would boom their music down on Amanda so they would party above her. Yeah. That's right.

She would party above. The hierarchy of party. Yeah. I mean, the acoustics. Yeah. Really wild. Love all the outdoor rugs.

The fucking goat right here. Play your axe. Play your axe. What a fucking career that guy's had. He just seems to be having a great time. Truly. One of the producers of this film. Yeah.

How long did you need to loan him that vest, Chris, for them to shoot this scene? And he's no longer married to Jen Meyer? Correct. He's married to the game. The game of poker. To Molly's game. Yeah, that's right.

If you sat down not knowing anything about him, but if you sat down across from Tobey Maguire at the win, what kind of stakes hold him where you plan? I don't know what you mean. 10-20? What are the low-high blinds? I would say 10-20, yeah. And Tobey Maguire sitting across from you,

you're like, I got this guy. I got this. This is fucking meat in the water this is chum no I never feel that way about anybody because I'm not very good but I will say

he looks exactly like the kind of guy who will bust you up for hours like there are a lot of guys in Vegas who look just like Tobey Maguire

who are really good at Hold'em it's never a guy who looks like Brad Pitt you know it's never a guy who looks like Denzel it's always a guy

who looks just like Tobey Maguire. Or a 78-year-old who has served in the Navy for 40 years. Yeah. I would have loved to be at the pitch meeting where everybody just threw out ideas for these movies that he reads here from his little notebook. This is basically Benjamin Button that he's pitching. I mean, it's also a genius riff on placating extremely powerful people who have money and want to make movies

but have terrible ideas. And I'm sure Damien Chazelle has sat across from literally dozens of old criminals who are like, I'll give you some money for your movie

if you entertain my idea about a 50-year-old midget. Yeah. when this when that's was revealed were you like that's stupid or that's ingenious i was like that's stupid it's just this is uh counterfeit money, right? Yeah. Have you ever tried to get one over on a violent criminal? I mean, that's... Don't answer that question. Don't answer that question.

Sean? I'm not violent. No, I haven't. Never even considered it. I don't think so. I don't think I've really had that many interactions with violent criminals.

Did you consider joining the force to take down John Gotti? I did actually harbor, like I always kind of wondered if like, if at 45, I wanted to just become a homicide detective, would they let me? Or would I have to go through all the training? I was like, I understand, but is there a special dispensation for anybody who's read the amount of crime fiction that I have? Like Make-A-Wish for midlife crisis, guys?

What a great idea for a business. Yeah, I agree. I mean, what else could we do? Amanda, what's your Make-A-Wish? You're hitting the big 4-0 soon Oh my god don't remind me

what is my make a wish? Wimbledon center court but sitting with Anna Wintour and Roger Federer I mean yeah but that's make a wish

that you don't think I can make it to the Royal Box of Wimbledon before my time's done just like as a spectator I'm not playing That's a great challenge

for you That is a great challenge How much does that cost? Or is it just not even about money? No, it's not about money. Well, the Royal Box, I could make it to Wimbledon.

I've done two of the Four Slams. I've done US Open and I've done the French Open. I've done Roland Garros. Australia is the challenge. It is, but it was recently unlocked to me like,

oh, if you go to Australia during the winter, then it's just summer there. And I was like, I should have been exploiting that before now. It is a 13, 14-hour flight. Yeah, but I'm not like coming back. You're a young child.

I'm not coming back. You're going to be the endless summer? Yeah. It's just like whatever, like, you know, the snowbirds are going to Florida. Like, no, no, no, no, no. You're an Aussie? Yeah, exactly. But you're moving to Australia?

For half the year interesting who is replacing you on the pod that would be a great bit it's actually only a five hour difference here but isn't it a day

five hours but yeah but that doesn't matter for a recording it would be also awesome if you could start kind of like one upping him like oh I guess that must have happened on Friday for you guys

it's already Saturday here so we've kind of had immaculate right theaters for a day. But so Royal Box at Wimbledon, yeah, you gotta know somebody. So I like, I

could try. But I don't know whether we need to like phone that out to the foundation, you know? I am all aboard you making an effort to make that happen on your own. I will help you in any way I can. Okay, thank you so much. The asshole Los Angeles sequence here that is about to begin

was filmed actually at CR's house. I'm known for walking around talking about how repressed I found Los Angeles. And there's a weird creepy clown that perches outside of your doorstep. So for me I loved this sequence. I thought this was great. I think this sequence also turned a lot of people off. I thought this was very fun

very funny very psychedelic. Felt like him showing us a side of the kinds of things he wants to do that he never does. Extremely violent cage fighting.

Tycho drums. And they're listening to techno. Well, it's more like... Pretty much. What's the... What's the... The Mellotron? Is that the...

Yeah. You know, the device that is played in like 1950s science fiction films? Sounds like that. I don't even know if they had four on the floor beats like this then though

they're just playing the big loud drums yeah I think Tobey Maguire is so perfectly cast and so good in this that it it makes the surreal and the absurdity of this work for me.

And I liked it as well. I was like, what's going on? But it's creepy. It's funny. Yeah. It is something new-ish in the context of this movie. It's not. Oh, I mean, this is just...

I enjoyed the callback to My Girl's Pussy, the song that Lee Jun Lee was singing at the beginning of the film. You're getting a sight. I think this actor is starring in a different man sebastian stan movie um the guy on the right the guy on the right yeah it's a menagerie here's what's really happening here's what people

really want for entertainment do we have a version of this right now? um a place you can visit that is illicit the magic castle well that's

I mean it reminded me a little bit of the magic castle but it's the most genteel version of this in the magic castle that would be another one of my make a wish

midlife crisis things is let me program the magic castle oh I thought you were going to say let me be a magician for one day in the Magic Castle. That would be another one of my Make-A-Wish midlife crisis things is let me program the Magic Castle. Oh, I thought you were going to say let me be a magician for one day in the Magic Castle,

which that would be my Make-A-Wish. My actually Make-A-Wish is a reality show starring Chris. And then Chris has to go be a magician in the Magic Castle.

Chris has to cook a meal. Oh, like every week I have a challenge? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I can cook a meal. Well, I would still like it to be filmed. Do you think that it would be...

You just want an episode of me doing my calisthenics? Yes. Chris does Mountain Man or whatever the hell it is. You should just put on a GoPro every morning. Do you think I would do numbers?

Get some good stream numbers? I think there's a very loyal 1,100 men who want to see the food you're cooking from your perspective. And Amanda. Or like Kenji Lopez

has the GoPro when he's making late night burritos. What's the most embarrassing thing that people would witness me doing yeah scatological notwithstanding i i think honestly like what i watch on youtube and not even embarrassing like because it's like red pilled it would be like i'm just watching an emily blunt interview at like 4 p.m it's just so weird this is what this is literally literally like where their child should be in my life if i have like but that that's like when you're like god what am i missing that yeah

you're missing like idol youtubing that winds up being like a celebrity interview with no germane like has nothing to do with what i'm doing. I can assure you there's more that I'm missing. Now you'd think... The feeling of the counterfeit money? Both the feeling and the ink Yeah Running It's pretty dark in there You gotta do a little better

I mean they didn't have all of like the jazzy Yeah well They caught it pretty quickly Yeah That's what I mean Michael Mann would never stand for this cheap fake money Well it was a bad plan It was a bad plan

No one is saying this is a great idea. It's true. Cooked up by a silly drug dealer. Just love everybody gets guns out here. Oh. Big Ethan Supley guy I also found this Breathtaking in movie theaters The shootout here? Just the race through and the snap

at the crocodile. That brilliant little moment. This is another Damon Giselle making action movie sequence. Yes, very much. I hope he doesn't feel like he's exercised all those demons.

I worry that he will make something a little bit more austere next time. Because he's been told this isn't what people want. I hope that he will make something a little bit more austere next time. Because he's been told this isn't what people want. I hope that's not true. I'm really afraid of crocodiles. You are? Oh, yeah.

Well, I've got a movie for you. It's called Roadhouse. Oh. I mean, they're just so sinister. Pretty exciting crocodile scene in that movie. Do you think you'll watch Roadhouse? No. Because Zach already saw it.

It's too bad. You're missing out. And Doug Liman is not pleased with its release, so. You stand with Doug? Well, I don't know who I stand with on that team. Now this is the LA I remember. What do you mean you remember? Sitting quietly in a restaurant and someone comes over and they're like, hi!

Nice to see you, small talk, small talk, small talk. No one that glamorous has ever come over to you in a restaurant in LA to be like, how nice to see you. Well, she looks absolutely stunning in the red dress. And the, I mean, that's just, once again, the wardrobe department. I wonder what venue they're supposed to be in here. Chateau.

Chateau. It's very Chateau coded. I mean, I don't know whether the Chateau existed in the 1920s, but both the patio, Toby and Ware's patio, and then this have real Chateau vibes. Well, the Chateau opened in 1926. Okay. Well, this is the 30s now, so. It was converted to a hotel.

It looks like in 1931. What was, I mean, whose Chateau was it before? Fred Horowitz, a prominent los angeles attorney okay good for fred and it was sold to albert e smith co-founder of vitagraph studios during the great depression and during the 1930s the hotel was managed by former silent film actress ann little i like the idea of a place where there's like, you're hanging out with like two or three people that you came with, but like all your other friends and colleagues are like showing up and just like, Hey, yeah, there he is. There's like Abilene basically. Yeah.

I mean, one of the good things, one of the like unspoken, I think I just described a bar, but more so that like LA at this time was kind of a small town. Yeah. You know, it just was not, it was an industry town and there were plenty of residents, but in this world it was fairly modest. And I feel that way even now sometimes where I'm like, it's the same, I've said it to you before, it's the same 700 people over and over again, all kind of like filtering in and out of different jobs or all going to the same places.

Like if you do go to the San Vicente bungalows of the world, you know. That is true. It's the usual crowd. It's been that way for a hundred years here. It's good makeup here

where they got him like a little bit sunburned, a little bit. Yeah. A little bit baked. Now, when you were watching this for the first time, did you know he was at Death's Door? No, but I mean, he's even right there doing that like masterful pit, like wistful. He's very elegant, polite.

But like there's sadness under the... Yes. He's like, he's looking beyond the person, you know? His eyes aren't even really... Yeah, he's alone. Yeah. Alone in more ways than one. Yeah, it seems to be the central preoccupation of the characters.

But no, but this, I mean, this next shot is... I mean, he does it right now, right? He just like walks upstairs. He runs into the bellboy and he gives him a tip. Yeah. Right. Yeah. I mean.

I mean, this still really took me by surprise and was very shocking. After a long day of podcasting, do you have a dark night of the soul like this? One quiet solitudinous drink? You give $100 to a bellhop. I sit alone in a room with my drink. And I tip Zach extra. And I walk upstairs. And he becomes even more irate about the inability to book a tea time. I wonder if Zach will get to the two and a half hour mark. I know.

I was just thinking that. He's been so nice to me recently, too. Zach, I'm very grateful for you. I wonder if he's going to get to the two hour and thirty second minute when you're here, actually. He turned it off. 1 minute too late again just an incredible piece of filmmaking this is really memorable and upsetting

and sad but we also haven't been with this character and all we know is that this guy is not the roles aren't working out for him anymore and he's his candles. I mean this shot. It's just That's the thing is before it was this manic intensity In the virtuosity of the filmmaking. This is a much slower quieter subtler version of that But we are holding and holding and holding and holding Tracking him all the way up and at this point you knew yeah even before you saw the gun you knew what was happening

why would we be following him all the way up here to this a lot of the characters that he was basing his character on also died very young. Did he wind up... I can't remember. Did he get nominated for this? No. No nominations, right? He did not get nominated. There were no nominations, no.

I think there was... That's a good question. What Academy Award nominations did they receive? Three nominations at the Oscars. For Best Costume Design, Best Original Score, and Best Production Design. receive three nominations at the Oscars for best costume design, best original score and best production

design. Oh, for three everything everywhere all at once versus Babylon. Who you got? Oh, on what you got that was also the year

of tar and top gun maverick it was okay she is was just snorting cocaine with the edges of a pair of sunglasses oh yeah we've not seen margo's character for some time cane with the edges of a pair of sunglasses. We've not seen Margo's character for some time

here. What was she doing? She's been spinning out. She's kind of hit rock bottom. She needed Manny to go get this money for her. He's gotten them an

even deeper shit. Is there any part of you that wishes you got into a relationship like this, Chris, so you could have had that experience? Gotten into a relationship like this? Yeah. Where I'm the Manny? Yeah.

No. I love that you asked that question. Bob Bob you haven't been in a relationship like this have you no comment okay it's good it's good to protect your personal life I actually I actually ghost wrote this script and this is about my life I mean it makes me ask some questions about Chazelle. Isn't this where he's realizing like,

he's like, this isn't going to happen. Like, I'm not, we're not escaping to Mexico together. She's going to. I'm tired of this also.

Yeah. Yes, she's a flighty actress and a complicated person. Yeah. Yes, she's a flighty actress and a complicated person I see I buy all of this I don't know I know I hear what you guys are saying yeah but I was I was invested I wanted them to be happy and then this is also like a like a home movie scene of a wedding so they're like almost acting within this home movie that's being shot behind them exactly

nice little job, Damien. Refracting what is real performance, what are real emotions, what is the illusion of fame and success and happiness. Sorry, I was looking at Instagram. This takes a long time. You have no heart. You're completely heartless. I guess I am. But I do feel like...

Diego Calva acting his ass off. This... It takes the movie too long to get to this emotional. And there's too much of Margot Robbie like going balls out. But it's so, so, so manic

for so long that I'm like, okay. And I mean, she's acting her heart out here too. She's wonderful. They both are. So she gives him this little piece of a dream.

Then she fucking takes it from him. Just like Angelina did to Brad? Yeah. So Emma Stone was supposed to play the Margot Robbie role. She was originally cast in that role. How would that

have worked out? I'm asking. Well, it's interesting in the aftermath of Poor Things because I would have said that she doesn't have the raw sexual energy that Margot Robbie's character kind of necessarily needs.

But having just made a movie about raw sexual energy, maybe she would have. I don't know. You wouldn't know. You've never seen Poor Things. I wouldn't know. I did not see Poor Things, but I did see The Curse, so I understand about Emma Stone being raw. Yes. I've never seen Poor Things. I wouldn't know. I did not see Poor Things, but I did see The Curse,

so I understand about Emma Stone being raw. Yes. I think she could do it. And it might be... I mean, it would be a different movie. Yeah, in some ways, they're extremely similar performers, and in other ways,

they're very, very different. I think they're both willing to kind of make themselves ridiculous in a way that a lot of female stars of the past would not. Yeah. And be very vulnerable because of that. Obviously, they're both very striking and very funny. Has Margot Robbie ever played like a normal person? Like an everyday person? The way like, in a way, like the La La Land character played like a normal person? Like an everyday person? The way like

In a way like the La La Land character Is like a kind of A normal person I'm trying to think Are you saying Harley Quinn is not a normal person? Are you shaming Harley Quinn for her lifestyle? I'm Harley Quinn I'm Harley shaming

It's a very good question I mean she's just I'm really shaming. It's a very good question. I mean, she's just like Sidney Sweeney, where it's like you just look a certain way. And because our perception of you is this way, and because we got introduced to you in Wolf of Wall Street. You know? In the legend of Tarzan. I mean, I, Tanya, obviously she's a famous person, but she doesn't, is not like talking about sex appeal. But I mean, that's not an average person.

Right. And just the way that movie is pitched is. I mean, she's played Queen Elizabeth, Sharon Tate, Tanya Harding, Harley Quinn. Sharon Tate is probably the most normal that she's been but a screen a screen sure a screen actor

is a very very beautiful and sad character exit yeah I love this and this is often how it is with famous people

where one day you wake up and you're like where's this person where have they been why haven't they done anything in a year or two sometimes they're gone i love that. Everybody wants to be a star. Rory Scoville's headshots. it's kind of remarkable how not traumatized diego calva's character is

by the end of this film given all the things he experiences and endures gotta have a strong exterior to survive in this town. He's pissing your pants, just like you did. Well, allegedly. Have you ever wanted someone to leave this city? Oh, like, um,

the guy who made the golf reservation app. Yeah. Get the fuck out. Would you hold a gun to his personhood? No. I wouldn't. You know. Ultimately, I'm not getting any better at golf.

Let's just be honest. Are you still in on golf? I am, but it's more of a social thing for me than it is ever like my handicap's going to go down. How's Instagram? I'm just watching the film, you know? I'm wrapped up in the emotional stakes. I'm not, really. That's DTLA right there, man.

And then this is it. This is really the end of our 1930s Hollywood story but we get into the jazz just a little coda with Sidney Palmer and he's left

and he's found a happier lifestyle performing for maybe an audience that better understands and respects him and what he does it's notable I mean he's i agree with your earlier point about the criticism being valid that he's vastly underused but it's notable that he was the only one to

safely profit from the hollywood system and then get out of it and have a whole complete life at the end of it yeah i think there's like a criticism of that criticism too which is like it's a little bit taking the easy way out to be like you don't want to be accused of mistreating a character that has been mistreated throughout hollywood history too so that like he gets to be free in a way that nelly does not get to be free but i i don't know i don't know what to make of this character because he has chazelle has such't know what to make of this character. Because he has, Chazelle has such an affection for the musicians of this era.

Yeah. Such an understanding and appreciation of them. And it's almost like he wants this character to be safe because he likes this music so much. Yeah, there's a little bit of like an alternative reality feel to it. Right, which is not actually obviously how things worked. And there is like an attempt

to show us the way that these people got burned out by this world and this system. But the press survives, right? Eleanor St. John, she's probably lived to 100. Like a fat cat trading gossip for money.

There's also a world in which... Why are you looking directly at me? In which this is the last... She's dead at 76 so there. Pretty good life. The life's what was the expected

lifespan? Inflation adjusted lifespan? Yeah. There's a world in which this is the last scene in the movie too.

Yeah I was going to ask you guys about that. Is it better? I don't want to live in that world. I mean this is a very elegiac kind of way

to end the movie. Showing us what the town becomes. The expansion of it. Yeah. The corporatization. Obviously, the way she's been relegated to below the fold, as they say, after being an above the title performer for so long i feel like ending it on that scene would have been he actually would have been guilty of some of the criticisms that people lobbed his way that would have been a cop-out that would have been too sentimental yeah too

yeah too tight if you're gonna flip off hollywood multiple times throughout the movie then end it by kind of flipping off hollywood but also you know, I mean, we're going to talk about the montage. I assume. My intention is to just name every film. I was hoping that you would. Do you think you can do it fast enough? That's like, definitely not. Did you see the episode of survivor recently where the guy names Metallica songs and the woman names Taylor Swift songs and they go on for like seven minutes.

It was a man naming Metallica songs and a man naming Taylor Swift songs. Yeah. Charlie, the av naming Taylor Swift songs. Yeah. Charlie, the avowed Taylor Swift fan. Yeah. Who is one of the all-time beta cucks

I've ever seen in my life. I'm watching the film. I personally love the choice that he made. I love the Manny coming back. The camera store in the background,

like now it's just across the street. All he would have had to do is wait for the light to change. So this is more than a decade in the future. 1952. The year of singing in the rain? Exactly. Manny.

Moved to the East Coast? New York. You just said. New York? Yeah. Been here many times. The gates to Paramount Pictures. Studio that produced this movie. Right there on Rose.

Near Osteria La Buca. And near the old rigor offices. Yeah. That's right. They have a great bedina. High Flying Parade. And what's the other? Is that Shelter Cove?

That's where Burger's Place is still there. Yeah. And you can see in the background there, I think, a billboard for a movie that came out in 2021. Which is unfortunate. Something that they missed. So here he's going to see a movie, a picture,

to be reminded of the life that he left behind. So Manny leaves Los Angeles. He leaves the movie industry. And then when he sees the security guard and he's like... I mean, he's singing Singing in the Rain.

I forgot. Yeah. I forgot that. But Manny says, I he's singing Singing in the Rain. I forgot. Yeah. I forgot that. But Manny says, I don't really get to the movies very much anymore. If you guys left it all behind, left the big picture behind,

would you still go to the movies as much? Summer, winter, autumn, and spring. Kathy Seldon, man. Like, do you think you've now baked in 350 movies a year or whatever it is

that you watch like into your life. Eight. Okay. He's not speaking for me. Would I go to the movie theater as much? Yeah. Probably not.

Would you go to the movies once a week? Look at Debbie Reynolds just fucking smashing it. I love this scene. I don't really. I think it would be hard to justify yeah but I would go frequently if you were not hosting the watch

how many TV shows a year do you think you'd complete I think probably far less how many do you think it would be let's say you complete 10 40 shows a year 10 to 20 maybe

yeah that's probably about what I watch 15 shows a year. This is just me every morning and every night. I think his admiration for this movie is great. I hope some people

discovered this movie because of Babylon. Absolutely incredible movie. Did you ever take elocution, Chris? No. How'd you learn to speak so clearly? Do I speak very clearly? I think so. I think I mispronounce a lot of words.

Well, that's different. I think you're an excellent communicator. Thanks. Shouldn't have. I mean, they let you sit in this. It's such a disorienting scene, too,

because you're just like, where's this going? Oh, he's, you know, clearly having this incredible emotional catharsis, thinking about his own life as he sees it lightly satirized

in a popular film of the time. Do you think Chazelle took Singing in the Rain and wrote scenes in Babylon to echo them?

Or do you think that there's an actual like there are stories from Hollywood that Singing in the Rain wound up dramatizing and it was easy for him to put it in there?

It's a good question. Probably a nice bit of both yeah but it is so intentionally built around Singing in the Rain that I do think

the mirroring of the specific scenes are intentional what theater is this? I don't know what it would have been on Mel like this is like the Melrose or Beverly area.

I mean, do you think this is like basically the new Beverly area? I don't know. Well, it's an old school movie house with a balcony. But he walked to it from Paramount. Yeah, though that could have been a long walk too. Yeah, that's me. That's movie magic. Yeah.

Yeah. some crazed listener quietly listening to amanda hum the theme to singing in the room we've been here for three hours i'm fucking thrilled to have gene in my life even if he's not on screen well very soon he's going to be off screen and the Navi will return yeah then the fucking avatar comes through

I thought this was a very very very good idea to end the movie and it's yeah it's serious it sounds like he was not going to be the original ending of the movie and it took him a while to very good idea to end the movie and it's yeah it sounds like he was not going to be the original ending of the movie and it took him a while to figure out what to do to close the loop on manny's story but that you know when you make things you become cynical about the making

of them and then you come all the way back around again to appreciating them what do you think about this when you see scenes from earlier in a film projected trying to get into appreciating them. What do you think about this when you see scenes from earlier in a film projected near the end of the film? I prefer, actually, to have it be like Smokey and the Bandit credit style where it's like bloopers playing over the credits. Yeah.

The bloopers on this movie might have been really something. We're about to get the segue into Voodoo Mama. You know. Okay.

Oh boy. Here we go. So this is the reverie. Yeah. You know. Yeah. You know. I think most people who saw this were like what was that?

Why? Was that your reactions? What was what? This the return to this? The return to the party sequence Was that your reactions? What was what? This... The return to this? The return to the party sequence followed by this flash cut of all these films.

Okay. okay I mean you know a train arrives the birth of a shell right Wizard of Oz yeah Ben-Hur yeah Un Chien An De Lu right Ben-Hur yeah

Un Chien Nandalu right Joan of Arc all kinds of experimental cinema 2001 Ten Commandments

oh Tron Tron Terminator 2 Judgment Day Jurassic Park The Matrix this is when I lost it

obviously this is when we all lost it I like how he held on Avatar Persona and the die getting cast Chris have you spent any time studying the process of film? like actual development of film?

yeah no they don't do that in American Cinematographer Magazine? one of your favorite texts there you go it's more about lenses I'm still paying attention it's more about lenses magazine? One of your favorite texts. There you go. It's more about lenses.

I'm still paying attention. It's more about lenses. Did you watch the J-Lo movie? No. Did you watch

the clip of Ben Affleck? No, there's one scene where Ben I saw him working on a script. No, he's in a camera van at some point being

like there's this lens and this camera and this camera and J-Lo's like I don't care. Stop talking to me. It's really important. camera and jayla's like i don't care stop talking to me it's really important yeah i still i mean it's really really funny that he did it i know and it's like even in watching

and you feel him like looking for it and looking for it. And then he's like, well, I guess I'm just going to put the Matrix and Avatar in here and really go big. And I admire it. But you can feel him finding it in real time watching it. Has anyone ever asked him if he likes Avatar? I don't know. I didn't. Will you ask him next time he's on the big picture yeah i'll text him

damien have you seen avatar i mean avatar is included for an obvious reason it's because it's a signals another step in the filmmaking progress like all of those movies that we saw all in their own way represent stages in the evolution of the way that movies are made the matrix before that terminator 2 before that those were not incidental choices all right incredible film and now a half hour of coffee and conversation we typically run through the complete credits of the movie. Oh, Chris just left. Oh, okay.

The lights are coming up. Hold on. The fucking lights. Oh, they're about to play The Godfather. I mean, let's do it. Thank you so much for the chicken. You're so welcome. I'm going to have another chicken.

Yeah, have another chicken nugget. The chicken was a huge help. Yeah. Thank you so much. You're so welcome. I'm going to have another chicken. Yeah, have another chicken nugget. The chicken was a huge help. Yeah. Thank you so much. You're so welcome. Not that I needed it. Now, listen, I am a proud member of the Babylon Hive. Right.

I really believe in this movie. Bobby, of course, is a member as well. Would you say that you two are members of the Hive? That'll probably be the last time I ever watch this movie. I love it. It's really good. I really admire it. And there are many highlights of it.

And also, I can't say that I'm part of the Hive. Okay. I mean, I'm not really part of many Hives. That's more about me. And also that I agree with Chris that there is some, you know, narrative cohesion missing. But, I mean, he can fucking make a movie. Yeah.

You know? So you're also not in the hive. I think that I'm probably closer to being hive adjacent than maybe Amanda is, but not quite within the actual comb, the honeycomb.

But I'm not anti-hive also. I'm not part of those people being like, what the fuck? Right. I'm like, this was really interesting. Do you think that this movie

will continue to be rescued, rediscovered, become part of the canon? As long as Paramount Plus continues to kick it out. Roughly another nine months. My lady, Sherry. She's going to keep the lights on for you. It's exciting. This is also available on Amazon Prime Video.

Okay. Oh, okay. Not just on Paramount. They need to license this movie more widely. Did not do very well at the box office, Babylon. What do you think it made domestically? Take a guess. 60?

I was going to say like 8. 16? 63.4 million dollars box office. That's pretty good. Its budget was suggested to be about 80. I thought there was something about it has to make 250 to make its money back or something. I mean, you hear this stuff all the time. You know whose name we didn't mention is Lena Sandgren, the cinematographer of this film who also shot Salt Burn.

Also shot, I believe shot, some of True Detective Night Country. Is that true? I believe so. Saying he has not worked in television since 2006. He also shot No Time to Die. I detected a little bit of derision in the way you said that, like where you were like, like that's a good choice by him.

I just want to let you know I heard that. You heard it from whom? In your voice, where you were like, I'm glad Lena Sangren hasn't worked in television. I mean, I am glad. His talents would be wasted. He's a filmmaker, not a TV maker. He was making movies in, I think in his native Sweden. Sweden? Yeah. He's from film maker, not a TV maker. He was making movies, I think, in his native Sweden.

Sweden? Yeah. He's from Spunga. Chris, ask your Swedish girls. Your Swedish Zin friends. My Zin chicks. Yeah, your Zin girls. Bobby, what did we miss?

What are the key elements of this film? I mean, we didn't really miss much. We had almost three and a half hours to chat through it. But I noted for myself this time through, watching it at home for the first time i'd seen this film multiple times before uh always in the theater um i did down an entire box of micanics and i felt like that was a nice metaphor for this movie you know it's like eating a whole box of candy as an individual you start, you're really fucking pumped. You're like, oh my God, sugar, this is amazing.

And then you're crashing. Halfway through, you're like, am I really built for this? Am I really going to do this? Then they find you somewhere in downtown LA, abandoned. Exactly. And then by the end, you're actually sick and questioning what's wrong with your life and everything around you.

But also you only have like eight Mike and I's left. So you just got to finish the box because you already came this far i do think that he has his own unique fingerprint within the homage style that he has like he's just making a movie that looks like a damien chazelle movie while also doing homage and not a lot of people have the ability to do both so i don't know he just me, he has the juice. Might not be the type of juice that everybody enjoys the flavor of. But I love this movie.

I will always be a member of the Hive. Not like Chris. This will not be the last time I will see this movie. Maybe I'm being harsh. Maybe it's just like a, maybe that's just like a,

I'm just trying to create content, you know? Wow. Margot Robbie has an executive assistant. Everybody else just has assistants. I think that checks out. It'd be kind of cool if you had an executive assistant everybody else just has assistants I think that checks out

it'd be kind of cool if you had an executive assistant I'd like to see that I pity that person I think I would be lovely yeah we also gave a lot of shouts to Hurwitz

but just one more time for the record I mean this score is absolutely it just it rips and it roars he's the man he is the man.

Oh, personal shout out to Mr. Pitt. Interesting. Shout out, Anne. Anne Wiles. A lot of people worked on this movie. Do you think a lot of people are listening to this part of the podcast? You'd be surprised, man. The Dark Knight Rises episode, people listen to that episode.

All the way through? Did they like it? I didn't check on the retention numbers. Did they like it? Did they say positive things? I can't really contend with that feeling at this point. I remember a lot of people sending me some Pittsburgh facts, which was nice. That's cool. Yeah, because we had some questions.

Do you think you'll get a check from Zinn after this? No, I don't. Because you took it out like a coward. I did. It was harder to talk than I remember. Do you want to'll get a check from Zinn after this? No, I don't. Because you took it out like a coward. I did. It was harder to talk than I remember. Do you want to put it back in? No, I think I'll just go on to another one. These are also maybe stale.

I don't know if there's like a freshness aspect, but they're a couple weeks old. Oh, so how would that affect the taste or the delivery? Fresh farm Zinn. Farm to table zin I'm learning You know We're here

This is a process of discovery I'm gonna take this moment To Thank Bobby Our producer For his work on this episode Which was uniquely challenging To arrange

A lot of violins 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 9 times 4 36 violinists And celli? I mean I guess that's maybe how many violinists are in a full orchestra. Is celli the plural of cellos?

Yeah, like in Italian, you change the O to the I. Yeah. Wow, okay. I don't think I'd ever seen that before. Later this week on the pod, this very normal Tuesday episode of this podcast. Oh, you're doing this Tuesday. That's funny.

This Friday, Steve Martin Hall of Fame. Here's why. There's a new documentary, two-part, four-hour documentary. Have you seen this yet? No, I was going to ask you about this once we stopped recording. How am I going to see this? The Apple Corporation will send it to you, I'm sure. Okay.

I'll give you the contact information. Okay. Steve Martin. Steve by Morgan Neville. Yeah. Steve Martin is on that very Neville yeah Steve Martin is on that very short list of people who

were operating in the 1970s who shaped my personality and I really liked this documentary his movie career is fascinating who's on the who else is on the list of people from the 1970s

who have shaped your personality Martin Scorsese Randy Newman Harry Nilsson these are the these are the artists I love who have shaped your personality? Martin Scorsese, Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson. These are the artists I love. Tom Seifer? Anybody outside of him?

Jerry Brown, governor of California. What do you want me to say? My dad? You introduced the idea. And I gave you four examples and you were like these great filmmakers I'm asking if there was like like a little league coach

sure yeah yeah I mean Joe Pippolo yeah high school English teacher that's a great guy no one knows who that is

yeah that's the end of the movie you want to keep recording Frank Serpico yeah now Ed Koch I think would be number one. You feel good about this?

Yeah. I can't, you, you just, I, you were a little hard on Babylon. I'm sorry. I thought I was supposed to be honest.

She, she was great. And I do wonder, do you think that maybe we put ourselves under too much pressure with these like three hour joints and maybe we should like knock out like, like a fun two hour movie as a rewatch why are you asking me like I make the decisions

well because you and I could form a voting block yeah let's yes we're going to form a voting block that seems like a really good idea for your podcast I enjoyed this

I thought that it was a good experience I don't is the purpose of the watch-along that we end the movie and I'm like, yeah, that was the best movie ever made? Because that's what happened

during Dark Knight Rises. Yeah. And also, free guy. That's a very good point. That's a very good point. Did we also watch Batman vs. Superman? No.

It was Justice League. Justice League. Zack Snyder's Justice League. Why did we pick such weird rewatches? I don't know. I think it's been fun. The Snyder's Justice League. Why did we pick such weird rewatches? I don't know. I think it's been fun. The Snyder Cut thing was a bet that we lost. Sean was like,

that's how the watch-along concept started. It was over four hours long. I had to change the compression of the file just to be able to post it. And ironically, I think in that movie was when I started first talking about Audis really seriously.

And now you are the proud leaser of an lessee of an Audi? That's how you view time? Why Audis? Because DC switched to Audi? I think I was talking about Downey's. Yeah, because Marvel was Audi. MCU was Audi for so long. But then I think the contract ended at some point.

And it was always really funny to me that the richest, most powerful superhero in the world drove an Audi. Yeah. And in the Snyderverse, it's Peugeot. That's all the cars.

They all drive Peugeots. I hope they do. I don't know. What do you want to do next? Your choice. Oh, it's my choice? Yeah. Okay, I'll have to

give it some thought. Maybe something funny. But I guess having too much dialogue doesn't really serve our purposes. That is something that I thought about is movies that we can talk over and not

have to really worry about too much. This movie is similar to... I think that if it's up to me, we should all just hang out for 12 hours and watch all of the first season of Three Body Problem. What about Lioness? Lioness season two? Oh, shit.

I didn't watch season one. Are they making a season two of Lioness? I'm almost positive that they are. Wow. I was chatting recently with someone about how Nicole Kidman is just constantly in a streaming show that you haven't watched, and she has three of them going right now,

and maybe a fourth coming soon. But I've watched them. I've watched them. I've watched them. And yet she's an icon of cinema. Well, she was in the Nine Perfect Strangers. Oh, yeah. And they're doing another season of that.

Yeah. And then she's in Ex-Pats. And then she was in this. Oh, Ex-Pats. That's right. Minute 203, Nicole Kidman's TV IMDb run. Let's go. You said Nine Perfect Strangers,

Ex-Pats, and Lioness. Lioness. Yeah. And what's the... Big Little Lies. No, the Taylor Sheridan show she's in. Oh, that's Lioness.

There's another one that I'm forgetting. What is it? There's four television shows. Well, she was in Big Little Lies. Nine Perfect Strangers, Ex-Pats, the Lulu Long Show, and then Taylor Sheridan's Lioness.

Why do I think there's one more? I don't know. Was there a miniseries of some kind? She might be producing something that she's like... She's going to star in an Ellen Hildebrand adaptation at some point. Do you know who Ellen Hildebrand is? I would assume that it's a Netflix miniseries because why wouldn't you just stretch it out as long as possible?

She loves to work, just like us. So we'll, we'll, what, how long will your film choice be? Over or under 120 minutes? I would love for it to be under 120 minutes. Okay.

You know? Then I could really bring the, the energy. Can I make a suggestion? Sure. Immaculate? It's not Amanda's choice

if you're making a suggestion. Just an idea. You'd get to see it for the first time. You could see Sid. So what is the schedule on which we do these? You have some sort of internal schedule.

So I have a full year to decide. Do you know what I think? You made a joke suggestion of Immaculate. I do think that Haywire would be fun. Oh, were they just punchy? My suggestion would be Philadelphia Story. There's so much talking

Yeah, there is a lot of talking The challenge is stepping on the good dialogue I'll give it some thought I have one full year I want to thank all the listeners at home Anybody who has gotten this far in the pod You're in the Big Picture Hall of Fame Thank you so much to you

We'll be sending you a plaque immediately Please hold on, hold tight If you think it's not coming I promise it's coming. Stay in line. Chris, thank you so much. Thanks for your generosity of time. Your candor.

Your wit. Thanks. Your willingness to stand with me against the man who stole all the golf reservations. Amanda, thank you

for your biting wit and your willingness to make fun of me on podcasts. Bobby, thank you for your biting wit and your willingness to make fun of me on podcasts. Bobby, thank you for your patience, technical know-how and insights on Babylon.

Thanks for listening to the big picture. We'll see you soon. Thank you.