The Big Picture - The Return of the Movie Auction!

Episode Date: July 16, 2021

The 'Big Picture' Movie Auction is back! Sean and Amanda are joined by Chris Ryan to bid on the rest of the movies coming out this year that they’re desperate to see (17:00). Sean and Amanda also talk to Brian Raftery about ‘Gene and Roger,’ his new podcast series about the true story behind the rivalry and the partnership between legendary film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert (1:30). Finally, Sean is joined by Morgan Neville to talk about his powerful new documentary, ‘Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain' (1:41:00). Hosts: Sean Fennessey and Amanda Dobbins Guest: Chris Ryan, Brian Raftery, Morgan Neville Producer: Bobby Wagner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Head into the Ringerverse to stay up to date with all things superheroes and nerd culture entertainment. Hosted by a rotating lineup of superfans at the Ringer, including Mallory Rubin and Van Lathan, shows will provide instant reactions to blockbuster releases, insightful backstories on canon, and mind-bending theories, as well as fresh takes on the latest news and rumors. Check out the Ringerverse on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Sean Fennessy. I'm Amanda Dobbins. And this is The Big Picture, a conversation show about all the movies we want to see this year and how much we're willing to pay for the privilege. That's right. Today, we revisit the movie auction and bid on the rest of the movies we want to see this year. Later in the show, I'll be joined by Morgan Neville to talk about his moving and powerful new documentary,

Roadrunner, a film about Anthony Bourdain. I hope you'll stick around for that. But before we get into the auction, I want to share a quick programming note about the big picture. I'm going to be taking a little break from the show this summer. We've pre-recorded a few episodes to tide you over. Maybe Amanda will swing through, do a couple of special episodes. Maybe she'll invite Chris Ryan on to hang out, talk about some stuff I don't care about. But while I'm out, we will have a very special treat on this feed that I'm really excited about. It's a narrative series about two very important figures to this show. The late great film critics and TV stars Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, the unofficial North Stars of the big picture.

This new series, which is called Gene and Roger, is hosted by one of our favorite pop culture journalists and a Ringer contributor, Brian Raftery. Amanda, Bobby Wagner, and I all helped to produce this series and we really think you'll like it. To hear a little bit more about why, let's chat with Brian right now about the show. Okay, we're joined by the great Brian Raftery, author of Best Movie Year Ever,

longtime Ringer contributor, friend. Brian, how are you? I'm good. How are you guys? Doing great. Doing great. So Brian, obviously Amanda and I worked on this show with you, but just humorous here for the listeners at home, why Siskel and Ebert as the subjects of a podcast? You know, a couple of years ago, actually, when I was working on that book, and I was sort of digging back into all things 90s related, as you do when you pick something about the 90s and want to distract yourself from actually writing for a couple of hours. It's like, oh, why don't I go on Ain't It Cool News for three days?

But I was researching, researching a lot of 90s movies and a lot of 90s movie coverage. And I was surprised I would duck into these current conversations on Reddit about movies. And I was kind of shocked by how many people who were clearly very young. I mean, people who were like, I just saw this movie called The Goonies. And I'm like, okay, you're very, very young. But they would talk about a movie from whether it was Taxi Driver or Aliens or Pulp Fiction. And a lot of times their first reference would be, what did Siskel and Ebert think about it? And they would throw it to the YouTube clips. And I remember about, I remember when YouTube started, I went fishing for old Siskel and Ebert clips because I loved the show as a kid and as a teenager. And I guess I realized the last couple

of years they've sort of exploded all over. And not only that, but people are kind of using them. People who weren't even around watching the show are still kind of referring to these two guys as like their go-to, let's talk about a movie. Here's this review that will kick off our conversation. So that was what made it really interesting. Like, I can't believe how relevant these guys are now, even though they haven't reviewed a movie together in over 20 years. Can you talk a little bit more about how they're relevant now, which is in a lot of ways, the

thrust of the podcast. And I'm just trying to get you to say the nut graph right now. But it was interesting working on this with you. All the parallels to the current moment, even though these guys were on TV, what, 20 years ago, 30 years ago at this point? Oh, you mean why is a show about two people who movie fans who affectionately talk every week uh relevant to the big picture and its followers i i thank you for taking the cue that's right where i was driving you um um i uh you know i i do think that there is like the entire sort of podcast ecosystem for talking about movies and about everything is very much um influenced bykel Niebuhr. Like I really sort of feel like every time I'm watching a CNN show or listening to a

show about politics or sports or anything, that idea of two people who are friendly, but also have a certain amount of conflict between them chatting and debating is still very, I think a lot of that is driven by how Gene and Roger kind of popularized this method all these decades ago. What? So where do you start with something like this? These obviously, neither Cisco nor Ebert are still with us. And so you're excavating, you have an incredible archival set of videos to analyze. But in terms of telling the story, how did you start?

Well, I did, you know, I started by really kind of going past the videos and kind of digging into all the sort of coverage that they got people forget how big gene and roger were i mean they were on saturday night live they were on letterman they were on the tonight show and they did tons and tons of press in the late 70s and early 80s so i kind of started by actually digging into their interviews from that time and their accounts of how the show started. And, but also, I mean, as you said, there's so much archival. And I felt like even in the, you know, year plus I was working on this, more new stuff would be, more new old stuff would be added.

But for me, it was really trying to figure out who these guys were when they were telling the story of the show and who they were while watching their reviews. I really watched, you know, I don't, I can't even estimate how many hours of their reviews trying to figure out what's Gene's style, what's Roger's style, what is a Gene movie, what is a Roger movie. Because I was convinced that I could kind of walk away with some sort of like, here's my grand theory on what they thought of every movie and how. And there's no grand theory. Like, the thing that's so fun about this is that so many of the myths about what Gene and Roger liked in terms of movies and how they talked about movies are kind of misremembered.

I mean, it's kind of remarkable to me that people, I do think when you go online, people are like, why does Gene Siskel hate popular movies? And it's like, Gene Siskel put Die Hard 2 on his best of the year list. Like, he didn't just give it a thumbs up. Like, he gave it a huge rave. And I think at the same time, you know, sometimes you'll see people saying Roger is too easy on sci-fi or horror. And there's a lot of classic sci-fi and horror movies like The Thing or even

Aliens, which Roger gave a thumbs up to, but was kind of on the fence about that. You're like, I thought this was a Roger movie. I thought this was a Gene movie. So it was really trying to figure out who they were both through what they said in their years together and what kind of was unsaid by what movies they loved and what movies they championed over the years. Brian, you talk on the podcast about growing up with Siskel and Ebert. Sorry to age you on this show and how they've influenced your career, but I know you also spent a tremendous amount of time watching these clips. What surprised you going back through the archive? What didn't you remember?

You know, I was very, even though I am very, very old, I was very, very young when they first started out. I mean, I'm, you know, look, I'm 26. It's, it's my time. But I, you know, a lot of their very early shows, they, you know, they did their first pilot in 1975 and they started their show basically a couple of years after that. And I have flickering memories of watching those shows with my mom. But watching the late 70s, early 80s episodes now, it is kind of shocking that it took them a while to really become Siskel and Ebert. In their very first few episodes, there is certainly a lot of intelligence there. But they just weren't as TV ready as I remember them being from when I was really young. So watching these kind of awkward early episodes was first of all, kind of reassuring as someone who's been an awkward interview subject or media presence at

times. But it was really kind of interesting to watch how, watch them kind of grow over the years. If you watch their episodes chronologically, and I'm not suggesting you watch every single episode chronologically, but you really can see how they went from being newspaper writers who had very little TV experience, really, to being what people thought of as real, just TV stars. They were very, very good. They got to a point where they were very, very good at getting across a very smart, very insightful idea in like 30 seconds. But that took them some time. Out of curiosity, they're obviously well known to be not the most telegenic

pair of TV stars in the history of the medium. Why do you think that they had that much rope? They had that leash to kind of evolve and grow into the stars that they became? I think they were, I mean, I think they were, you know, very charismatic figures. I mean, they were both were, I think there is a certain generation of newspaper. I mean, I'm a little biased because my parents were newspaper people and are the same generation. And I do think, for whatever reason, I grew up in newsrooms. And that generation, I just think of them as incredibly smart and insanely sarcastic people. And I think their humor, which is another thing that I kind of forgotten about, their humor really comes through even in those early episodes where they're kind of struggling a bit.

And I think that that gave them, I think the fact they were so, they were very, very smart and very funny, but also they did seem kind of approachable because they didn't look like, you know, matinee TV stars. Now we have matinee idol TV stars, but they didn't look like, you know,

they were starting in the mid seventies when every person on TV was like, you know, a really kind of handsome, rugged middle aged guy, younger, middle aged guy. And they were newspaper guys. And I do think they seemed like someone you might know. And I know early on in the show, they really the producers really tried to make them didn't want to make them seem like kind of highfalutin, you know, intellectuals who were kind of kind of gnaw your ear off and send you to sleep. Like they were, they managed to talk about movies in a way that, uh, I imagine people

who weren't big movie, weren't like movie scholars at that point related to. And I know that I, when I was very young, really kind of learned a lot about how to listen to someone, when to interject, when's it, you know, how do you treat a differing opinion with some sort of respect, but also roll, like, I think rolling your eyes gracefully when you're arguing with someone you're friends with is very, very tough to do. And I think they were very, very good at that. Even if sometimes they did not roll their eyes, they were very blunt about it. I can't imagine what I responded to in the pitch.

Brian, what do you think the biggest misconception about Siskel and Ebert is now that they kind of live on in our minds as the thumbs up, thumbs down guys? You know, every time I would tell someone what I was working on, they would say, oh, did you find out, did they really hate each other? Like that's, that still was a question. And some of the people I interviewed, because we interviewed more than a dozen people who worked on the show and we interviewed their family members. You know, some of them told me they still get asked that like, oh, did those guys really hate each other was that an act and i think i certainly grew up when and i think a lot of us who grew up watching them there was so

little conflict on tv that the fact that these two grown-ups were kind of going at it made you think oh wow they really really um they must have hated one another look at them fighting um and i think there's a misconception that they, you know, were bitter enemies. And I think what the truth is, is that they were rivals. They were newspaper rivals who were never going to spend a lot of time together if there weren't for a TV show. And I think one of the things that a lot of the people who worked on the show and knew them well was that over the years, they really did find this kind of respect and affection that I truly don't know if anyone could understand

except for the two of them. I mean, I think they went through stuff together that was incredibly unique and exciting and probably scary at times. And I think the bond that between them, especially in the later years, when they're still going at each other, but there is this kind of underlying layer

of affection to them. And I think there is this, I do sometimes think they're still going at each other, but there is this kind of underlying layer of affection to them. And I think there is this, I do sometimes think their character, you know, characterizes like, oh, those two guys used to scream and fight. And people put up YouTube clips of like, Cisco and Ebert's 15 harshest, you know, comebacks. And it's like, that was a part of the show.

And I enjoyed that. But they also were incredibly intelligent and got along well. And when they both loved a movie, it was really delightful to watch. Or when they both loved a movie, it was really delightful to watch. Or when they both hated a movie, it could often be very delightful to watch them in unison. Their kind of synchronicity would always be very pleasant to watch. One of the most fun parts of working on this with you was seeing you get excited about a new discovery or revisiting a review that you loved or a segment that you loved.

What was your single favorite clip that you spent time with? You know, the weird thing is, I think my favorite clip is so strange because it was one that I wasn't sure even existed, which is that when I grew up with the show, there were a lot of reviews from Cisco and Ebert that I remember watching. I remember when they reviewed The Thin Blue Line with Errol Moore and just describing that movie. And I was like 12 and didn't know much about documentaries. And I was like, I have to see that. And I think I saw it because of them. And I remember them describing a lot of horror movies that I wasn't allowed to see. I remember them showing scenes the review for Psycho 2, they showed this scene that scared the hell out of me where there's like a body in an ice freezer and you see Norman Bates reaching in and there's like, you see a hand in blood.

And for years I could not find this clip and I wasn't sure if I'd actually just imagine that. And so I was very delighted. Oh, I could one night where I think actually like yell, I found it like, and it's like a Psycho 2 review from Cisco at Ebert, which is the kind of thing that wouldn't sadly get me excited.

But I think really going in and finding some of these clips where they're talking about, I've been rewatching a lot of old movies during the pandemic. And I would go and throw on Siskel and Ebert afterward and see like, oh, what did they think of Norma Rae? What do they think of these movies? Because all these reviews are out there now. So there was a lot of fun. There were a lot of clips that were very, very surprising to me.

I also still think that, you know, their take on Aliens is a little crazy. They're a little like a movie that I just assumed every critic who saw it fell in love with it. They were, they had some strong reservations. You know, I just, I disagree with some of their, with some of their takes. Roger on Die Hard doesn't make sense to me. And Gene on Silence of the Lambs is really strange to me. But I, even the clips where i'm like come on what are you talking about like i generally believe i really believe that they you know they're they were very very honest and they never kind of you never got the sense that they were pandering or maybe kind of you know altering their review a little bit to kind of fit in with the current critical thinking

was like their honesty is kind of really shocking sometimes, not just about to one another, but about movies. And I really admire that. Are you Brian Raftery, a Siskel or an Ebert? Because I thought a lot about which one I am during the course of working on this show, but I wonder what you think you are. Oh my gosh. I, I, I truly, you know, at times I, the weird thing is they, it's very funny. Um, they, there are times they remind me both of my dad who was a newspaper guy. And it's like, sometimes like the goofy jokes that Roger will make.

And then sometimes like the very kind of like direct bluntness of Gene Siskel. I'm like, oh boy, there's some, there are some therapeutic reasons why I pitched this project. Um, I don't. It's very tough. I've thought about that. I think at one point I was like, I think I would have enjoyed a long lunch with Roger and a long dinner with Gene, if that makes sense. I feel like I would have loved to sit and talk with Roger

about movies after a screening one day. I think I would have loved to sit and talk with Roger about movies like after a screening one day I think I would have loved to sit and talk with Gene about about just like being a parent or just like media he was very into like the media world and that kind of stuff I think I would have dug that but I I don't know if I'm a Gene or a Roger in terms of how I how I debate movies um I am lucky that even at my very advanced age, I do have a lot of hair. So clearly it's like, I do think I'm a little more Roger in some ways that way, but then I think, oh, I'm more Jean.

So anyway, that is quite, you put me on the couch with that question and I will be fouling my therapist after this as soon as this calls over. Okay, Amanda, like, who are you? A Jean or a Siskel? Oh, I'm a Siskel. Don't you think yeah without question and I am an ebert of course yeah the mean direct um but big-hearted at the end of the day that's right uh okay well Brian it's been a joy working with you on this I I'm really excited to share

with the world um any closing thoughts on Cisco and ebert you want to share with listeners to have them check out Gene and Roger well I really I really hope that if you are someone who wasn't around when these guys were kind of ruling the culture, that you'll learn a lot about Hollywood and how it changed during those times there. They really kind of overlapped with these massive shifts in the industry and in TV. But I also think if you grew up with them as I did, I really did try to find the super fun arguments. Just so you know, I'm very proud of some of the clips we unearthed of them. And I do hope that people who kind of grew up with them

will kind of realize the importance that they had in how we consume everything now, even movie podcasts with two hosts. So the influence is not hard to see. Thanks, Brian. Really appreciate it. Thanks, guys. Appreciate it. Okay. Chris Ryan is now here because we're going to prepare for the auction. But Chris, before we get into that, one, how are you feeling about our Gene and Roger series? What reflections do you have on Gene and Roger?

I can't wait to hear it. I think Gene and Roger were really instrumental in not only for people of my generation, but for lots of people introducing the idea that movies should be something that you talk about all the time and think about all the time and that could be central to your life. So obviously, I grew up in the house with a movie critic. So that was somewhat of a known quantity to me. But it was kind of awesome to see film critics on TV because it made me feel like my dad had a real job. And just in general, I think that they introduced the idea of debate in pop culture to a lot of people, this idea that you could have

these sort of conflicting poles of opinion and hash it out. Did Desmond have a rivalry of any kind with Gene or Roger? He did do some local TV and like did a video guide. Like there was a lot of work out there for film critics back then, I think. But you know, like he-

Not like now where we're scripted together. Not like now where we're just like, please subscribe to my Patreon, brother. And Chris, just now that you know, you have a little, little opening, you know, to get into the big picture as I step away for a bit, what, you know, what are, what have you and Amanda been scheming? What are you guys going to be getting up to? We're not going to tell you. It's going to be really weird. It's a no spreadsheet summer. It's just when the spirit moves us impromptu, all of of the fun none of the planning

me and chris there'll be absolutely no center to any of the podcasts but that's okay binge mode pixar well i'm i trust you guys you know i i don't i don't agree with your approach with your strategy you don't at all your face is like your full panic face that you put on in front of other people. Just all of your blood pressure started spiking as soon as I said no spreadsheets, but that's okay. We are grown adults. We are responsible people who have made it this far. And we're just going to get a little weird with it. And it'll be fun.

You got to be okay with it. If you love something, let other people take it over. And then maybe we'll let you back in. Boy, my issues around control are really flaring up right now. I'm breaking out in the hive. So what better way to resolve that than to get into a fight while trying to auction movies off? So for those of you who missed our first episode of the movie auction, it was, even by our standards,

I would say pretty contentious and weird. Misunderstood. Misunderstood? Yeah. How so? Because young Billy Bean is back. Because the swami of the salary cap has returned for another auction.

Is that you? Yes. Do you know how many times I've said to myself, David Harbour is in it since the auction? At least twice when I saw both of the movies

that David Harbour is in. Don't be wrong. You know, occasionally while flipping through Lily Allen's Instagram, David Harbour also in that. Is that still going on? Lily Allen and David Harbour?

They seem to have a really lovely marriage. I love those kids. It's very sweet. Yeah. That's wonderful. So here are the rules of our auctions, in case you missed it. Me and Amanda and Chris, we each get a thousand imaginary dollars to bid on the movies we want.

Each film that we're bidding on has to have a 2021 release date or have an almost certain expectation of release in this calendar year. We each have to get five movies with our $1,000 total. You may recall last time we drafted, Chris, I think had four movies remaining on his balance sheet with like 800 bucks and me and Amanda were totally filled up. That is not how you effectively auction, at least from my perspective. No, that is how... This is a thing that we did once that we had different approaches to. There is not an objective, true way to do this. Look at my movie list. I still like my movies.

We're going to recap your movies momentarily. Last time we drafted, we used 60 seconds for every bid. This time we're going to go 40 seconds between every bid just to keep things popping a little bit more quickly. One thing I did want to ask you guys, when we did the last auction, I hadn't seen really any of the forthcoming 2021 movies. I have seen a few of the bigger summer movies that are coming out that are on our slate. Should we just not bid on the ones that we've already seen? Do you have a take on that? Yes. I think that that's unfair. Yeah, because it's anticipation. Okay. Now, there's a couple of things I wanted to address. One is the fluidity of release dates. I think that we did a really good job last time

kind of keeping it within, we're pretty sure this is coming out. Listeners may be wondering, is there really more food on the table for this podcast? And should we address the fact that this is essentially the Soggy Bottom pod? This is how much will Sean pay for Soggy Bottom and then have 57 cents to draft four more movies, right? Soggy Bottom, for those of you who don't know,

is Paul Thomas Anderson's forthcoming film that I am very excited about. But is it the only film left on the slate that I'm excited about? When I first reached out to Chris and said, Chris,

I want to do another auction. And Chris, I think the auction was your idea originally right yeah yeah uh your response was are there any other movies to bid on which besides soggy bottom besides soggy bottom and i amanda i don't know what was it like for you trying to figure out where you wanted to were there were there a lot of titles you're excited about do you feel like we're scraping the bottom of the barrel here the soggy bottom of the barrel we're not as mainstream i mean i don't know like maybe you guys are really psyched for free guy and you know that's that's your right shine on you crazy kids but yeah i think that there is possibly slightly less of a center or less of a center that we share with, you know, like normies. And then there's Soggy Bottom, which will be a hot property if only because we want to cause you as much pain

before you go. And then there are other movies that we're all like that we care about, but I'm, you know, I'm always balancing how much do I want to be myself versus how much do I want to appeal to, you know, the rest of the world, because those things are always in opposition. It's just very complicated being me. I haven't really decided on my personality for this draft yet. Yeah. Yeah. I'm just going to kind of flow with it. So I don't know whether that means more conflict or less conflict. Walk us through that. Do you have like a closet of personalities that you, you sort of touch and you look at it's like a dress new dress you'd put on like how do you evaluate who you're gonna be in any given pod like am i

gonna be responsible amanda you make it sound like you're a european jewel thief who like puts on a mustache and it's like today i am the professor right it's how much am i gonna hit all of the buttons of trying to honor my own interests, trying to honor other people's interests, which is the great struggle of my life and everybody else's life. You know, am I people-pleaser or am I not? I don't know. How much am I going to try to piss Sean off? How much am I going to showboat? How much am I going to try to, you know, be smart? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know what the alchemy is today. I think I'm just going to make it up as I go along. So what we're learning here is that you're a performer. You're

an actor. You're bringing performance to the stage in the auction draft. Chris, are you also a performer in this setting? No, this is just the fire hose of me. This is just pure me. No, I was thinking about this because I think I unintentionally upended the previous auction. You know, like I think that there was some, some of it was like pre-planned, but some of it was like in the moment that seemed like a great idea

and I just went with it. I think that my strategy for the previous draft would be better for this draft. Had I just done, you know, hey, let's just bid $600 for the matrix and be boring in that draft. I think that done, hey, let's just bid $600 for The Matrix and be boring in that draft, I think that going 181 across the board for a bunch of movies in this draft might have been a little bit more effective. There's a lot of like, man, this might be okay blockbusters in

this pool. And then there's a bunch of like, ooh, I'm really excited for this movie that me and like 75 other people might go see. But that's part of why I like doing this draft is it's an anticipation builder. It's an opportunity to pitch to the world a movie that we're excited about, even if it doesn't have the name recognition of a Dune or Matrix. Says the man who drafted Dune, Top Gun, Matrix,

Black Widow, and then Cry Macho for a dollar. You are the normiest of norms. But in organizing this podcast with my spreadsheet, I have given an opportunity for Chris to talk about the forthcoming movie, The Guilty. It's all about creating opportunities. It's not about necessarily what I auction. It's about the conversations that we have together. Is it not?

I guess until you start yelling about your Twitter win record again and again. That's fine. It's a very strong win record again and again. That's fine. It's a very strong win record. I don't have to yell. It speaks for itself. It's wonderful that you found your constituency. That's right. Yeah, I would say the majority.

That's what I have found. I have found support in the masses, and I thank them for all of their support in triumphing over you guys again and again and again and again. Half of whom might not be animated objects and may reside somewhere in the former soviet block well i welcome i welcome bots you know i welcome humans i welcome all all figures uh so let's just briefly recap you guys have taunted my selections last time which were of course victorious i drafted with my with the auction top gun maverick, Dune, Matrix Resurrections, Black Widow, and Crime Macho.

Since this auction, I have seen Black Widow. It was okay. It was $81. That was good value. Yeah. But it was just okay. Have not seen the other four films. Looking forward to those.

Amanda, what five films did you purchase in the last auction? It took The Beatles Get Back, which is no longer a movie. Tough break for me. But whatever. Peter Jackson, Six Hours. It's a fluid situation. You know, it's whatever. Why bother making cuts?

No Time to Die, No Sudden Move, The Last Duel, and The French Dispatch, which Chris just gave me at sudden move, the last duel and the French dispatch, which Chris just like gave me at the end of the auction for reasons, passing understanding. But you know, thank you, Chris. That's what friendship looks like. I have since seen no sudden move.

Two thumbs up to quote our friends, Jean and Roger. Like I feel great about my choices. CR that leaves you. What were the five films that you acquired in the auction? For, first pick was House of Gucci

for $275. And then I, equally, I redistributed my wealth and went with To yourself? Todd Haines'

The Velvet Underground, The Guilty, Next Goal Wins, and Last Night in Soho, all for either $181 or $182. So, I wanted to ask you about that redistribution approach, Chris. Some people have suggested that maybe if you have money left over in an auction at the end, you should be able to port that money

over to the next auction. What do you guys think about that possible wrinkle? Will we be doing another 2021 auction or no i think we'll wait until 2022 okay and so we'll have bobby keep keep track of our salary cap our books yeah i i mean maybe we'll enlist um price waterhouse cooper to to manage our finances as well who knows what'll happen i mean you seem confused i. I like, no, I'm not confused. I was thinking through it. It's a little too Marvel. What's the stinger? What's the next thing?

Like, why can't we have this moment? Okay. And you got to spend it all and you either win or you lose here on the field and then you get to start again. I can't with the long-term strategy is this person from this other war issue.

I still have $46 from this. No, thanks, guys guys you want to live in the now that's what you're saying i do okay i'm perfectly fine with that idea suggested and rejected shall also really want chris to spend like 700 on you know like a documentary at the very end of this draft this draft is lose lose forlose for me, right? Because if I overpay for film... Stop, stop. I don't like this. This is your new thing where you're like,

I've already won too much, so I can't lose any of these things. Wait, why can't I say that? Because then you're trying to basically lessen the significance of me or Amanda winning. You're basically diminishing it. You're saying, oh, Amanda and Chris,

they won that bubble championship uh no that's that's not true i i i love and support you both i i expect you to thrive in my absence over the coming months and um i'm i'm really proud of you guys you know i feel like you've been able to withstand so many beatings i you know it's it's impressive just like every time we do this i think of your siblings like god bless your siblings they did this for 20 years look at how strong i made them they're thriving in their adult lives they've made beautiful families what did i they did i love both of your siblings i send them my best and i can't believe that you guys survived this yeah yeah it sucked it was tough i was no fun uh nevertheless let's have some fun let's let's auction so we have to pick an auction order just to kind of get things

promptly started i can't remember from the last draft did if there is a movie i i did i shadow i i consulted with amanda before the draft to ask would do you consider this in play is if there is a film that is it's debatable about when it's coming out is it off the table? I guess that's why we didn't take Soggy Bottom before right? Because we were unclear about when it was going to drop. That's correct. I think we can play a little bit more Fast and

Loose this time around because there are a lot of titles that have been earmarked for 2021 that don't yet have dates. I can't remember. There's one off. I can't think of what it is and I don't want to necessarily give away something. I have one in mind. Chris's is like really,

I don't even know if it's been earmarked. It's like it's a, it's possible. We hope, but. I mean, do you want to just discuss it and make it the first bid right now? Okay.

That could be like, you could start officially. We have, we need an order. Okay. Bobby, do you want to do an order yeah sure are we making chris first is that we're just deciding on that or let's do the order first and then let's see what we what we think here okay i have you if i if so go ahead i have the scrabble tiles i got them in the hat no controversies although it matters less here than it does yeah it doesn't

this is more about this This is just process. This is splashing the pot. Sean's going first. Oh, boy. This is chaos. And then going second. I mean, that's best case, I think. There's an R, which stands for Chris Ryan,

so he will be going second. Okay, so Amanda goes third. Now, remind me, is there an order to the bidding? No. Anyone can bid at any time within the 40 second time limit bobby are you prepared to start timing these bids i am prepared to start timing these bids i'm also prepared to do the accounting over here i'm glad that i don't have to have any rollover policy okay well this is this is the week of july 15th that's when we're we are running this podcast so i'm looking at the release schedule i'm thinking about the movies i want to draft i'm

not going to start with soggy bottom that's way too early to get into that fight now you guys are welcome to do it at number two and you would have the most money sean sure but it's not about the most money it's about enough money one of these times on a draft, I think I'm just going to talk to you entirely like Hal from 2001. Why are you getting angry, Sean? Why haven't you picked Paul Thomas Anderson's film, Sean? Is there something wrong, Sean? That suggests that I could somehow be psyched out

by your computer brain. When in fact, you've enlisted a whole harvest of bots to attack me on a regular basis, Sean. That suggests that I could somehow be psyched out by your computer brain. You've, when in fact you've enlisted a whole harvest of bots to attack me on a regular basis. And I cannot be defeated in that way. There's, you have to find a new way. Oh my God.

Bank a pick. Uh, I am going to start the auction with the movie blonde. Blonde is a movie that does not have a release date, but I have been told by trusted sources that this is a 2021 movie. It's a Netflix movie. It's directed by Andrew Dominick, a filmmaker that Chris and I especially

both really, really like. It stars Ana de Armas, and it is an adaptation of, is it the Joyce Carol Oates novel? Which is essentially like a- Yes, but I still haven't finished it. Oh, that's tough. It's a soft depiction of the life of Marilyn Monroe.

Are you like in the midst of reading it or? Listen, it's like 800 pages. It was really tough going. It's 738 pages. I made a resolution that I would finish it before the movie came out. And then the pandemic happened. And so I moved on to other things. But I'll go back.

It's formally going to star Michelle Williams. It's going to be this big Michelle Williams like Oscar Oscar Bates movie and then she played Michelle Williams in my week with Marilyn and Dominic eventually got the chance to make this movie this is only I believe his fourth feature film in like 15 years he's obviously famously methodical

and has gone through some troubling productions over the years I'll open the bidding with $75 for the film Blonde. I have 40 seconds on the clock. Your total silence indicates that you don't want to see Blonde. Okay.

Chris, no? I don't have like a lot. Chris, look at my face right now. Just look at my face. Not $95 for Blonde. That makes it sound like Chris will not be bidding on this film again. So then I have to evaluate. The whole collusion strategy here is just immediately to run me up on the first film.

We went up $15 for Blonde. Big spender over here. You guys seem nervous already. Are you guys okay? Is everything hanging in there amanda is so annoyed this is the height the height of annoyance it's great uh 95 how many how much time do we have left bobby 10 seconds so this is the director of the assassination of jesse james by the coward he directed some episodes of Mindhunter season two as well. That's right. You got three seconds. I'm going to let Chris have it. 100.

Ooh. Amanda got in there at the buzzer. I'm done bidding on this one. Okay. What? $100 for blonde, Amanda? Yeah. I like Ana de Armas. I like her too.

I'm rooting for her. Do you think she'll win the Academy Award for best actress? I don't know. I haven't seen the movie. Chris doesn't. No. Do you think she'll win the Academy Award for Best Actress? I don't know. I haven't seen the movie. Chris doesn't. Do you think she's not a good actress? I think the jury No, I think she's a good actress. But?

I don't know if I need a Marilyn Monroe movie in my life. Sean, you've got 10 seconds. I'm going to let Amanda have it. 100 bucks. Okay. That's great.

It's a good film. She's got a film. Do we really need another Marilyn Monroe movie when there are so many stories to tell about forest rangers? Those who wish me dead only scratch the surface.

How are you feeling about your Taylor Sheridan stock right now? Fine. Yeah? Absolutely fine. Yeah. Just wait until there's six Taylor Sheridan shows on on the air how do you think you would have done with blonde do you think you would have done a sensitive portrayal of Marilyn Monroe I don't know how would

you've gotten burn fall in there okay uh CR I believe you're up to to suggest a film to be auctioned um all right well should we get this over with or should i should i should i throw out my movie that i was kind of curious about yeah i i think let's do that killers of the flower moon this is not going to be a 2021 okay there was so we've had very lovely set photos like pr still stills. And they're like, we're hoping it's ready for Oscars. So I could see this. Is the Oscar, what's the timeframe for the Oscars this year? It's back to the calendar year. Oh, okay.

Because, you know, Sean was too anxious. So it's probably more likely that this is like next August or something then, right? Yeah, probably. I think that's likely. Because they didn't start production until April of 2021, which is like two, three months ago at this point. Yeah. And this is a $200 million movie that's going to have a lot of posts.

So I would be really, really surprised if it gets under the calendar year. I guess there's like a, it's not impossible, but it just seems really unlikely, especially given, you know, Marty is methodical. I was just like, oh, it really seems like they're starting to beat the drum of like, check out Leo and like his first photos from this movie. And I was like, man, maybe they're going to get this going. Can you believe how our Plemons stock has been hitting all three of us? I feel like we were just like riding the wave. It's unbelievable. Did you guys see that Robert De Niro hurt his quads on the set?

Yeah. I mean, Robert De Niro is like 75 years old. I'm 39 and my quads hurt both quads both just one just i just didn't know which yeah chris you should really just start a new podcast that's like the like injury list but for actors over 70 erin ford aired his shoulder de niro hurt his quad just keep everybody up i can have like twitter doctors be like i'm not currently treating robert de niro but i can tell you when a 75 year old man injures his quadricep, it's,

it's just a, it's a house of cards. That's all I'm saying. This is a really great persona for you. Okay. Let's go then instead with, um, the Eternals.

Oh, interesting. The Marvel movie that we did not pick in the previous draft, previous auction, Chloe Zhao's,'s uh entree into the mcu we've got a trailer uh we've got kevin feige's breathless uh account of the first time he saw a movie the first time he saw a sunset yeah the first time he saw the ocean in its real form rather than being projected onto the back of a wall in manhattan beach uh so let's do this and i'm gonna open at 150 okay i want to see this movie chloe zhao uh oscar-winning filmmaker now that's right that's right um amanda what did you did you watch the trailer for this film yeah so my two my my main takeaway was just like, Richard Madden's really hot.

Forgot about that. But I was just like very struck by it. And I was like, great job, Richard Madden. It's good to have you back. It's a dead man's switch. I literally don't remember anything that happened. In the bodyguard?

Except for Richard Madden and keely's haas having sex which again a plus you know i actually tend to like the superhero stories that are based in like mythology and the god stuff except for you know the dc stuff which is all of it yeah so nobody else is gonna vote i'm gonna let you have that Chris yeah okay great I'm really interested in in in Eternals happy to have that but it feels a little early I was and I was so roundly mocked for my acquisition of Black Widow last time I feel scarred

okay well we do think that you're a normie um I have two picks now I guys I just anything could happen right now I gotta be honest that's true. Venom, let there be carnage is sitting right there for you. Hmm.

What should I do? What should I do? I have a list of movies here. I don't know. That's helpful. As opposed to just trying to remember them. I actually didn't write down any of like the log lines or information and you know, like how early in a movie's existence, maybe this doesn't happen for you, but I can't like

totally remember the title of a movie until I've seen it. I'm just like, Oh, which one is that? Like, what's it about? Unless I've just, it's really gained my consciousness. So I, I frankly could have, you know, made this list a little more instructive, but I just, should I be weird or should I be not weird right now? You should draft a film you want to see. Um, and that's,

that's the tricky part with this. I think is there are, we left a lot of stuff. I think that we all would like to see on the table. I think maybe not totally knowing what the shape of an auction should be like this. You got a mouse in your pocket. You did that.

You, you drafted the big multiplex. Listen, Chris, we all can't have the taste of, I want to see eternals. All right. You know,

there can only be one guy with a big mainstream taste. There's only been two auctions. I know, because you're just waiting for us to spend all our money so that you can have your money. Who knows what I'm doing? So you can have your Paul Thomas Anderson. I mean, that's fine if that's how you want to live. Okay, I'm going to do Don't Look Up, the Adam McKay film for Netflix. Good one.

And I'll start at $150. I'll go $175. Yeah, I want to see this movie. Okay. So I will, I'll start at 150. I'll go 175. Yeah, I want to see this movie. Okay. So I did 175. I heard from two different humans that work in Hollywood that were like,

this movie is going to be really good. Yeah. It stars Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio and everyone else that we like. Yeah. Some curious takes on the script, but then after production,

some folks on the internet were like, this is the one. Feels like a Best Picture contender. You know how I feel some folks on the internet were like, this is the one. Feels like a best picture contender. Folks on the internet just love to hear what they have to say. Yeah, you check in all the time.

Can I just say, it's like annoying to me that Adam McKay is like, he's like one of the most important filmmakers, but then he's like, I got to do an NBA podcast. What is the current bid?

It's 150 right now? 175 is me. Chris has 175 175 um no I'm gonna sit this out oh then okay 180

okay okay 180 190 okay um 200 do you think this will turn out to be the best movie

on our list just shot in the dark I think we'll enjoy it like probably one of the like film watching highlights just i mean when was the last time you saw a funny movie like or i mean i think it will also have ideas obviously but like an enjoyable movie starring like all of your movie stars i mean i guess the sodeberg movie but yeah this is on it seems like it's on a bigger scale climate change satire i guess it will be and it's at 200 right now amanda cr where are you at with this you want to get in there i'll go to

10 okay i'll go to 15 okay i'm out i'm out i got i got some other oscar beat it's all yours amanda great you've got two strong Oscar contenders this year. I do. Blonde and Don't Look Up. That's what they say about me, you know? Golden Derby Dobbins.

Okay. God, but now I have to do another one. I don't know what I really want. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is on the board. Yeah, want that i don't care about

that released right um you know what i'm gonna do i'm just gonna be me speaking of jesse plemmons i'm gonna do the power of the dog yeah which is the jane campion film starring benedict cumberbatch jesse plemmons and my girl and also jesse plemmons girl, Kirsten Dunst. And I have to do money for this, right? You do. $85. This is some cast in this movie. I know. Jane Campion.

When's the last time Jane Campion made a feature film? I believe her last feature film was Bright Star from 2009. Oh, shit. That was so good. Very good film. She's a genius. Yeah. shit. That was so good. Very good film. She's a genius. Yeah.

Top of the week season one. Still about as good as TV can get. Wonderful. Should we do Jane Campion episode this year? Yeah. That would be fun. She's got tons of great films. I think this is for you, Amanda.

But I think you're building a prestigious roster. What did you bid, Amanda? 85. Was Power the dog on your long list chris it was it was on mine as well it's set in montana so it's gotta be yeah i actually didn't want to say that earlier because i knew as soon as i said montana all the men's ears would prick up what is it with men in montana have you been i mean i think it's beautiful yeah i have but you know what my reaction i've never been i mean it's absolutely beautiful but like you. Yeah, I have. But you know what my reaction was? I've never been. I mean, it's absolutely beautiful, but like you're driving along these like uninterrupted planes

and I was just like, where do you hide? Like, like if something's coming, like there's nowhere to hide. I felt very exposed the whole time. I love the fiction of Thomas McQueen. I love fly fishing. Personally.

Yeah. But you've not been? No. um i'll probably retire there i've been i've camped oh i was under the stars in montana um visited yellowstone and then did the cross over the border um and then shot a uh five season series with taylor sheridan there about my travails very been very well received by the Peacock subscribers. I mean, but everything you just described, Amanda, I feel like is the point, right?

It's that you can't, there's nowhere to hide. You're in the great wide open. That's the whole, and it's what's open is so beautiful. Right, because all men have been so, you know, exposed and, you know, held in by society until they make it to Montana. Yeah, I'm ready to show the middle of this country

how my light shines. What do you guys think Jennifer Lopez did in Montana with Ben Affleck besides the obvious? Like on the off time, the other 12 hours. The obvious being fly fishing?

It's a very patient activity that they were enduring. They just probably, I feel like they they read the poetry of jim harrison yeah that's probably it no no they didn't do that they they had a lot of sex and they grilled some steaks would be my guess that's the original 12 hours what's the other 12 hours that sounds really really good just like a really good way to spend your time i personally think that if ben affleck had sex for 12 hours he would would die of a coronary. That guy drinks this,

like a triple XL Dunkin' Donuts coffee and definitely still smokes Parliaments every day. I don't think he could have sex for more than like 80 minutes. Okay, well, you know, maybe there were some breaks. No disrespect.

He prepares for every day of his life the way I prepare for pods with you guys. I'm like, I need to be wired to keep up with the king and queen of weirdness. Okay, so Chris, you actually, Amanda, you've got three films. Chris, you've got one film. I have zero films. Chris, you are up to make an

auction bid. Yes. Well, I think we should get the movie that we're all thinking about out of the way. Wait, can I do some math first? Yeah. How much money have I spent? You've spent $400. Oh, oh well that's so even i didn't even mean to do that okay you got 600 bucks left to fit round out your final two i know it's pretty good how much money do i have to fuck with you what like what a like a warm connection

we have on this show you know when people listen to they're like they must really care about each other they've known each other for so long and they've forged this connection yeah just like a love of one another yeah it's just it's really charming uh cr what are you gonna go for yeah so i mean this is kind of hovering over the draft a little bit and i think just to loosen things up a little bit i'm gonna pick the movie that the three of us are probably all trying to like calculate like what are we doing here what are we doing here and so i am obviously talking about escape And I think just to loosen things up a little bit, I'm going to pick the movie that the three of us are probably all trying to calculate. Like, what are we doing here? What are we doing here?

And so I am obviously talking about Escape from Spiderhead, which is, you know, we've had a couple of years in cinema history where a director is gone and made two films. And most notably Spielberg 93, that's Schindler's and Jurassic. Joseph Kaczynski is coming for the crown. Joseph Kaczynski has Top Gun Maverick. Obviously, Sean got that in the previous auction. But Escape from Spiderhead, a Netflix film, and here's the logline that I cut and pasted from Playlist. Working from a script by Deadpool writing duo Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, Joseph Kaczynski directs this action film about a pair of near-future convicts, played by Chris Hemsworth and Miles Teller, who agree to a series of experimental drug tests in exchange for shorter prison sentences.

Sounds like Tango and Cash to me. And I will open the bidding at $80. Chris, do you know who penned the source material for this film? No. L. Ron Hubbard? George Saunders! This is based on a George Saunders story that was published in the New Yorker 10 years ago so think about that I am thinking about it that's why I brought

it up before Paul Thomas Anderson's film this is uh this is a Netflix movie yeah yeah yeah uh so I 80 80 dollars for this. 15 seconds on the clock. How much of bidding on this was just being able to say the words escape from spider head? 67%. The other 33 was because of Miles Teller. I think I'm going to let you have this one. Thanks.

I think this will be a cool movie though. This could be good. Kaczynski has a great eye. It's Teller time too. Teller's got the unsung hero of Aaron Rodgers' Rimspringa teller's on the road with Aaron Rodgers and teller's gonna be in the offer book it

stamp it send it back to your loved ones I just instapapered the story on newyorker.com escape from spiderhead I didn't know it still existed do you have a save for later I just Instapapered the story on newyorker.com. You still use Instapaper? I do, yeah. I didn't know it still existed. That's cool.

Do you have a save for later app, Amanda, that you'd like to shout out? No. I live in the now, as previously discussed. So if you don't read it on your browser in the moment, you just don't read it. Yes. Honestly, I'm living a much healthier life, Chris.

I have so many Trump articles that I never read. That's what I'm saying. I gotta find out what's going on at the DOJ. And it's just like from 2019. I'm just like, man, I gotta get to the bottom of this. Yeah, not for me. Jeff Sessions seems like a bad guy. Chris, you got to escape from Spider-Head. So you've got two movies.

Amanda's got three. I've got nil, nil. Hope you're enjoying yourself. Let's get a big one off the board. Maybe not the big one we're talking about, but a big one nevertheless. I'm talking about... We're recording again?

Yeah. Are you ready? I'm still eating. It's fine. Amanda, feel free to eat on the pod. We've been talking about Paul Thomas Anderson on the pod. I pointed this out recently to somebody. When PTA came on Bill Simmons' pod and I joined him to interview him,

Paul had a lozenge in his mouth the whole time and was very famously clicking a lozenge against his teeth. Fabulous interview. Wonderful guy. But I had more people note that he had a lozenge in his mouth the whole time and was very famously clicking a lozenge against his teeth. Fabulous interview. Wonderful guy. But, uh, I had more people note that he had a lozenge in his mouth and any details of that conversation. So please be careful as you chew throughout this pod. We took a quick break and then I went to get a little snack and then you just started. I didn't even have my headphones on. I'm fine. I'm back. What are you eating on? Yeah. A pretzel roll. Actually. I think you would like it, Sean. A pretzel roll?

That's my favorite thing. Yeah. It's very delicious, but I'm not going to finish it now because we're recording a podcast. Did you just pop into the store and just grab a pretzel roll? No, I had it in my kitchen. I popped into the kitchen. Did you make it yourself or did you get it? No, no, no, no, no, no.

I'm not really a baker. I don't really kind of have, I don't have that patience. So no, I bought it from a local establishment that makes great pretzel rolls. Great. I'll have to get a recommendation off air because no free ads here on the big picture. Okay.

Except for Instapaper. It's a free service. And Audi three and a half hours into director commentaries. That's true. Well, the check cleared for Chris on that one. Let's go to The Tragedy of Macbeth. This is one of the most

anticipated movies of the year, directed by Joel Cohen, his first individual directing effort, starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand. It's an adaptation of William Shakespeare's Macbeth.

I will open the bidding with $100. $160. Wow. You would like to see this film, Chris. Yeah. Are you kidding me? I also really want to see this film.

Yeah. Let's just do top three Billy Shakespeare plays off the top of your head. I love this. Okay. I'll go $161 just to keep the conversation going. Okay. I love Othello. Yeah'll go $161 just to keep the conversation flowing. Okay. I love Othello.

Yeah. That's a good one. And Lear. And I think the Macbeth, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet high school trilogy is like,

is as good as they say. Yeah. I'm a Macbeth stan. Okay. Top three, Sean names five. Hank the fourth part two for me.

Really? Oh. Yeah. Really big. I don't know if I've read that one. Is that Fal part two for me. Really? Oh yeah. Really big. I don't know if I've read that one. Is that false? Yeah.

Yeah. No. Yeah. And then, you know, of course, if you've seen Kenneth Bran is 10 seconds on the clock left. Sean holds the bid at one 61.

Wow. One 65. Okay. I like what you do. Lovely. I like the histories a lot. Yeah. I like Richard the third. Obviously. That's a histories a lot. Yeah, I like Richard III.

Obviously. That's a good one. We're just listing plays, I guess. Have you guys read Hamnet yet? I know I told you about Hamnet, but I think it was during the director's commentary when someone went on a bathroom break. Really, really beautiful novel. Maggie O'Farrell.

It came out last year. I recommend it. It's about Shakespeare so that's why I'm bringing it up I'll go 170 180 are you trying to drive me up or do you want to just I really want to see

this movie it's on my it's in my it's in my time I list it's in the red zone of my list yeah yeah Amanda has plucked a few that were pretty high on my list don't look up. I really, I really want to see that may turn out to be the steal of the draft

when we look back on this 10 years from now when this is a, when each, when this draft goes into our own personal archives at the University of Texas and they look back

and they say, wow, man, I got that movie for a song. It's impressive. The Tragedy of Macbeth. 180, Chris? I'll go 190.

Let me just check my ledger here. Chris, what's your favorite Coen Brothers movie? That's a great question. I have to say that for as many masterpieces as they have, I think it might be

the first one that I ever fell in love with, which is Miller's Crossing. So I think that I still have like a deep, the deepest connection is to Miller's Crossing, even though obviously

like I could pick half a dozen and just be like, oh, that one's on this day. It's Lebowski or on this day. It's 10 seconds. Sean holds 190.

Lady Killers for you, Amanda. Is that your fave? I'll go 200. Wow. I like it. If I get Soggy Bottom and Venom Let There Be Carnage and Jungle Cruise, am I still going to feel

good about it? No. I got to get at least one more great film. Yeah. That's why we're doing this, is to talk about the great movies that are also going to come out this year. Movies are back. It's tough. There's a couple that I know that Amanda still really wants. There's a couple that I know you want, Chris. There's a couple I know you're going to stay away from completely. So where do we stand right now? We're at 200 with Chris. 205. Amanda, what do you think is

going on in Chris's head right now? What do you think? I'll go 215. I'm just trying to do the math of how much money okay you could swing in here and get like the dynamo Oscar winner's lineup I'm really looking forward to this film but you know I've spent a lot of money on some of my art house

favorites shall we say Chris is saving about 600 simoleons for M. Night Shyamalan's old. Doesn't it feel weird to bid on something that's so close,

though? It does. I mean, is that, I'll go 220 just to keep the conversation rolling along. But it's like,

I actually am very much anticipating old. Old actually might be the first new film I see in a theater this year. Damn, you didn't check out F9? I didn't. I did not.

I haven't seen very many of those films, so the continuity of it. Yeah, that's the big issue. Where did that car come from and where is it going next? Do I need to know about... Yeah, so... 240. Where did that car come from? And where is it going next? This is like, do I need to know about? Yeah. So, 240.

You're really trying to nudge me into uncomfortable space, huh? I don't. Should we just cancel the big picture? Why? I feel like I've made a grave error and I've just made it all a competition. Oh, because you've gamified everything and everything is just like, what's the best rather than I just, I like admire and appreciate you,

but the roots of the pod are like, you know, discussions with important filmmakers and discovering, you know, new talent and, and talking about art. And now it's just like fucking jungle cruise brother. I mean,

yeah, you know, on Twitter, please vote for me. Um, I'll go to 45. Um, I think that two 50, I mean yeah you know that people on twitter please vote for me um I'll go 245 I think that 250 Jungle Cruise isn't

necessarily tripe to me it's directed by Yom Colette Sarah who is a guest on this show director of The Shallows and it does star Emily Blunt one of the great actors of her generation and Jesse Plemons doing like a Klaus Kinski impression. I don't know.

That could be a fun film. Why are you degrading Jungle Cruise, Chris? I'm not. I'm degrading your drafting style. But I was trying to say, let's move on. Let's go to the next stage of this pod. Where it's like you doing a selfie outside of landmark cinemas being like, can't wait.

You know what's weird? Just while we're... Because I think I just did 250, right? Yes. And you have 10 seconds left, Sean. I was at a 255.

Let me think about it for a second. I was at the Glendale Galleria, you know, like the mall, Americana at brand or whatever the fuck it's called. And the movies at the theater are the movies that were there before the pandemic. So like the posters are all like the hunt and the theater are the movies that were there before the pandemic. So the posters are all like The Hunt and The Way Back and Sonic the Hedgehog.

Pretty weird. And you thought to yourself, that was when real cinema was happening? I was like, we didn't know how good we had it. What is it? It's 2.50 or Sean? I think it's 2.55 in my corner. And Sean doesn't have any movies yet. Yeah.

I'm out. Okay. All right. How intriguing. So I have Amanda no last minute bids here. No, I'm really looking forward to this movie, but that was between you guys. Okay.

So I've got my first film. This was the highest bid thus far. Yeah. The tragedy of Macbeth. I've got another movie that I've got to put up. And so for $1, I just saw a new trailer for this movie. It's called Halloween kills.

It's a new Michael Myers Halloween movie from David Gordon green. I'm going to bet $1 on this movie, which I'm looking forward to. Why do you sound somewhat measured in your anticipation? What's holding you back?

Well, you know, when you go to Montana... Or are you just guessing there's no way Amanda's going to bid for this movie because it's terrifying and CR

who can say so like why not start it out low rather than terrifying let me answer your question with a metaphor about fly fishing sometimes when you cast your reel you don't want to pull it back in too quickly what you want to do is you want to take a long

swig from your Narragansett you know you want to look your son. This metaphor is going swimmingly, but you have 10 seconds left to bid, Chris. Food that pun, Bobby. I enjoyed it. Alright, $1 for Halloween Kills. I did it.

Cool. That's great. So I've got two films and now it is Chris's turn to put a movie up. Chris, how much do you think about game theory in your free time? I haven't done it. I mean, I used to,

it used to be like quite a hobby of mine. If anybody who follows any of my alts on Twitter knows, I used to really get into it about certain amendments,

you know, certain triggering functions of the government that could have happened over the last four years. What's your favorite amendment, Chris? I am going to put up Soggy Bottom for auction here. Okay, it's time.

What is Soggy Bottom, Chris? Can you explain it to the listeners? Soggy Bottom is a coming-of-age film set in the 1970s in the San Fernando Valley, written and directed, I imagine, written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It stars Bradley Cooper. I heard this was written by

Lena Dunham, actually. Is that not true? Yes. I'd still see it. That's not a deterrent. I'm going to open up the bidding at $300. Okay. Intriguing. We have 40 seconds to decide if we'd like to go above that number

okay amanda what do you say i was gonna ask you whether you like paul thomas anderson movies huge fan huge fan think about me trying to rank those movies in my head yeah how much time do you think you spend doing that just like idly is probably too much it's like trying to rank the bones in my body you You know, I need them all. Does this feel like an inherent vice like a casual turn from PTA? You know, does this feel like it's a comedy?

I really hope I mean he's talked a lot about how much he loves the films of Adam Sandler and Will Ferrell and he's obviously got a great sense of humor. So I hope it's a comedy. I don't want it to be the like already down to 10 seconds 305. I don't want it to be the movie that like wins him 14 Oscars I want to have a blast at the movies that's what I want I mean I'll go 310 I will go 325 okay how much money do we all have left enough i have about 770 or something like that how interesting so chris has 26 more than i do and i have and he has 170 more than amanda does yes so we find

ourselves in an interesting circumstance where at a certain point amanda will just have to drop out but cr can spend his whole bank on this film but if he does he automatically loses because he will not get five films 10 seconds i'll say 330 i will say 335 350 okay why the the 15 bounces cr you're just trying to get this over with i think that when you're using our previous auction as something something of a a blueprint for what certain values can be affixed to certain movies and i think that if uh we all felt the way we did about say no time to die or matrix matrix 4 then why not for the latest film by one of our most beloved filmmakers? So what was your latest bid? I think I said $350,000, didn't I?

Yes. I'll say $360,000. $370,000. $380,000. $390,000. $400,000. $410,000. $425,000.

What's this movie really going to be called? You don't think it's going to be called Sakyubatom? You don't think he can decide what his movies are called? No, I think that that was a false name for the production. Like a code name? Yeah. So what do you think it'll be called? CR Heads?

There Will Be Blood? There'll Be More Blood? There Will Not Be Blood? Yeah. Wait, so who has the last bit and what is it? I think Chris has has is it 425 okay what do we got on time bobby 10 seconds 10 seconds 10 seconds to to destiny 435 440 450 460 don't you guys know that I'll be comfortable with Venom Let There Be Carnage being on my stat sheet?

4.70. 4.70? Mm-hmm. How far ahead is Escape from Spider-Head in terms of how much you want to see that movie relative to this one? Honestly, I bet PTA is like, I can't wait for Spider-Head. It's true. I can't believe Kaczynski's got two films this year. And he takes a hit off of an Applebong

and he watches Tron Legacy for the 13th time this week 470 is that where we are? for you Chris? 480? 485 Amanda we're getting to your threshold here you've got two open slots I have three good movies and I have more money to spend here's the thing.

We have no idea how good any of these movies are. It's about how much you want to see them. It's about how much you're anticipating them. Amanda is a huge Killing Them Softly fan, so she must be amped for blonde. What's the number? 45? 490.

To Amanda. It's 490 for me now. I'll take it to five. Who's your, who's, who do you most want PTA to collaborate with actor or actor wise? This is like, this really does feel like we're in some weird message board circa,

you know, everyone being 17 years old. Open your heart. Just open your heart, Amanda, for crying out loud. It's a podcast. It's very heart, Amanda, for crying out loud. It's a podcast. It's very talented,

but you're just stalling. So be a man or let's move on. But if I just let Chris have it at 500, I'll go 505. But if I did, what would be wrong with that? I mean, you would feel personally ashamed and you'd never admit it in public,

but you would feel really sad. And like, you didn't get the thing that you wanted and that you got outfoxed by us and that would haunt you and that would be like you two jokers i am not an only child i was raised to share and i know how to share these beautiful films you do not know how to share you were to, but it didn't take. Yeah. The only thing I know how to share is dessert. That's why when you eat dinner at a dinner table

at a restaurant with us, like an animal, you shove your elbows out so no one can get at the cobbler. Remember the time that he just ate his birthday dessert in front of us?

Yes. There was only a birthday dessert for Sean. Yes, for big birthday boy. And he just ate the whole thing while five people watched him. You guys are going to let me have this at 5.05? 5.10. I just, ate the whole thing while five people watched him. You guys are going to let me have this at five Oh five,

five, 10. I just, I could have just let that expire. No, we, we also are paying attention. You're just too busy trying to dunk on me with stories about my personal

life. And then I did not authorize conversations about my dinner. Like literally they brought you the ice cream with the candle. And I have a brother and a sister. Yeah, seriously. I sent some sibling envy. they brought you the ice cream with the candle and we all thought we were going to order dessert. Yeah, seriously. I sent some sibling envy. No dessert for anyone else and I just sat there fucking

watching you eat ice cream. That was great. That was a great day. In Orange County. I'm sorry that I exposed you to such beautiful culture, Amanda. My deepest apologies. 5.15. Man.

What do you got to lose, Chris? You know, it's just... What do we really know about this movie? You know, we got that one picture of Bradley Cooper at a gas station. We got the Heim lady in a car, right? Yeah.

We know Philip Seymour Hoffman's son is the star of this movie, Cooper. That's nice. Lovely. We love Philip Seymour Hoffman. Is it just going to be like a sort of rehash of Days of Confused? Do we think it's going to have something new to say

about the youth experience in the 1970s? Do you guys still like coming-of-age movies? Or now that you're of age, are you like, eh, I got it? I feel like i watch a fair amount of like uh coming of age tv they don't really make coming of age movies that often do they a spielberg's making one next year right about himself five seconds is that a situation no it's a movie okay but you gotta be i guess you got i guess you gotta be one of the great directors to get a chance to make a coming of age movie anymore.

Time. I got bored. That's it, guys. 5.15, Soggy Bottom. This is the highest anyone has paid for a movie in this auction, in either auction, by quite a bit. I'm more looking forward to this film than any single piece of popular culture

that has been released in the last 18 months. Well, that's great. What happened 18 months ago? That was so great. Uh, I liked once upon a time in Hollywood. That was good.

Green book. It's just simply rude. Uh, well, it's no hacks, Chris, you know, what can I say?

Um, okay. So that was, that was your bit. Sean up no amanda is up right yeah oh we're going the other way right yeah i have two more um so now we're in a spot where we can try to saddle oh this is great okay so you can't really fuck with me you'll have your pick of the litter okay great so i'm gonna do one second i'm just making sure that this is a 2021 movie still the top five movies i listed on my long list here are now off the board i listed soggy bottom tragedy of macbeth blonde eternals and don't look up as my five like this is these are the first movies that sprung to mind okay well i Well, I'm going to go with King Richard, which is the biopic about Richard Williams,

father of Serena and Venus Williams, starring the one and only, the true king of my heart, the only movie star who really matters, Will Smith. I just, I love Will Smith so much. You want to talk some more about Will Smith? I will bid $200.

Do you get the feeling there's going to be a lot of tennis in this movie? Well, I think tennis is underserved by cinema. There's not enough tennis in films. I would agree with that. And the tennis movies, I have a soft spot for Wimbledon, but I would agree with that. And the tennis movies, I have a soft spot for Wimbledon, but I would not say that that's like, yeah, my favorite rom-com match point.

I don't even know what to say. Um, and I, I liked the Billie Jean King biopic, but you know, that was sexist. Yes. But that was less about tennis than it was about,

about the very important Billie Jean King. 10 seconds. how much did you bid 200 okay I don't feel for this one I don't either it's fine Ronaldo Marcus Green is a filmmaker didn't loved his previous work so I'm a little nervous I do think that Will Smith is due

for a big noisy award-worthy performance I'm out okay well I wanted that movie and I got it so for a big, noisy, award-worthy performance. I'm out. Okay. Well, I wanted that movie and I got it. So that works out for me. How are you doing in terms of your like,

these are the movies I wanted? I'm sure she's doing great. Really good. Yeah, she's doing great. Yeah. And it's basically like I don't, I'm just trying to decide what's my last movie that I want. You got 400 bucks left over here. You could have, if you had wanted to,

held onto that money and carried it over into future drafts. That's not fun. Okay. We have different definitions of fun. You don't play fantasy sports. This is all fantasy sports stuff. No, I understand that.

But it's like then, you know, you save all of your money for, you would have saved all of your money from last time for soggy bottom and then it just like becomes a whole thing and there are no constraints constraints are good for conflict and you need conflict in order for these drafts to be entertaining that's what you don't understand when you're like you're so mean to me but it's like that's what the people want you know they don't want us to understand yeah is that for something you really think no not at all have i been threatening the very the vitality

of all of my friendships because i don't understand that yeah no i know but you get so mad even when i suggest that you don't understand something you're so easy that's the nature of conflict isn't it yeah okay but so now i'm just like what do i want yeah 400 bucks what's chris's number one movie on the board right now what's i got though, so I'm not going to try to What is that about? What's going on there? The nice thing about me and Chris is that we have our shared interests are really

shared and then we just respect each other's lane. He's got his Chris stuff and I've got my Amanda stuff and we're happy for each other. We have our overlapping movie interests. We both really like the same type of food. There's a sub channel on heists for Amanda.

Yeah. For the Thomas Crown Affair. Here's why this is all malarkey as far as I'm concerned. My tension and conflict is all on the surface with my colleagues and my enemies. And you guys, it's bubbling under the surface.

Now, because you have presented. You think Amanda and I have deep-seated, stewing anger at one another? And then Dan is going to burst one day. Yeah. And I'm going to be there, and you're going to be like, Sean, can you be on my side? And then Amanda's going to be like, Sean, can you be on my side? And I'm going to have to boot both of you off this show forever. And you're going to have to hash it out.

And then when you get it back together, we can reunite. Let me tell you, that's not how only children work. We're just like, I have my thing and you have your thing. And like, we don't have to talk about it. Okay. Like, and we'll talk about the one. Yeah, exactly. We just didn't get dessert. I was, it was so upsetting. I really love dessert. I don't know. What should I do here? I've got blonde. Don't look up the power of the dog. King Richard. I should probably.

She got a little popcorn in there, right? Yeah, I should. Get a large cherry Coke. Well, I could go for a large cherry Coke. And this is a swerve. But I'm just going to go with it. I'm going to be? And this is a swerve, but I'm just going to go with it. I'm going to be true to my heart. Oh, shit.

I just Googled it and they changed the release date. So I will not be taking Elvis, the Basler, but Elvis. That was on my list. 2022. Yeah. But they just moved it to 2022. That's frustrating. Okay.

Well, really looking forward to that. Tom Hanks is another person who means a lot to me. Okay. That's fine. You know what? 200 bucks West Side Story. I'm open. I'll try it. I'm nervous. I had a truly traumatic experience during the pre-show for the Oscars with this promo, but I'm going to move past it. Because why? In the promo being, was there something else besides the trailer? Did they do like a dance sequence? Yeah. They had some of the cast members in the,

in the pre-show. Cause they were trying to do synergy and they were really doing like Disney theater kid in a way that was very aggressive and was not the mood that I was looking for. But, and you know what this, they're also not using Jerome Robbins' choreography which makes me very nervous

but I don't know, Steven Spielberg, he's pretty good. I think this movie looks So is Tony Kushner. Unbelievable. So I'm gonna open my heart. I said 200.

225. Okay. 250. Ooh. If only you hadn't wasted that 80 bucks on Spider-Heads CR. Do you think that,

that was, that was funny but it was good content. When is this movie coming out? I believe it's the last couple of weeks of December. Boy, oh boy. I wonder how it will be received. I'm approaching this movie very cautiously for what it's worth. Because In the Heights was not,

like because of the controversy surrounding her in the Heights and stuff? Yeah, I mean, I think I expect it to be, well, I mean, you guys can keep bidding if you want. I'm not bidding on it. I don't know if anybody wants to go again. What did you have, Amanda? 260? 250.

255. Okay. 260. I think Amanda is right to point out that Kushner and Spielberg is an elite combo. This is a pro Lincoln pod. It always has been. Lincoln's been on cable. I've been watching it a little bit before playoff games.

That's a pretty dope movie. Terrific film. Love that movie. I don't know that Steven Spielberg would have been my first choice to make the more culturally sensitive version of West Side Story. I also not a big Ansel Elgort movie. I have liked movies in spite of Ansel Elgort in the past. Listen, there are a lot of warning signs here for sure, including the decision to remake West Side Story, one of the greatest movie musicals of all time. Second only to singing in the rain

in my opinion and that's putting it over the sound of music possibly the most important movie to me personally so i i get it but i don't know i i'm this is a this is a personal choice the reason why i bring it up is i think that it's that's what's funny about like auctioning anticipation rather than the film itself. I think that when this was announced, I was like, oh, interesting. He's going to do that. When I saw the trailer, I was like,

holy shit, movies. You know what I mean? With the shadows and with people running and the camera swooping and the colors. I was just like, this is just going to be... I love shots, Chris. You just love shots. It's going to be sensory overload and it's singing and dancing and it's Marino Moreno and it is just going to be... You just love shots. It's going to be sensory overload and it's singing and dancing

and it's Rita Moreno and it's just going to be fucking amazing. And then like, I just, you know, then you just start going down a little bit. But I think I'm going to let Amanda take this one. Yes. CR, did you watch In the Heights? I watched chunks of it.

Well, that says all that you need to say, I guess. Amanda, final bid, 260, right? Yeah, I think so. It was $260 because I was thinking about going $270, but I didn't. Now I'm sitting on a bunch of money again. I apologize. You got $770. I'm just going to eat my pretzel roll now.

You got three spots left. So is it Amanda get another one here or is it me? No, it's your turn. Yeah. Damien Chazelle's Babylon. It's not a 2021 movie. Let's scratch that. It says 2021 when you Google it.

I think it's in the Killers of the Flower Moon situation because I had to recast a major part. I'm going to go with I'm going to go with Venom Let There Be Carnage, which just looks about the fucking most ridiculous movie I've ever seen in my life. Did I like with Venom, Let There Be Carnage, which just looks about the fucking most ridiculous movie I've ever seen in my life. Did I like the Venom movie?

Somewhat, I did. Yeah, I did like it. Yes, Chris! Do I understand why the Venom film made a billion dollars? I do not. I don't either. I can't account for it. I don't either.

In fact, I did a whole video on The Bringer's YouTube PhD channel about how this movie made a billion dollars and I actually still don't know what I was talking about. So that puts you right with your fellow YouTube content creators in terms of your certainty about things. I think that I will support Tom

Hardy no matter what he does. And if I have to support another person beyond Tom Hardy, it's Woody Harrelson so look it looks outrageous I don't really understand the the mythos in play I don't really understand like what we're building towards and I can't even say I understand the sinister six to be honest like the whole non-spider-man spider-man universe thing that's happening here but I'm going to open the bidding at 50 bucks I'm going to use this opportunity to

explain to amanda who carnage is okay this is my favorite part of every podcast okay um amanda carnage is a serial killer who has been exposed to a similar alien symbiote technology as Eddie. Disease as Eddie Brock who was but a lowly anger management failing newspaper photographer. Ten seconds. Okay.

And now Woody Harrelson who plays that serial killer is going to have the same powers as Venom in this film. And they're going to go toe to toe. So there's a virus that makes you an alien robot? That's not so far off.

Yeah. That's time. That's Chris's 50 bucks. Great. So you will let there be carnage. Yeah. Were you hoping to entice me into that one? What a list from you.

Eternals, Escape from Spiderhead, and Venom. Let there be carnage. Chris, you are absolutely a grand total of 270 dollars i have i have 229 dollars remaining chris has 720 dollars remaining we both have two open spots and i have now two consecutive films to you could have taken soggy bottom from him you realize realize that, right? Yes. And he would have had $130

and I would not have caused you any problems at all. So I would have had to have basically drained Sean's pot to do that, right? Yeah. Yeah. And then Sean wouldn't be able to pick for the rest of the time. I'll bid a superhero movie I actually want to see.

Okay, cool. $1 for Spider-Man No Way Home. I love the Spider-Man movies. Spider-Man is my favorite comic book character. I have really liked what John Watts has done with the franchise. And this is, of course, going to be a multiverse movie.

We're going to more than likely see all of the previous Spider-Men in this movie, which is going to then hopefully lead to Miles Morales being the future of Spider-Man. So, one buck. 230 bucks. That was really enjoyable. I really, sometimes I wish that this were a visual medium

so you could see his face. Good job, Chris. The bidding is closed. Chris now has three comic book movies on his lineup. Well, he knows his audience. A thing I really like about The Watch is how they just call this movie the Spider-Man meme movie

because obviously they are literally all just going to point at each other like they do in the meme. That's good. That's good branding, Chris. Did you know Amanda has gotten so into The Watch this year? This is like, this is her comfort food.

Like a few, yes, he knows this because I talked to him about it. But a few weeks ago when you guys were talking about Top Chef and Chris did like a quick recap and he said, this is for people who inexplicably listen to the podcast, but now watching the show. And I was like, that's me. I did it. I really appreciated it. Amanda, I hate to break it to you, but that's probably 80% of the listeners of this show too. And frankly, of all podcasts.

They just want to hang out with their digital friends. They don't want to consume all the content. We're going to talk about missing plates and mouthfeel. I love to hear you talk about mouthfeel, Chris. That's one of the more erotic audio experiences I can have. I've got another film. Okay. Let's just recap.

Chris has got Eternals, Escape from Spiderhead, Venom, Let There Be Carnage, and Spider-Man No Way Home, and he's sitting on $490. But how can we even explain that? Like, before... No one wants to see those fucking movies!

The first time, I was like... First of all, I, like, sincerely, sincerely want to see those fucking movies. The first time I was like, first of all, I like sincerely, sincerely want to see escape from spider. Second of all, the last time everybody was like, you fucking chode. You picked this tie hands movie. I lost.

So I'm going for fucking popcorn. When people see this list, they're not going to be like, what order do you pick them in? Did he let Sean takes soggy bottom? People are just going to be like, what order do you pick them in? Did he let Sean take Soggy Bottom? People are just going to assume that you drove off a cliff taking Soggy Bottom.

That's really good. Are you saving your money for old? There's still room for old here. Old will be out in a week, but you can get it right now for $490. I'll pay $480 for old. Oh my God.

Hmm. This is a tough one. There are a couple of movies I really, really, really, really want to see that are still on the list. Just not Spider-Man. No way. I mean, I'd like to see that movie and I will see it. I will not be paying $230 blind for it. Ah, boy.

Hmm. I'm going to go with a movie that i just saw a trailer for that i think looks pretty exciting i didn't know anything about it what are you laughing at what's so funny just like i'm sorry the sincerity that you were like i just saw a trailer and now i was like well we can't all be the absolute like shit lord that chris is just drafting let there be carnage with no conscience whatsoever completely corrupting me about this trailer that you saw thank you i will amanda i will do exactly that the movie is called the harder Harder They Fall. It's directed by James Samuel. It's a revisionist black western starring Regina King

and Jonathan Majors. Looks awesome. I'm very excited about this movie and I will wager 50 bucks to see it. CR? I'm going to go and throw out

a movie I'm very much looking forward to which is called Red White and Water Chris has done auctioning he's just saying names of movies so I'm going to take that is that what you're saying is it my turn do you want to bid on it

oh I'm not bidding on the harder they fall no I'm sorry I thought you just like I thought you picked it isn't Amanda done is Amanda half five so it's me and you you just immediately went into it right so it's me and you and right i'm you just immediately went to another you could do another film it's called the african queen directed by john houston released it i'm sorry sometimes when you filibuster i just kind of like glaze over

both of you guys but you do it for like an hour and a half it's like hard to concentrate you were like really screaming about you were just like i saw a trailer it's not like you're fucking spalding gray sean you're like i watched a trailer for a film and that film starled regina king and what is it what what is it about me that simultaneously has the generosity to create this environment but then also makes myself so open to just being absolutely dunked on by youtube corndogs like seriously what is it explain it to me what kind of environment i've created here where that's okay. Where what Chris just did is okay. We all have podcasts. You think it's special? It's like,

you're the only one with a pod. We're just like, please, sir, may I have a platform here? Just wish you were more decent. You know, I would never come on the watch and do this to you.

I just would never. It's a different tone. It's a more serious discussion. You go on the watch. Do you know this? Like you guys are like really serious.'re just like okay i don't think now we're like we're gonna talk about the industry right and like i read these three things in the trades about the superheroes here's why i'm like that because unlike you amanda chris asks me

questions you know he wants he's curious about what's in my mind i'm curious about a lot of things but almost none of them are in your mind that's the problem that is the problem that is literally the problem maybe you could learn about something interesting i just have so much to share and you guys you never want to know anything it's just so painful it's my ultimate tragedy the harder they fall yeah did you and did you bid at all like did you did you put a number on that 50 yeah if you weren't fucking zoned out while i was talking you would have heard what i said again you could have taken it away from him just to be mean but why would i take anything away well that's not the point here it's to celebrate you took the spider-man movie away from him i don't share freaking dessert with you at restaurants it's because of this these attitudes it was that is the most insane behavior

i've ever seen in my entire life. You just like bite by bite. You were savoring it. As I recall, it was my birthday. It was a meringue, wasn't it? It was a kind of like a,

no, I had some ice cream in it too. Oh, okay. I thought it was like a orange almondy meringue kind of thing. I had a lovely time. So nice day with my friends. Chris,

you're next to movie. Your default bid is $490 and you get it right away. So, you can get any film you want right now, Chris. Choose something that you don't want

to pawn off to Sean that you really want. Well, oh, you know what? I'm having so much fun. What was your bid for The Heart of They Fall? $50.

$50. I'm having so much fun. $60. $60. Oh, so now you're reacting. Chris, i'm having so much fun 60 bucks chris someone get this guy a job at sotheby's asap this is unbelievable what is happening this was actually a fairly staid auction draft until about 10 minutes ago i got all these fucking superhero movies because you guys you fucking incepted me by saying let there be carnage eight times and i was like man he's gonna definitely pick that he must know something i don't

so i got all thrown off by babylon not being out this year and then like fucking killers of flower moon they're already like hey it's coming apparently that's not coming I'm all akimbo here so you're trying to get back in on the harder they fall you can have it it's alright you can get on it if you want no I just think it's just it's hard to pick a movie that I'm going to spend four hundred and

ninety dollars on yeah well with let there be carnage off the board I don't know what you're going to do okay so I'll hold on to I'll hold on to that. Now, Chris, you... Shang-Chi? I mean, this is the only way to complete this pod. Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings.

I'm trying to decide between two films. Should I just say them both? Yeah. Sure. One is Deepwater, which is an erotic thriller starring Ben Affleck. Oh, shit. I forgot that that's coming this year.

No, my guys, I'm very sorry, but that film is being released in 2022 as well. What are they, working on the edit? Are you serious? They bumped it to January of 2022. Well, they're not getting those two back for reshoots, so I hope they're not, I wouldn't put any faith in that.

I'm going to go with Red, White, and Water, which is the Jennifer Lawrence return to fucking give me Oscars, dog. She plays a returning soldier with a traumatic brain injury. It's directed by Lila Neugebauer, if I'm pronouncing her right. Neugebauer.

Which I want, Sean, did you see the Waverly, what was it, Waverly Gallery? Is that the name of the? Correct. And it's the Kenneth Onager play that she directed. I think you were like,

I saw that. Starring Elaine May in an unbelievable performance. So this is, she directed an episode of Room 104, the Duplass Brothers anthology on HBO, but now this is her feature film debut, and Brian Tyree Henry is also in it. Let me tell you something. This is entirely based on the tabloid photos

of the two of them hanging out in New Orleans, smoking outside. Jennifer Lawrence wearing Adidas slides, flare jeans, and a thrift store t-shirt, and smoking cigarettes in New Orleans is really getting me through this season. Anyway, this movie sounds really good.

I'm really excited for it, and I will bid. How much do I have to bid? You have $490 and that money does not carry over. Yep. Great artist priceless,

they say. If the money carried over, Chris would be washing you in the next draft. Both of you guys. That's true. Because of last time and this time.

No, but then I get so spooked when I can tell I'm about to take something from someone. CR, Clifford the Big Red Dog is still on the board. Are you sure you want Red, White, and Water? I do. I am. It was between this. It was Deep Water. It was also Sweet Water.

I think it looks really good. Anything with Water in the title you would be interested in. Candyman looks super cool. I know, Sean, you wish you had $1,000 to spend on Ghostbusters. I'll watch it. I'll watch it in. Candyman looks super cool. I know, Sean, you wish you had $1,000 to spend on Ghostbusters. I'll watch it. I'll watch it too. If I can make enough time between

Let There Be Carnage rewatches. You know what is so good is the film Ghostbusters, the original film. You guys remember that film? Dr. Peter Venkman. That was my hero for like five years. Okay, so you guys are both done and I have another pick.

You left my second most anticipated movie of the year on the board for me. I don't know, Chris, I'm frankly surprised I thought you would have tried to stick it to me with a little bit of dough left over. But there's a movie coming out this fall

starring Oscar Isaac set in the world of poker directed by one of my favorites. Let's see if Paul Schrader can manage to stay out of his way. His own way. Paul Schrader, you know,

perhaps he'll be canceled. You know, he loves to get on Facebook and share his thoughts and that's never a good idea. Nevertheless, he's a terrific screenwriter and filmmaker

and the movie's called The Card Counter released by Focus later this fall. Really excited about it. Happy to get it for $179, which is all I've got left. We're done. We did our auctions. This one was super weird.

Let's recap and then we can talk about a couple of movies we loved. I don't understand auction drafts. Or one could say you fully understand them in a way that none of us ever could you are the galaxy brain of the auction uh all right let's recap my five movies are the tragedy of macbeth which i acquired for 255 halloween kills which i got for one dollar soggy bottom which i got for 515 dollars the harder they fall for 50 and the the card counter for $179.

Amanda, what five movies did you get? I got blonde for $100. Don't look up for $215. The power of the dog for $85, a steel King Richard for $200 and West side story for $260. CR. Now you have to say the names of all the films

that you acquired in this auction. Please say them out loud. I got Eternals for $150. Escape from Spiderhead for $80. Venom Let There Be Carter for $50. I just Venom Let There Be Carnage for $50.

This is, I just went fucking full meme stocks. Like, none of these fucking numbers mean anything. Venom Let There Be Carnage for $50. And then Spider-Man No Way Home for $2.30 simply to make sure Sean didn't get it. And Red, White, and Water, a movie where we have only seen stills from the set

of Jennifer Lawrence smoking for $490, which is just shy of Paul Thomas Anderson's return to cinemas. That is quite a lineup. So if you look at the two drafts in totality,

let me just check my math here. Red, White, and Water is the second highest bidded film of the whole year across two auction drafts. Second only to Soggy Bottom, which only got to that number out of spite. That's true.

No, I think we all wanted that movie. I was serious about it. I wasn't sure how far you would go. Yeah, I mean, I'm interested in it. We got into rare air. We were up among the clouds. Mistakes are made in Denver. You know what I mean?

You start to, that altitude gets thin. That's certainly how I felt throughout the entirety of this conversation. I was in the clouds, in the heavens with the angels, really. That's what it feels like to pod with both of you, who are just really so hurtful, I must say.

I feel like I have to lick my wounds after every podcast these days. There are some movies that we did not mention or even consider. One that was surprising to me was Don't Worry Darling, the forthcoming Olivia Wild wilde movie starring harry styles among many other luminaries which i guess is also a period piece is it a 70s set period piece going to palm springs so for some reason i thought it was more like noir i thought it was like the 50s yeah yeah oh maybe it is okay um we did mention old no one drafted old soon to be released into movie theaters where Chris will be seeing it. I couldn't.

It's like a week away. What am I doing, you know? Leia's Characters. Annette, which of course is one of the opening films at the Cannes Film Festival. That seems pretty great. Benedetta. Paul Verhoeven's new movie about illicit nuns, which is Chris's favorite subgenre. Nightmare Alley. Guillermo del Toro's forthcoming film starring Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett. illicit nuns, which is Chris's favorite subgenre nightmare alley,

Guillermo del Toro's forthcoming film starring Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett seems could, could, could be promising a remake of a noir classic. The many saints of Newark, the trailer to the Sopranos. Did you enjoy that trailer, Chris?

I thought it was pretty good. I know that there's been some, what I would say, not great buzz about that movie. Yes. Directed by Alan Taylor. Not my favorite filmmaker, but of course written by the great David Chase. After Yang, the Kogonada A24 science fiction film starring Colin Farrell.

What about The Eyes of Tammy Faye? I was wondering about that. It was on my list. Did we screw up by not putting that one out there? How did that look to you, Amanda? I'm interested i i i stay with andrew garfield even though i you know some of the choices and the the worlds he's exploring i'm i i don't know fam um and obviously also jessica chastain important to us so it was on my it was on my list but i kind of got thrown into you know niche land. I needed some more popcorn later,

and that doesn't seem quite popcorn enough. That's why I didn't go for it. So we're not going to get Armageddon time this year, are we? I don't think so. I think it's 2022, James Gray's new film. A couple of others that I'm very interested in, but I did not put up for auction. The Tender Bar.

Now, directed by George Clooney. That's this year? I believe it's a December film. Wow. Wow, I need to emotionally prepare for that one. It is an adaptation of a nonfiction book directed by George Clooney starring Ben Affleck about a man.

Is it that he works in a bar and has his struggles with fatherhood and alcoholism? Is that essentially like the log on something to that effect? It's in that universe. And yeah, tabbed a couple of months ago to be a big Oscar contender, potentially with Clooney as a filmmaker. You never know. And then The Whale, directed by Darren Aronofsky, starring the resurgent Brendan Fraser as an 800 pound man. See, are you ready for that?

That sounds like a test right there. But Darren Aronofsky loves to test you. You know what I mean? He does. He does. He'll be testing me.

I'll be there opening night. Love to see his films. Anything else? Any other movies you guys have played? Do you think you'll get a screening where Darren Aronofsky will be wearing a dynamite scarf?

Is there any other Darren Aronofsky kind? Post-Pat scarf is there any other Darren Aronofsky kind post post patty he's dropped the scarf no no you double down you'd imagine right right two scarves as a face covering of some sort right I don't know I feel like I feel like his stock really hit he's he's prepared he was prepared for the pandemic right right yeah Aronofsky branded face masks were huge face masks just his mother exclamation point yeah i mean any closing thoughts here on the auction how do you are you happy with what you did yeah i'm interested in all of the movies that i i got

movies that i want to see i definitely don't have anything uh super mainstream primarily because chris took all of them but also because i like we got like the big tentpole movies that we are all excited about i feel like out of the way in the first draft the first one was like yeah though this is why i i want to go to the movie yeah go back to the movies um Okay. Well, I feel pretty good about where we landed here. And this will be the last auction for many, many months. Probably another five or six months. You guys okay with that? Do you feel that this is a successful format, Chris?

Yeah, I think I need to do like a Kill Bill style training sesh. Pai Mei needs to show me the way, you know? Okay. Well, until then, let's go to my conversation now with morgan neville i feel like we're already off so let's just let's just intro you because uh listeners of the show know you you're you're back morgan neville, thanks for joining us again. Congrats on Roadrunner, a film about Anthony Bourdain. Before we started, you noted that people have a very deep bond with Anthony Bourdain. And taking on a film like this must have been complicated. Did you know Bourdain before you embarked on the project?

I never met him, but I knew him like most people knew him. I felt like I knew him because I'd read some of his books, starting with Kitchen Confidential. I'd watched the show. And it's one of those unique... He was that unique kind of public figure where because he was so himself all the time and because his subject of everything he did, even when he traveled, was himself at times. It was always about his way of looking at the world that I felt like I had a, certainly I don't want to say I knew him, but that I, um, I was interested in him, you know, because I think there was part of Tony that I didn't understand, which is why I wanted to make the film. You know, like I instinctually just felt like I have questions about this guy and not to mention his suicide, which was so inexplicable to me and virtually everybody else in the world that that was something I, I just, you know,

I felt like I had to search for not an answer, tidy answers, but at least I just wanted to understand more. You know, I think, I think my films are more often about questions than answers. And I feel like this was one where I had a lot of questions and, um, and that became the kind of guiding light, but at many steps along the way, people basically said, don't fuck this up. Yeah. So how did it, how did it come about? I mean, was this a film that you pitched? Did someone come to you and say, we think you're the right person to do this? So after he died, I think a lot of people were talking about doing things like books and documentaries and everybody in Tony's life got together and basically put out a press release saying, no, we're going to make a documentary. And that succeeded in making people stop.

But I don't think they actually had any immediate plan to make a film cut to a, you know, more than a year later. I was talking to Amy Antilles who runs programming for CNN. And she's the one who brought Tony to CNN. And she mentioned it. And I just had that feeling in my stomach of like, yeah, like I want to know more about him. And in a part, not only because I was curious, but because I felt that he was like a fellow traveler with me. He was kind of a documentary filmmaker in many ways, but I feel like the themes of what he was always trying to do were the same kinds of things I've been interested in, which is understanding how we are connected to each other, how culture connects us to each other, how we define people by their culture and define ourselves, and that there are really more commonalities than differences at the end of the day. And those are things I've come back to again and again.

Yeah. And you're both film nuts too. So there's a, there's some sinking there too. That was, that was the fun part was like, he had such good taste. So, you know, I put together an 18 hour playlist of every song he ever mentioned. I watched, you know, everything that, you know, every movie he was referencing. I mean, many of which I'd seen and many of which I was watching for the first time. And then all of his books, you know,

the kind of his most important books is Graham Greene and Orwell and, you know, Kerouac, Hunter Thompson, you know, these writers who I knew and loved. But just going back and getting into all that, that's the part of the filmmaking that I love is just trying to kind of get the DNA of the subject going in my head as much as I can.

Is that how you started? What did you do first to embark on this? I feel like the music and the film was one of the first things I did. Yeah, I mean, because part of the first things I did. Yeah. I mean, because it's part of the first process when I think about making a film that is just starting to get up to speed of like channeling it, you know,

going and reading not only kitchen confidential and medium raw, you know, but he wrote a couple of mysteries, three mysteries, you know, he wrote a number of other books, you know, and he had an imprint where he published You know, he wrote a number of other books, you know, and he had an imprint where he published other authors and he wrote tons of articles and blogs and

podcasts. And I just was going through everything, everything just to kind of feel like I was starting to understand him. And that was the fun part of it. And then it's, it was time to sit down and start talking to people in his life and you know that that was it was not fun but it was actually very painful i think for everybody but it was also incredibly rewarding in a way you know like i felt like we all kind of went into therapy together making this film. I want to talk about that at length if you're willing to. I think one of the, you know, I really admire your films.

And I think one of the best parts of your films is you seem like a very skilled interviewer. You seem like somebody who knows how to get the best material out of your subjects. And I feel like it's a really underrated part of documentary is how comfortable do you make these talking heads and how what do you get from them i'm so happy you say that because you know i actually feel like interviewing is one of my best skills and i feel like it's utterly invisible yes so i mean obviously you're getting a chance to see what other people are saying but for this one in particular i thought about this with the film about about f as well, because someone who is no longer with us, and there is this incredible strong feeling, but he died an older man, and Anthony's story is so confusing and disorienting, and there's so much pain on the surface. So maybe you can talk about who you chose to interview and how you chose them,

and then also what parameters you set around some of these conversations, because as you say, it really does feel like therapy sessions for a lot of the people who talk about him. Yeah. I mean, I would say right from day one, you know, um, Lydia, though his original production partner was the first person I interviewed the first day. And that interview ended up being, you know, like a four plus hour marathon therapy session. And I realized instantly that I was stepping into a world of trauma. I mean, everybody in Tony's life, you know, I started the interviews about a year and a half after he died and did them for about a year while we were editing too. And there was, you know, I saw every stage of grief along the way.

And many people, including Lydia, had never talked to anybody about it. I mean, it's not the kind of thing that people feel they often have permission, especially in the wake of something like a suicide, to really talk about their feelings about everything. And so when I showed up and said, tell me exactly what you're feeling, I just felt like the floodgates opening with people. And it was intense, but, but again, like I was so grateful for it. I mean, I feel like in a way I'm in the trust business, you know, cause really what I'm doing is trying to get people to be as vulnerable and

open with me as possible. And that's a two way street. And, you know, I spent a lot of time with people, not just on camera, but many, many people in the film, I would take them out to lunch first. We'd have coffee or we talk on the phone and we build relationships and then we'd shoot. And then even after we would shoot, to this day, I'm getting on the phone and talking to people and we're all still processing Tony in real time. And, you know, it's a long, grief has a really long tail. And even people's feelings about Tony and his suicide were changing as I was making the film too, which was interesting. So I ended up interviewing about 34 people for the film, and I think only 18 are in the film,

which is something else I do a lot of, not because I like to waste people's time, but because I'm just trying to learn. And some of the people I interviewed who didn't make the film are amazing and gave great interviews. But at the end of the day, I just trying to learn and some of the people I interviewed who didn't make the film are amazing and gave great interviews. But at the end of the day, I was trying to condense a very complex person with a very big life and 20,000 hours of footage into a two-hour film. And so, you know, really, I've come to understand a lot of what I try and do is just to find an essence of a person. You know, it's a fool's errand for me to try and give you a cradle to grave story. Or, you know, it's like books can do it. Wikipedia can do it.

Films can't do it. It's just too reductive. But what you can do is try and capture just some truth or essence about a person. And in a way, this film, to me, became just a psychological portrait. You know, the question I asked myself constantly was, what was Tony thinking at this moment? And that became kind of my North Star when I was figuring out the story to tell when you're talking to subjects you know at lunch and over coffee and sort of beforehand i don't want this to seem ghoulish but are you do you feel like you're effectively rehearsing or like strategizing for how to have these conversations and do you feel

like there is an element of performance that comes with a film like this which i hope doesn't take away from the sincerity of the conversation but that you almost have to like get up to be, to perform correctly in a film. I, I, I mean, I think my job is actually listening. I know that sounds silly, but I mean, listening, actively listening, listening really, really hard. And, you know, when I do interviews, I prepare for them. I have lists of ideas, but when I do an interview, I don't break guy contact for four hours. You know, like I never look at notes. I never, you know, I am just 100% listening to them. And if they say something that's interesting, like, let's go down that alley. Like I'm, there's no, you know, kind of plan,

or I got to get to question number eight, like, forget that, you know, it's a conversation. That's my big thing. Morgan, did you say that just because I reached for my water bottle and broke eye contact with you? Is that why? On cue, it was perfect. Was there anybody who regretted having the conversation with you afterwards? Because you are showing, I mean, you know, our, our mutual acquaintance,

David Chang, David Cho. I mean, these guys are really raw to the bone in, in these conversations. Did anybody say afterwards, like, I wish I hadn't done that or I wish I hadn't said that.

How does that work? I mean, there were a couple of things. I mean, one is I think for people in Tony's world, you know, Atavia, his wife says it in the film that this is the only time she's ever going to speak publicly about Tony. Several people said that to me during their interviews. And I think there was this feeling of kind of saying it once, almost like an exorcism of like, I just want to put it out there and I don't have to do it again. But also that Tony was somebody who believed in kind of a brutal honesty about things. So it's not like people felt like they had to pull punches or just keep them on a pedestal. I mean, quite the opposite. People are like, I love Tony, but he could be such an asshole. You know, like lots of just like honest feelings

because, you know, Tony was so honest about himself, you know, particularly in his books, that I felt that people felt their obligation for Tony was more to be honest about things. But several people in the film didn't want to do interviews originally and came around to it. And they've all seen the film now. And I got some really, really nice emails from people saying, I was unsure about this. And I'm so grateful you did what you did for my friend. So getting an email like that just is kind of why I love doing this.

Yeah. The film works in two wonderful ways. It's a tribute and kind of an exploration of his life. Also, if you're not as familiar with what Bourdain did, it's like a great tease. It's a great setup for here's kind of everything you should get into. Here are the shows. Here are the books. Here is everything he contributed to the world. But there is also a sense of anger and frustration at him from some of the folks that you speak to, too. You can see that people are not really willing to let it go. Did that surprise you when you spoke to people? No, because I don't think it's not only that people are not ready to let it go. It's like, they're just starting to think about maybe letting it go that, you know, I think it's going to take a decade or more for some people to really process their feelings about

it. You know, if that, if ever, you know, and that's part of it. And, you know, I mean, really when I started making the film, like, again, like the first idea of making the film, when it came up, I just thought, I thought about all the things I liked about Bourdain and I got excited about that. Basically, within a week, I realized I was also making a film about suicide. It was so daunting in a way. That is a subject that has so much weight around it. It's part of what I felt like reflecting in the film, which is when I go into making a film and this is what I say to everybody, you know, when I would have these lunches with them before we'd shoot,

which is like, I have no agenda here. I have, you know, I, my mind is not made up about anything. Like, I just want to learn as much as I can and take in as much as I can and shape it into a story and reflect it back. Like, that's what I'm here to do. And part of that experience of spending so much time with all the people in his life and kind of dealing with the crater he left behind made me feel like I had to honor that in the film too. Like, that's the part of the film that Tony would have had a problem with, I think, because, you know, because he, that was like the blind spot in his life. Like Tony was so good at, he was so smart. He was so good at seeing the world and often good at seeing his own flaws. I mean, he wrote about them a lot, but I think there was a blindness in his life that really became

the tragedy of his life, which is he couldn't really see all of the good in his life. He was really good at seeing the bad in his life, but I think he couldn't really connect and even doubted things that he shouldn't have doubted, which is how much people loved him. I mean, I think he was always skeptical and, you know, always kind of pushed those ideas away of just like feeling it. You know, there's a scene in the film that to me was just kind of devastating when I saw it's so important,

which is when he gets together with Iggy Pop of all people, who was one of his absolute heroes. And Iggy, who's kind of seen it all, he asks him, what just thrills the shit out of you today? And Iggy says, to feel love and to appreciate the people giving that love to me. And like, oh my God, if that's not what Tony needed to hear. And I don't think Tony was ever really capable of that. And that I think is really kind of at the core of the tragedy of it.

It's interesting that you bring up Iggy because I was thinking about all the films you've made and, you know, this is my subjective point of view, but it seems like, you know, won't you be my neighbor and 20 feet from stardom? Are you probably your best known films? But almost all of your other films are about very similar archetypes. They're these iconic, charismatic, irascible people who leave behind this incredible body of work that people are still kind of picking over. Orson Welles, Keith Richards and Iggy are still alive. Johnny Cash, Gore Vidal, these people. What is it that attracts you to these kinds of figures? I mean, those are some of the most interesting people ever. So that's what attracts me to them. Tony, you know, what's interesting is, you know, cause people always say, Oh, you know, you just made Mr. Rogers film.

How were Tony and Mr. Rogers alike? You know, they weren't, I mean, other than having kind of a moral ethical point of view and kind of wanting to connect people. But, you know, I think he was much more like Orson Welles, you know, he showed a slightly different face to everybody. He was really good at self-sabotage, you know, just brilliant and quick-witted. And the funny thing is, you know, I made a film about Keith Richards and a film about Iggy. But to that Iggy point, you know, he loved Keith Richards and Iggy. You know, those are two of his heroes.

And they are the kind of the quintessential rock stars that have seen it all and come out the other side. And the thing that Keith and Iggy share is a kind of Zen of not caring what people think about them, not caring what's cool anymore, not caring about anything in a way that I find totally admirable. I wish I could be as Zen as Keith Richards, where he just enjoys being in the moment, enjoys what he's ever into, and utterly could care less what he looks like, what's happening, what anybody says. And Tony loved the idea of these guys. And I think in some ways wanted to emulate them, but Tony was the opposite. I mean, Tony gave a shit about everything, you know, what people thought, uh, how he dressed, how good the show was, you know, what the reviews were, you know, everything Tony, Tony utterly gave a shit.

And, um, and maybe he shouldn't have so much. I mean, I, I've been thinking about this idea of being jaded that, you know, we think of jaded as being a bad thing, but I'm like, God, I wish Tony was a little jaded. Like, I think Love Me When I'm Dead. I mean, it could have been the title of this movie in many ways. It feels like it took his death for the world to kind of agree that this was a totally unique figure. But similar to Wells and similar to that movie and similar to Fred Rogers and a number of other people, you have this incredible amount of archival footage to work with. I mean, Tony Bourdain was on camera for hours and hours and hours and hours, first as a celebrity chef author, and then as this incredible TV host and guide to culture. What do you do? How do you figure out what to put in the movie? I think over the years, I've done this more and more. And I was just talking to my editor yesterday, we're working on a What are the ideas I want to explore? And really just being really strict on those,

you know, that, you know, that I'm interested in, you know, certain moments. I mean, I, and I did this for Mr. Rogers, I did it for Bourdain, you know, I just come up with like a list of topics I'm interested in, and in a way feel like each scene becomes that. But there's like with Bourdain, with a lot of these, but like with Bourdain, with an insane amount of footage, I knew it'd be so easy to get lost going through that footage. And I feel like in a lot of archival docs, people get seduced by the footage. You know, it's like, oh, there's this cool thing. So that has to go in there. And oh, look at this cool thing here.

That has to go in there. And I think it's way, it's too reactive, you know, because you get seduced by the new shiny thing, the new shot, like, oh, that's cool. So it needs to go in. I'm like, no, maybe it doesn't, you know, maybe it doesn't have to go in. You know, maybe you should really think about go in, um, you know, maybe should really think about what you want to say and then do it. I mean, I, and not that I don't sometimes go down those alleys. I mean, I guess I could talk about one. I mean, I interviewed David Simon for this film and I love

David Simon and he worked with Tony. He was good friends with Tony. Tony wrote on Treme for a couple of seasons. And he had this great story that, you know, as you see in the film, Tony always kind of used Emeril as a whipping boy. Emeril Lagasse is a, you know, the celebrity chef who sold out and did TV and all that. And, you know, for years, Tony criticized him. And then in Treme, Emeril came on the show playing himself. And Tony wrote a monologue for him talking about why he made the decisions he made. You know, that ultimately it wasn't about success. It was about trying to help the people who work for him. And he was now the captain of the ship and they had families to feed and he had to keep growing to give them opportunity. And like, did it make him feel good every day? Maybe, maybe not, but it was responsibility and taking care of people at the end of the day and looking around at the people on your left and your right. That's what really matters to you. And it was like the ultimate rebuttal of everything Tony had ever criticized Emeril about. And Tony wrote it and I loved it. It just was so complicated to set all that up and then to see the scene and then to deconstruct the scene. You know,

those are the types of things that, you know, that you have to do when you're making a film and not a mini series, you know, but yeah, but were the the things that the kind of parameters i put on myself and i feel like the longer i've been doing this the more brutal i am in the edit bay of trying to cut cut stuff down and you know this film it's the longest film i've ever made it's 119 minutes it's the same running time as citizen kane i thought tony would have appreciated that so i think orson can do uh kane and 119 minutes like in deep ordain well you know like we just talked to quentin tarantino about doing like

just show us the three and a half hour cut of once upon a time in hollywood you know what i mean like everybody we live in an era now where you can expand, like, is there a universe in which on the extras of this film that you could show us the 30 minute conversation with David Simon about his time writing on Tremaine? Like, is that something you consider doing is sharing some of that stuff after the fact? Maybe. Yeah. I mean, in part, because again, like I'm so grateful that the people sat down and talked to me, even the people that didn't make the film. And like I said, there's great stuff. It theatrical or streaming or all blurring. And I've done stuff on all sides, but being able to do a movie where people are going to ostensibly give you their full attention for two hours

and tell a story, it's still like the thing that makes me get up in the morning. Like that's the ideal for me. You and me both, Morgan. Let me tell you, that's why I'm hosting this show. Tony had such a cinematic sense of the world. And as you said, such great taste,

what do you, what do you think you would think of this film? You know, I worked hard to get his, his DNA in there. You know, I mean the, the music,

you know, everything from Mr. Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence to Jonathan Richmond and the modern lovers. You know, I think there's a lot of it. the music you know uh everything from mr merry christmas mr lawrence to uh jonathan richmond and the modern lovers you know i think there's a lot of it tony would just have to smile about because it's so tony it's so and even little inside jokes of like a bunch of little things in there of like clips of movies i knew he loved or a scene I knew he loved that's in there for one second, you know, that nobody else knows really, you know, that I think he would appreciate. And several of his friends who are in the film wrote to me and said that

the Tony, one person said Tony would be proud and the other said Tony would begrudgingly love this film. That sounds right. So you mentioned you're working on another film. Can you talk about what that is? No, not yet. Come on. Soon.

Break some news, man. Jeez. Okay, Morgan, we end every episode of this show by asking filmmakers what's the last great thing they've seen. You are a noted film fan. Have you seen anything great lately? Summer of Soul. Yeah. Great. they've seen you are a noted film fan have you seen anything great lately um summer of soul yeah great what a time for for for music documentaries too you've got some experience there what'd you like about summer of soul i mean the music and the footage is undeniable i mean some of those performances the you know the mahalia jackson mavis staples performance like oh my god it's

you know i could just watch that in a loop, you know, for a day, you know. Did you have any awareness of that festival? Did you know about that? I did. I did. I mean, people have talked about turning that into a film for a long time, you know, and I was aware of it. And I talked to the guy that owned the footage a long time ago.

I think a lot of people have been circling it, but I actually think now is the right time for that film to be made. You know, I think there's such a kind of a growing awareness of, you know, the importance of that kind of music and particularly those untold stories or lost stories. Like how the hell did this story not get told before, which makes it feel even bigger right now. So I would encourage people to definitely go see that.

I would encourage them to check out Roadrunner too. And Morgan, thanks for coming back on the show. Appreciate it. Thanks so much, Sean. Good talking to you. Me too. Thanks to Morgan Neville and thank you to Amanda and Chris. And of course to our producer, Bobby Wagner for his work on this episode. And thank you to Brian Raftery. Please tune into the big picture next week because we will be launching the

first two episodes of Jean and Roger, the story of Siskel Ebert, a mini series that will run all summer on this feed hosted by Raftery. And thank you as always for listening to the big picture.