The Reel Rejects - DAN MURRELL Gets Personal: Crying at Movies, Emotional Highs, and More! (DOARR)

Episode Date: November 22, 2024

ONE OF MY DREAM GUESTS! Diary Of A Reel Reject with the legendary Dan Murrell, one of the most respected voices in film commentary and box office analysis. Known for his work with Screen Junkies and the Schmoedown, Dan shares incredible stories about the movies that shaped him, the emotional impact of cinema, and his fascinating journey as both a creator and editor. From E.T. to Star Wars, The Sixth Sense to Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, we dive into the films that left a lasting impression on Dan’s life. Along the way, we also explore pop culture staples like Spider-Man: No Way Home, Avengers, and Rush Hour, and uncover the influence of Spielberg classics like Jaws. Whether it's laughing over Saturday Night Live sketches, connecting with the heartfelt drama of Boyhood, or reminiscing about Brady Bunch and Dawson’s Creek, this conversation is packed with deep dives and nostalgic fun. Dan opens up about his first R-rated movie experience, the characters who shaped his personality, and how E.T. became a defining film for him. Plus, we talk about iconic moments like crowd reactions to Spider-Man: No Way Home, the haunting twist of The Sixth Sense, and the magic of preserving first-time movie theater experiences. If you're a fan of Dan Murrell, or just love hearing passionate discussions about film and pop culture, this is a must-watch. Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more in-depth interviews and reactions! Support The Channel By Getting Some REEL REJECTS Apparel! https://www.rejectnationshop.com/ Music Used In Manscaped Ad:  Hat the Jazz by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ POWERED BY @GFUEL Visit https://gfuel.ly/3wD5Ygo and use code REJECTNATION for 20% off select tubs!! Head Editor: https://www.instagram.com/praperhq/?hl=en Co-Editor: Greg Alba Co-Editor: John Humphrey Music In Video: Airport Lounge - Disco Ultralounge by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ask Us A QUESTION On CAMEO: https://www.cameo.com/thereelrejects Follow TheReelRejects On FACEBOOK, TWITTER, & INSTAGRAM:  FB: https://www.facebook.com/TheReelRejects/ INSTAGRAM:  https://www.instagram.com/reelrejects/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/thereelrejects Follow GREG ON INSTAGRAM & TWITTER: INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/thegregalba/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/thegregalba Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did you know that at Chevron, you can fuel up on unbeatable mileage and savings? With Chevron rewards, you'll get 25 cents off per gallon on your next five visits. All you have to do is download the Chevron app and join to start saving on fuel. Then you can keep fueling up on other things like adventure, memories, vacations, daycations, quality time, and so many other possibilities. Head to your nearest Chevron station to fuel up and get rewarded today. Terms apply. See Chevron Texciscorewards.com for more details. Introducing the new Volvo XC90 with seven-seat versatility,

Google built-in, and advanced safety features for all your precious cargo. The new Volvo XC90, designed for life. Visit volvocars.com slash us to learn more. At Sierra, you'll always find apparel footwear and gear for 20 to 60% less than department and specialty store prices. But right now it's clearance time, so you can save even more on everything you need to get active and outside. Visit your local Sierra store today. Today we are welcoming someone on Diary of a Real Reject, who has been one of my top five dream

guests since I thought of this podcast. His depth of knowledge, sharp insights, his impressive level of communication, and his passion for cinema are unmatched. I'm talking about the legendary Dan Murrow. Someone who's contact info I've had for a few weeks now, but I've been like, will he say yes? Will he say yes? And I'm like, all right, now that I've crafted this text message, let me hit send. And he said yes, like right away. Who was your celebrity? Celebrity crush growing up and why? I had the biggest crush on King. Oh.

If you felt like crying during a film. I was not a big movie crier until maybe... Can you recall the first time you snuck into a rated R movie? What that might have been? Probably snuck into American Pie, tried to sneak into Blair Witch, but got caught after buying popcorn and soda, which sucked because then we just had to take our overpriced snacks home. But eventually, we got in.

You could bring your parent to buy tickets and they could sign. They did that? I had no idea. What is going on there, Citizens of the Reject Nation? Welcome to another installment of Diary of Real Reject, the podcast where we talk about movies, TV shows, and possibly celebrities of how they have helped shape our identities. Today, we are joined with someone whose contact info I've had for a few weeks now, but I've been like, will he say yes? Will he say yes?

It's been on my mind. And I was like, all right, now that I've crafted this text message, let me hit send. And he said yes, like right away. I was very much honored. This is, of course, Dan, Merle. Dan, how are you? I'm good. I assumed you already had it, honestly.

No need to. I'll usually say. yes uh you know what else have i got going on i it's a lot actually but uh yeah i'm happy to be here thank you so much um i'm gonna you're you're obviously going to be you're the guest you're going to be the one who's primarily talking through this but if you would allow me just like a minute to explain where i'm coming from today since this is called diary of a real reject i got a little bit of a diary of my dan journey oh wow okay in my own little headcan in here because is Dan and I, we've, like, done several things together.

We've, we've had several, like, collaborations together. We've talked several times off camera. Yet, there's this thing in my brain. And I think you might be the only one I still have this with, where I, my fan side of you, this could either go really well or really awkward. What's the point of doing a podcast? We're not going to take some risk in conversation. Let's do it.

is that I've my fan side has never really quite gone away when speaking with you like it'll still be at the forefront of my mind like we've we've even had a one-on-one movie fights and for you guys who might not know what movie fights is anymore um it was a screen junkie show where they would do like movie debates and i had a one-on-one match with dan the whole time and and it was still like one of the most out-of-body experiences and i and i don't think i ever told you this so i'm going to finally minute right now my wife can attest to this this really happened this is the first time this ever happened to me wouldn't be the last was that the night before that movie fight i got i was getting so nervous and anxious and i was feeling like rocky balboa in in the first rocky like i just

got to go at the distance with this guy i actually broke out all over my body into hives oh good everywhere and that's what on that match that's not even it's not hyperbole at all i actually broke out into hives. And then I, that's why I wore long sleeves that day. We went to movie fights because I was like, I was so nervous about how this was going to go down. So the fact that you are here right now on Real Rejects is, is an absolute honor to me. And I, you've been one, I came up with this podcast a few months ago. And when I came up with it, I was like, who do I want? And you have been one of the top of the list dream guests. So again, thank you for being here. Well, listen, I am as awkward about receiving praise as you may feel about your self-giving praise.

Thank you very much. I mean, I mean, I honestly, I feel like you're doing me a favor for talking about the world of YouTube. I mean, you guys have long since passed me on the left. I mean, you guys are in a different stratosphere. I'm just here talking numbers and crazy, you know, make-em-ups, but you guys are crushing it. So that's very, very nice. I feel somewhat guilty because I never want to be responsible for any sort of a breakout or anything with the skin, any kind of skin issue. I've had those myself.

So, yeah, I wish people still knew what movie fights was. I loved movie fights, and I wish it was something that was still going on, because I had a lot of fun. And it's been so interesting to hear people say that they still remember it, and they still remember watching it. You know, a lot of people say, like, hey, do you remember that time on movie fights? You know, you were doing this Greg Alba, and it was round three. And the question was this, and I have to always say, like,

I am so grateful to you, but I am so sorry. I do not remember a single thing from movie fights. It's just out of my head the second it was over. But it's amazing that people still remember the show. And I loved doing it. I've wanted to try to figure out how to bring it back for a while now. But, you know, there's a whole process behind that. Yeah, I saw that they had like one episode back and I saw the guest start on it.

I weirdly caught the notification for it. And hopefully it does come back one day because it was a monumental time. And I think it really did actually help, you know, coming from a reaction channel, one thing I really wanted to prove one is that I'm more than just a guy who can make a big face. Like I really wanted to show I can comment and talk about movies as well and stand out in the sphere. And I feel like that show in particular really helped change that trajectory for us. So yeah, no, I mean, you've been, to this day, you've been like my face. I've said it many times before, like on camera without before today.

I've said many times you are my favorite movie critic, so I want to just dive into it with you, buddy. Let's do it. My first question that I asked everyone, because I just felt like, I just feel like this is a fun question. I don't even know if anyone really gets a kick out of this question as much as I do, but I like asking it. Who was your celebrity crush growing up and why? Oh, boy. I mean, I had several. I will say when I was 16, I think 16, 15, 16.

15, 16 years old. There's a show that I'm sure we probably remember, but maybe not many people do, but Dawson's Creek at that time, the WB. And it was about a 16-year-old kid who loved Stephen Spielberg, wanted to grow up making movies, which was literally

me at that time. And so of course I was drawn to that show, but I had the biggest crush on Katie Holmes. Really, Katie Holmes? Yes, I had it. I had it bad for Joey Potter. And so that was, you know, sort of like, I always remember that show, and I've gone back and tried to watch it. It's not a wonderful show. It's not terrible either.

But I was very enamored with Katie Holmes at that time. And, you know, it was very bizarre. You know, Tom Cruise stole her away from me. So, you know, there went my shot. But that's one of the ones that really jumps into my head just because it was tied to that show, which was already so similar to my life at that time. And yeah, Katie Holmes is a big one for me. What would you say was about Katie Holmes other than just maybe, maybe not just physically, but is there something internally what I've noticed about celebrity crushes is like sometimes when we get older, we don't realize what it was that we were actually gravitated towards them until we get older. They're like, oh, that's probably why I actually was beyond the physicality. Was there something about her or

the character in particular? She just had that kind of like relatable girl next door because that's literally what she was on the show but but she seemed like somebody who like I could possibly meet someday like not her specifically but like that kind of that kind of girl would be like oh wow it would be really cool to meet somebody like that

who's like independent she's caring but also isn't afraid to challenge you like I don't know I guess I like the way they wrote the character and I don't know it just seemed like I guess when you're when you're a teenager major, and you're talking about crushes, like, I think you go one of two ways. Like, some people go for, like, the unattainable. Um, at that time, you know, would be like the kids, the guys that I was at school with that would go like, you know, Pamela Anderson or whatever. Um, and then I think

that some people go for like the attainable route in the sense of like somebody who's a little bit more like somebody that you might actually come across in life. And I, and I think that might have been what it was. Hmm. That's really interesting. The last thing I expected for you was to say Dawson's Creek out of all the shows. It's every week. without fail, at least through like, until I went to college and then he went to college and then it got a little soapy. It was always a little soapy, but it lost a little bit of that relateability. But yeah, no, every week I was watching Dawson's Creek. Well, that makes me really curious because you grew up an only child, and I didn't grow up

an only child, but I would certainly say like a lot of my personality was certainly influenced by certain television shows. I was watching more than movies, my personality itself. was influenced by. Was there like a TV show character or a movie character growing up that you found your personality influenced by? Not necessarily, I don't think, because I was very invested in the nuts and bolts of it all. So it wasn't really like I take inspiration from that character. It was more like I take inspiration from that movie and I want to know how it was made or

something like that I always kind of wanted to peek behind the curtain you know what's I got to be like you know of course when I was six years old I wanted to be Batman because Batman came out but as I got older and started learning more about movies it became more about the show or the movie itself and wanting to know like you know

how does that how does that work or how does it get made not that I wouldn't get invested in a story or anything but yeah it was a little less about characters influencing me a little bit more about the movies and shows themselves That's fascinating. So you have talked plenty about your mom in other interviews I've heard you talk about in the past before and how influential she was to you. Would you watch, but I've never actually heard you talk about watching movies with your mom. Have you ever, was there any movies that you could think of that like if you watch this movie, you think of your mom of a shared

memory experience having with her witnessing this film? Um, I mean, my mom was incredible. It was pretty much just me and her from the time that it was very, very young. Um, I had a wonderful family, great people in the community that were also hugely critical to bringing me up. But my mom was always the, the bedrock of it. And, um, really, I mean, you know, we would go to the movies all the time. Um, but when I think back, it's less about movies and more about things like, you know, she would go with me to the comic book. store on Saturday and you know when I needed a was looking for a certain back issue of X-Men or you know at Christmas she would figure out which hologram card from the Marvel series four pack I was missing and she would go and try to find it um you know she she showed a genuine interest in what I wanted to do and then when I wanted to you know when I was smaller I wanted to direct and then as I got older editing and then now moving into main on camera stuff she was always so supportive of that and and knowledgeable and invested and wanted to know you know I talked

her ear off when DVD players were coming out about here's this thing and this and his but there's this other format called divix and they say that it could compete and you know like she would just listen and was actually invested because she understood that that's what I wanted to do um so you know there were times, like I remember one time the Brady Bunch movie came out and she hated the Brady Bunch. Hated it. Hated it so bad, but

I wanted to go see it. And I was just young enough that I was too young to go by myself. And I remember she went with me. She brought a Walkman and listened to like the Arkansas Razorback game during the movie because she just couldn't stomach it. But she went with me

because she knew I wanted to go see it. So that's really what I think of is, you know, like there are other family members where there are specific movies that I remember. With my mom, it's always just generally that complete support always in what I wanted to do and like a genuine interest in what I was interested in. And that made me feel like it was okay for me to go down the road. I was going down. Your mom invented the version that people do today when they're on their phones and how to distract themselves in the theaters. Pretty much. You know, and she could have just said, no, I'm not going to go see that movie.

It's, I hate the Brady Bunch and I'm not going to go. But I wanted to go so bad that she did what she needed to do to make it happen. That is really neat. You've talked so much about her. Like, I admire your mom just from how much you have talked about her. And it got me really curious, like, when thinking about what to talk about with you, like, the very first thing that actually came to mind that I wanted to ask you was, is there a movie character dynamic? Like, it's a two-fold question.

Is there a movie character dynamic between mother and son that you could most liking your relationship to? And on the flip, is there a character in a movie or a show that you would say can most resemble your mother? There's two that they kind of spring to mind, and they're both single moms. One of them is Elliot's mom in E.T. just because she was keeping it together.

I mean, you know, you could tell, and I like that Spielberg kind of kept that on the fringe. So you kind of knew what was going on, but it's so much from the kids' point of view. And she just keeps it together. You have that scene where you see her breakdown, but the kids aren't there. You know, she's sort of on her own.

So I think about that just sort of strength and that just like, all right, I'm keeping this family together, even though I didn't have siblings. And then I also saw a lot of it in boyhood. Now, I didn't have any of that dramatic craziness that went on in that movie, you know, like the drunk stepdad and all the...

But especially the part where he's getting ready to go to college because I think that... I saw a lot in Patricia Arquette's performance there. That's sadness. And I think when I was going to college, It was one of the first times I ever consistently was able to detect that my mom was sad. Oh, interesting. It sort of, it made me understand just how difficult this was for both of us.

And it was sort of like a rite of passage. Like, she was allowing me to see adult emotions from her. And, you know, and she didn't, it wasn't that she was, she didn't repress anything, but she was very, very careful about making sure that I was a kid. And if there was stuff going on, she'd handle it. And that wasn't stuff that should be handed down to me. But I saw a lot of that, you know, we weren't quite as combative as they were at times in that movie. But that really spoke a lot to me.

That's specifically when he was going to college because you understand just how devastating that is, especially to a parent, you know, he had, I think, a sister in that movie, but to a parent who's raised kids basically on or old. Fascinating because I'm remembering how you might have said this on the Christian Harlop interview, actually, that E.T was the movie that got you into being interested in filmmaking. Because there was just so much more to it. I'm like, well, the music, the special effects, the makeup and all that stuff. I'm like, how did they do that?

How did they make that? Yeah. Was the emotional connection, though, that perhaps that you made to that, movie, a part of the springboard to actually being interested in filmmaking, though. That's very, I mean, that's very possible. That's very possible because in many ways, Elliot's life was reflective of mine, you know, a single mom, suburban life. There were times, you know, I didn't have siblings, and there were times where I felt

kind of lonely and the idea of like a friend showing up and all of that stuff. that's very possible I mean you never know how these things bond with you on a DNA genetic level especially when you're young

so I think it is very possible that I connected to that movie so strongly because I saw a lot of elements of my life in it and to widen that out Steven Spielberg had a lot of those same elements

in his life and maybe that's why I connected to him as a filmmaker I mean that's why I love talking about movies and when people say like oh they're just movies I'm like, well, some of them are, but like some of them are actually very, if you dig into it,

they can become very informative about who you are as a person, who other people are as well. Yeah, that's exactly why I wanted to do this show. And you've already been giving very substantive answers. I really appreciate it very much. Is there, I mean, I'm so, I'm still so fascinated with like your mom, honestly, just because of how you've talked about her. And then this interesting support level, can you think? think of a what if there was a movie that like with your bond with her if you felt like crying during a film are you comfortable to cry around her during a movie i was not a big movie

cryer until maybe 2020 exactly well i mean i i'd say within the last 10 years um and i think it's because a couple of reasons number one i was maybe just a little more detached than some people were because I was so interested in how it was done. And again, it's not that I didn't get swept up in the story or everything, but I was always sort of conscious on the filmmaking level and all that, how the movie's put together. But also, I mean, you don't really get certain things until you've achieved and attained a certain amount of life experience. And that's not necessarily years, but it is experience. And so there are movies now that hit me completely differently than they did 10 years ago.

There are movies now that hit me completely differently than they did 10 months ago. I mean, that's another thing that I love about movies is they once, you know, unless you're dealing with like Blade Runner, once the movie's done, it's done. It's not, it doesn't change. Every frame is the same. Every cut is the same.

Every line, every take. Everything is exactly the same. But you change. And so it's been interesting to me as I've gotten older. how I can take a movie that's objectively exactly the same as it was the last time I saw it, but because I've gone through so many different things now, its meaning has changed or deepened or lessened or whatever.

That's been an interesting discovery. So I didn't really ever cry that much at movies until somewhat recently because I just think that there's a certain amount of identification that I need to do at least in order to do that, but I'm finding that that happens more and more now. Wow, there's a whole lot to unpack in this one thing

there is. It's quite a thesis statement. Yes, absolutely. I mean, I guess my first follow-up to what you said would be what movie does come to mind that perhaps as you've grown older, that you had a completely different point of view on that perhaps you didn't fully emotionally connect with,

but then as you've had some life experiences, you suddenly really emotionally connect with this movie. Can you think of anything offhand? Well, there's one that, and I've talked about it pretty extensively, so I won't say the movie specifically, but it's a movie that's been out for 20 years now, and I had always cited it as one of the things I lived about the movie so much was the ending, and I thought that the ending was so hopeful

and bittersweet. I watched it again somewhere recently and again over the years and things happened as you get older same movie, same thing that was my favorite thing about it and I still love the movie but

the ending I completely saw it a different way. It was far more tragic and far more sad to me because life happens and you're all of a sudden viewing everything through a different lens and that's not to say in 10 years if I watched that movie again maybe I'll feel more about it like I did the first time I saw it but that that's what I mean is like and you're not even aware

of what it's happening but it can so sharply change based on certain things I mean there are movies that, you know, I watch with my uncle, who was a massive influence on my life. We go to the movies all the time. It was our Thanksgiving tradition. And so there were movies that I always remembered seeing with him, but he passed several years ago. And now those movies are like treasures for me, because now they're sort of all connected and tied to this, like, finite amount of memory that I have with him. And so they become so much more. um you know valuable to me uh that thing you do is one of them it's a movie that i always loved but now that is like a touchstone memory you know uh young frankenstein is another one

one of his favorite movies that is a touchstone movie now for me because it's so closely tied to um our relationship and and when you know when the clock runs out on something then everything kind of stops as far as building something new, so you go back and grab on to what you have. We have Thanksgiving coming up just in a couple weeks. Is there a movie that you would watch in honor of your uncle? I mean, the one that I think would be the most in honor of him is Mr. Holland's opus because he was a high school band director.

And at his service, it was like that movie and that you saw Jim generations of kids who had, you know, who had been his teacher and who remembered him and his current kids, et cetera, you know, that would be the one that I think would be a tribute to who he was and the legacy he left outside of my immediate family. But, you know, speaking directly to our time together, it would honestly be, I mean, if you're going to go for the ultimate marathon, I remember the day after Thanksgiving, I want to say, 1995, We went to a triple feature. We went to see Ace Ventura when nature calls, golden eye,

and then the whole family went and saw Toy Story. Wow. That would be like the ultimate triple feature. If we were going to talk about like true, like, you know, honoring like that, I'll never forget that day. What a random selection of, I mean, I would go to my dad to movies a lot. And we would theater hop like, where did you buy tickets to these or did you theater hop?

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. No, no, no. No, never theater hop, always buy the tickets. We were theater hop. We were little thieves in his little children. All right. Yeah.

I would only do that if we, before we could get into rated-d-R movies, my friends and I would buy a ticket for a different movie and then go into the theater playing the rated-at-R movie, but I don't think we ever snuck in. I think if I recall correctly, you said that, like, once you were like, your mom was pretty respective of, like, wherever a rating system

was at. So once it was PG-13, you could go watch it at 13. Can you recall the first time you snuck into a rated R movie, what that might have been? Let's see. I know that I snuck in to see Varsity Blues. 100%. You are a Dawson's Creek fan. I was a Dawson's Creek fan. Plus, I mean, that was a whole other legendary thing for a 16-year-old boy at that time. That's one that I definitely remember sneaking into it was varsity blues probably snuck into american pie yeah i would have had to have snuck into american pie tried to sneak into belar witch but got caught oh wow yeah i know those those ones i know for sure there wasn't really a big window between when i actually felt okay with sneaking into an r-rated movie and when i could actually go see r-rated movies so they were

mostly when i was like 16 years old but yeah those were the big ones i doubt the night that we went in through the exit door to sneak into varsity blues because we got busted because they carded us when they were when they were tearing the tickets um definitely snuck in to see uh american pie i do remember that and yeah the blair witch project got busted after buying popcorn and soda which sucked because we just had to take our overpriced snacks home um and then we went to see the haunting which was insult to injury um but eventually we got in because you could go you could bring your parent to buy tickets and they could sign like basically if they'd buy the ticket and they'd sign off on you going you could go at least at that time um so it did eventually

get to see a Blair witch but we didn't get to sneak in oh that's i had no idea you they did they did at the united ars lakewood eight um in north litter rock arkansas which no longer exists uh they had a policy where you could go um with a parent or guardian and if they bought the ticket and signed you could then go if you were under 17 in your videos you talk about how there's been a bit of a bit more of a developing film community in arkansas and growing up though it sounds to me like there really wasn't can you and you're talking about sneaking into these like r rated movies and such can you recall who like your first close friend was where you became like cinefile buddies with like for me that was actually John Humphrey, and I'm still friends in his day. So, I mean, but do you have one in Arkansas

of all places? Yeah, I mean, there were always, I was always the most into movies of pretty much anybody that I knew. But yeah, I mean, when I was like five, six years old, I had a best friend named Justin, who, uh, we would watch, you know, his dad was a centophile. His dad has a had a laser disc player. Oh, hell yeah. Only person I ever knew that had a laser disc player. So, he was into movies too so we watched but we'd watch you know land before time and batman and that kind of stuff um my best friend who i now live five minutes away from we would go to the movies all the time he's he's not as into movies as i am um now but we still go to the movie you know like i just took him and his oldest son we just took him to his first

movie in the theater um so you know he's still interested in movies um but we would go especially in the summer we'd go all the time and so that was that was always something that we did together so yeah I mean I definitely found friends that were interested in movies but nobody really that was into filmmaking or anything like I was

it wasn't until I got to college and I found my people as I always say that it was like oh here's a community of people that don't just like movies they want to make movies they want to get into it you know, all that stuff. Ah, so, because I'm growing up in L.A., there's constantly a debate about should you go to film school, should you not go to film school?

And it sounds to me that for someone, especially from the area you grew up in, going to film school was kind of integral to shaping you because of not just like the skill set of learning how to edit, but also the friends you make, the connections you make, the community you cultivate. I mean, that was my biggest takeaway. I actually did not get into film school proper at Florida State because they only took, I think, like 15 people a year. But it was actually good timing because this was in 2003 when I actually sort of ran out of chances to get in. And they rightfully at that time, they were teaching you how to work with film stock and load a camera and, you know, cut on on film. But the sort of backup program was media production, which was all digital video, nonlinear editing, sort of shooting on the fly.

And by the time I graduated in 2005, moved to L.A., that's where everything was moving, especially if you wanted to make your own stuff. And as you get into the YouTube era, that's what YouTube was. And so through that sort of fluke of timing, not getting into film school actually equipped me with a lot of skills that I would then use right away. when I moved to LA and that actually were very helpful. But the connections that I made there were, you know, not just invaluable as far as finding work when I moved to L.A. I knew one guy who I went to Florida State with who got me my first job and that kept me afloat for a while. But also those are the people that I worked with in L.A. I mean, most of them moved out there and I collaborated with them and we connected each other to people.

And I mean, that community is so, that network is so invaluable, whether you get that through film school or some other place. I just don't know how you can make it without having that. It's vital. It's crucial. I got the job at Screen Junkies through a guy I met at Channel 101, which I got into from my friend of Florida State. I mean, it's like you just have to make those connections.

You went into editing. Is there a movie that you saw that made you go, What was the first movie you can recall that where you got fascinated with the prospect of editing itself? That was actually kind of organic. I never really saw a movie where I was like even really conscious of the editing. But it started out with like, I would say, oh, I like this scene from this movie and this scene from that movie and this scene from that movie. I want to put them all on one tape so I can watch all those scenes together. And so I'd hook up two VCRs to each other.

And, you know, plus press play record on one and press play on the other and record the scene I wanted and then stop and put in the next tape and press record again. And then I'd have this tape that was all my favorite movie scenes together. I'm like, oh, that's cool. And so then I was like, well, what about Saturday Night Live? I love Saturday Night Live. I want to get all my favorite sketches on one tape. And so I would tape it off Comedy Central. And then I was like, well, I want to put like an intro on it.

So I experimented with, like, you know, doing a little royal tenenbaum style intro to it. And then it just kind of went from there. And then, you know, my initial thought was I want to direct and stuff. But as I started editing more and more, I just was fascinated with piece. It's like putting things together, like a puzzle. And so eventually I was like, I got to a point where I knew that I was going to have to just strike out in a direction. And I said, I want to try editing. So I left the job that I was at in 2011, I want to say,

and said, all right, I'm going to be freelance editor. Again, use those connections, call my friends. Hey, anybody got any work? And I did some corporate videos for gin air appliances. Oh, my God. I did whatever. I mean, I did a low, low, low, low, like clean up on a low, low, low budget movie. You know, some web pilots for web series for people.

And then one of my buddies, Brett Weiner, who I will give never-ending credit to, at that time, was working at break media and said, hey, we're starting this new show called The Screen Junkies Show. Do you want to come in and edit the first episode? And I'm like, yeah, sure. And then I did that for a few months. And then I made a trailer for our Channel 101 award ceremony at the end of the year. And shortly after that, he came up to me. And he's like, hey, man, I didn't know you could edit like that. Do you want to try editing one of the honest trailers that we do?

Because they had someone else doing them. And I'm like, yeah, sure, I'll do that. And so then I sort of became the full-time editor and doing both of those things. And then it was off to the races. And I know you still edit to this day. And you're very much of a skilled editor. A lot of times, especially YouTubers, they have to learn the skill of editing, like myself. I'm not a trained editor, but I had to learn how to edit for this.

But I rarely hear you actually talk about editing. in your reviews. Does editing ever... How often do you notice editing now? Do you really pay attention to it? Is it something that's not really in the forefront of your mind when you are observing a film?

Honestly, I'm kind of of the opinion unless you're doing a very stylized movie like Requiem for a Dream. Editing should not be something you notice. You know, unless you're really doing like heavy use of montage. I mean, edited, there's a skill.

and an art form to editing but most of the time if you hear me talk about the editing of a movie it's because it's bad usually something is not has to gone wrong I think that it should be fairly

effective but invisible and that's why you don't hear me mention it a lot and I probably should because one of my gripes with you know like the Academy Awards is like the Academy Award for Best Editing is usually most editing. It's not necessarily the best editing right right that's not to say like you know a movie like whiplash is one of the best

edited films of all time um you know jaws is one of the best edited most of the best movies of all time are also the best edited movies of all time for a reason because it sets the tone it sets the tempo it sets the pace it's the comedic timing it's the timing on the scares it's how long you stay on the shot after the big reveal or how long which take which performance you're going to use it's absolutely vital uh but i always also think that you should almost not be aware that it's happening. I agree. And that's one of the hard parts about,

because I rarely talk about editing myself unless it is bad. And I found myself like going, I would love to be able to point it out more, you know? But it seems kind of, it's weirdly hard to talk about to, for me at least when it's good because it's so often you chalk it up to the director or like the direction of the movie when really a lot of times that you don't actually know, like, the editor, so much of a film is completely reconstructed

once you're in the editing room, and it's really hard to talk about it. I get anxiety just thinking about, I was watching Return of the King recently, and I was thinking about, like, you know, the battle of Pelnor Fields and the fact that if you're Jamie Selkirk and you're sitting there editing that movie, you have hours and hours of media, hundreds of camera angles and you have to and none of it has visual effects and you have to craft an entire battle out of it and just gives me anxiety like how do you even start it feels like starting a one million piece puzzle and so the if you sit and think about it and if you watch how it's constructed and how you know how do you choose this shot for 27 or you know 23 frames versus this one for two

seconds and three but it's perfect and it's like that is the stuff you don't usually notice but should be given a lot of credit you know you brought return of the king and i cite that as the very first movie i ever saw where the crowd was going nuts i know nowadays when people if you ask someone like what's a crazy movie theater experience you have people often say like a marvel movie like avengers end game or spider man no way home yeah return of the king for me was the first movie I went to where I was like, people are going insane in here. They went crazy. What was, do you know what the first movie was that you went to the theaters for where the crowd was like, like, like it was a stadium of people just like applauding and cheering and stuff?

The first movie I remember they're actually being applause after, strangely, is rush hour. Oh, really? Yeah. I remember, I remember distinctly seeing rush hour in the theaters. And it, and it's, I think it's the last scene on the plane. and Jackie Chan singing war and Chris Tucker's, you know, and then it's smash cuts to Rush Hour and people like, you know, it was like, I definitely remember people applauding during that.

And that was, it was, what, 15, I think, when that movie came out. So that sounds about right. I'm sure there were other, I'm sure there are movies where, like, people were into it and laughing and screaming, but, like, I remember people, like, breaking into applause after Rush Hour. Is this in Arkansas? Yeah. Okay, all right, awesome.

Played huge in Arkansas. comedy really hits okay gotcha but was there a film where people were like um like because return of the king was like a movie where people were cheering throughout and like clapping throughout hollering you know did you have that outside of a comedy yeah um i mean i definitely remember it in return of the king um i the first uh weekend of phantom menace was pretty was that was very and also attack of the clones I mean I think

as people step back from it you know the prequels and even different generations think differently about the prequels but certainly my generation the prevailing thing was always oh the prequel sucked and it's like I'm not going to disagree

on a lot of your thoughts but I will also say I was in a theater on opening weekend for all of them and those audiences did not think they sucked at the time in the room Yoda and the whole life lightsaber thing, that got an ovation. Phantom menace, that got a huge

reaction from the people in the theater. I think it's, as you look back on it, you start to realize maybe, you know, oh, well, yeah, this wasn't so great, this wasn't so great, but there was a palpable excitement in the room for the Star Wars prequels, and that's another one,

1999, and that was the most hype that I remember around a movie probably up to that point for me. I mean, there had been big movies, but that one was just like nutty, insane. I know as two people who have had to deal with the way Star Wars fandom can go down on the internet, how it can be a little bit tough from time to time, needless to say, does looking back on that, did you love those movies with that crowd that you were with?

Were you there still observing and detached a little bit? or were you going, I love this because you're with, you're feeling the crowd. I was, you know, 16 when Phantom Menace came out, I remember leaving the movie thinking like, yeah, Jar Jar's dumb, but the, but those, the pod race and the, in battle and like, that stuff was so cool. Like, you know, it's like, it doesn't matter how dumb that other stuff is.

That stuff is so cool. And then over time, I think I hadn't seen it in probably three or four years. And I saw it again, I think right around the time episode three came out. And I was like, oh, man, no, I don't. Yeah, the bad stuff is worse than I remember. And it sort of tempered that a little bit. I still think that other stuff is pretty cool. Attack of the clones, I remember thinking it was sort of the opposite thing.

It was like, well, there's some really cool stuff in it, but man, the bad stuff is really bad. I was never really on board with that. And then Revenge of the Sith, it had lost me, really, by that point. But Phantom Menace specifically, I remember thinking, coming out of it, thinking it was a really, really cool movie and it was only sort of going back a detached from and more I realized like well actually no there's there's the stuff that bothered me the at first really bothers me a lot more no yeah you see that's part of the fun aspect of talking about movies to me is thinking about the movie theater experience sometimes like do I want to just hold on to that and treasure what

that was versus intellectualizing it later on and like disliking it later on and I feel like Star Wars in particular can actually often have that effect a lot of the big movies I think now I think it still happens to this day with big movies yeah it does I mean I I love that experience though I saw um I never actually well I didn't see Avengers end game with a opening weekend crowd I saw it at a press screening and it was pretty emotional motive for a press screening. Press screenings are usually pretty, not that they're silent,

but you sort of tamped down a lot of the reaction, and people were still going nuts for endgame, and I never went to see it with an opening weekend crowd, and I actually kind of regretted that. And so I made it a point. Spider-Band No Way Home was the same. I saw the press screening, and people were excited,

but it wasn't like, you know, that sort of... I knew that it was going to be massive once it came out, and I made it a point to go, see it on opening weekend with a full house and it was one of my favorite movie experiences ever apart from the fact that I really like the movie is like knowing what was coming and feeling you could feel it in the room like that that that sort of building up and then the release oh just to be in a room where you understand that much positive energy is being brought out by the same thing and everybody's having a good time that was so much for you.

fun. That's going to be one of my favorite theater experiences ever. And again, it's not because I'm saying like, oh, No Way Homes were the best movies ever made. I really like that movie, but like that experience of seeing that crowd and watching that crowd react was so fun. Yeah, you're bringing me back because I did go to the, I think I actually was fortunate enough to go to the premiere for No Way Home. Okay. But I was in a different, like, they have the theater where like the actual stars are. And they have the other one where like, I can go to. And I was in that one. And of course, the crowd was going nuts but you're like kind of with it and the second time i watched it i just had the i went on opening night and i had the opportunity to just observe what it was like and there is something

kind of like beautiful about watching it when you get the opportunity where you know what's going to happen you know troyo magas going to come on screen and all this stuff and you get an opportunity to just it is one of our advantages of when we do get to go to like a press screening to have a moment like that if we want to take it and one of my random questions for i wanted to gauge your um interest on this. Press screenings for me are so hit or miss post the press screening is because I usually try to avoid talking to people because I find the vibe generally is someone is coming to my face to tell me like here's they're asking me what did you think so they can rant about the movie to my face. And so I generally try to like dodge everyone when I'm at a press screening. What is your

general vibe at a press screen. Do you want to talk with people, gauge other people's opinions, or do you try to, like, get out of there? No, I try to get out of there. Because I want to make sure that my thoughts are not in any way commingled with anybody else's thoughts. You know, I don't want somebody to mention something that I might kind of affect my thoughts on the movie or, you know, I want to make sure that I, I am thinking what I think, you know, I don't see a whole, I don't see as many movies before they come out as I used to because they don't, the screenings are not as frequent here and even when they are, sometimes they're hours away and I can't always make the time to do that. So I don't watch reviews for movies I haven't seen before I see them. I don't,

I don't want to take in anybody else's thoughts before I have a chance to see it myself because, yeah, I don't. And you're right, there's a general vibe. I remember when the first Venom movie came out, the room was just, you could tell so many people made up their minds. I remember somebody sitting behind me just sits down and just like, all right, let's get this piece of crap over with. And it's like, okay, well, if you're walking into it with that mentality, then you're probably going to find a way to validate that. So, you know, I don't, I try not to figure out what people are thinking going in and I try not to figure out what people are thinking leaving because I want to give every movie a fair shot on either side and that involves

me processing my opinion and then I'll talk to you about it and I'll get your thoughts and I want to hear what you think but yeah I don't I don't really want to talk to everybody and yeah like I mean you know afterwards there's usually just like the lobby is just pods of people sitting around talking about the movie and it's just like no I don't want to dissect it with you yet I have dissect it for myself first and then we can dissect it together yeah no i'm i'm very much like let everyone leave first then i'll sneak out of here right yeah i'm very much that guy yeah okay but i'm glad we're on the same page about that specifically i remember you like the first venom movie as well i did i didn't love it but i liked it yeah i remember you be one of the first like actual defenders of it in

a in a way of like going you know it knows what it's doing it's actually it seems like it has a self-awareness. And I was like, yeah, I agree. Yeah, it's a fun movie, you know. And that was, I remember that was a screen junkie's review, if I'm not mistaken that you did. I got my Dan Diary in my head. I did it with Daniel Radford, the two of us, so we did it together.

And people were just aghast. Like, I mean, people I worked with, the comments, there's like, what? I'm like, yeah, I don't know, what do you want me to say? I just, they were terrible. It's got some kind of weird, crazy, freaky energy. I don't know. I liked it. Yeah, that was fun.

Okay. So my mind works in a weird way. Like I'll hear a bunch of different things and then my mind is making like a checklist of things to follow up with. So as we were talking about theater experiences, remind me of something that you said during your Deadpool and Wolverine review where you said there were a couple of moments where you, you even yourself had your jaw dropped. And you talked a lot about how growing up with movies, how you've only really become more emotive in the last 10 years or so. one of the reasons why I've loved doing like a reaction channels because I did grow up a very detached individual actually I the first TV character in a drama I weirdly related to was the character of Dexter Morgan because he says I feel empty in the first episode and at that time in my life that's how I would describe how I felt and I wasn't someone who would like I was talk about Return of the King watching that, I did not know how to participate with a crowd.

And a big part of what we do now is like, whatever you're thinking and feeling, learn to express it and let it out. So it's kind of like so, so I've had like this inverse in my life. I'm going somewhere with this. I've had this like inverse in my life where I was not really like that off camera and being on camera taught me to learn to express what I'm feeling. And now when the camera's not rolling, now I'm doing it. Now I'm like, now I'm really expressing it. Now I'm in the theater really showing it. If you were to have, if you think of a movie where you were very emotive and reacting to it. Let's say there was one movie where you had like, yeah, I'm going to do a movie.

If I had a camera pointed at me for a movie reaction for the time I saw it, what movie do you think would have been the one that like, ah, this would have been a good, damn, Mural movie reaction? it's true because I'm not I'm not generally extremely reactive outwardly that's why people always say why don't you do reaction videos I'm like because it would be boring because I don't I don't part of me is like I got burned with hype on things like Godzilla when I was a kid so part of me is like I don't want to get too invested in something before it comes out because then I'm worried that it's going to break my heart and part of it's just like that's just not my natural state of being and I don't want to either bore you or feel like I'm faking it in some way. I love people that, you know, like when I watch you guys react to something, it's just like, I kind of admire that. Like, wow, I wish I could sort of express that on the outside, even if I'm sort of feeling it on the inside. I would say, I remember Anchorman. The first time I saw it, I remember almost passing out from laughing so hard. I don't usually remember watching comedies in a theater because you forget watching most movies in a theater.

But I remember I was so, it was the funniest thing I had ever seen in my life. And I think that that would have probably been a pretty good on-camera reaction because I was, like, I was. I was struggling to breathe at times the first time I saw that. Now, probably because I was, you know, in my early 20s at that time. So, you know, it comes down to sensibilities. I still think it's a really funny movie. But I think that would have been a funny one to see on camera because I, that was, I was beside myself of laughter watching that the first time. That is one of my all-time favorite comp.

I once spent a whole summer consistently re-watching Anchorman when it first came out on DVD. That is absolutely one of my favorite. comedies of all the time. And my favorite joke in the movie is not in, it's hard to find the cut that it's in. It's when they're talking about the party, because now every movie's got 18 different cuts and alternate cuts and unrated cuts. They're talking about the party that they were doing and everything to say, and Steve Carell just says, I ate a big red candle. And it's like, that was in the theatrical cut of the movie. And I can't, it's always hard for me to know if I'm the cut that has that joke in it because that was my favorite joke in the movie.

I ate a big red candle. I think that was my introduction to Steve Carell. I didn't watch the Daily Show, and I believe that was the first time I ever saw Steve Corel. I was a big daily show guy, and I liked him on the show, but I always thought he just sort of kind of had one bit, which was like the sort of manic, you know, I mean, he was good. He was funny, but like that to me was just like, oh, no, this guy is, this guy's incredible. Right, right. Okay. That's fun. That's a fun answer. Okay. So I'm like backtracking a lot now because I'm going back to a much earlier thing here in the conversation. Because we're talking about reacting. We're talking about being detached. It immediately made something springboard in my mind, which was something I connected with it, what Ryan Gosling said about the movie of his character in the movie, Drive, which was something I didn't pick up on. And I didn't notice until he said it in an interview was that.

His character, the music is a big part of it because that's when his character is feeling something. He feels via through music outside of that. He's empty. And I was like, oh, that's kind of how I would describe where I was for so much of my life when it came to movies. Would you say that was kind of like a version of yours? Because you talk, it's interesting. You've used the word detach kind of a few times now. Like a detach with the word observant.

So it seems like there's a lot of like logical processes. versus emotional processing. But was it a lot of more of an emotional experience than you're probably letting on with a lot of these films you were growing up with? Yeah, no, I mean, it kind of makes me sound like I'm a robot and I'm not. I mean, I do get very, I do get very emotionally involved

with movies. You know, I don't just see it as a collection of frames and cuts and everything else. Yeah, I do kind of make myself sound a little like data. This is not how I am at all. I don't think you could really be as massive a fan of movies as I am without connecting to it emotionally. Because I think once you're just, if you're just looking at it from a technical level, then, you know, it's all operating mostly off the same principle. So, yeah, I think it's more just about when I was younger, it was more about the technical nature of it, you know, twisters.

for me was as much about the visual effects as it was about, you know, the characters, etc., which I think is kind of how the filmmakers approached it too. Although Twister, I would say, actually, I think has some great characters in it. You don't see a whole lot of movies with that kind of character, like

minor characters that are just have an actual personality. I agree. And that's because you hire great actors. Go figure. I would say that once I kind of had that bedrock of, okay, I like I've seen every kind of movie or and I feel like I've experienced every sort of this.

Then it became much more about like, you know, okay, now that I understand the mechanics of it, now it becomes more about how do you use these tools to tell an emotional, a rich story. So I'd say probably in my 20s, I started kind of transitioning from, I'm seeing this kind of movie for the first time and I want to know how it works to, I want to know how they use the the tricks of the trade to get some kind of emotion out of me. Okay, interesting. What would you say is like the, which male, I'm talking male characters because you've talked about growing up with your mom.

You've mentioned your uncle was like the main person who you, one of the main people you would bond with over movies. I think you've said like your grandma, I think you said in the past like your grandma was when it introduced you to ET and such. Very much. Yeah. Was there a, were there any male characters? perhaps, or it could have been female characters, actually, that you feel like you may have

adopted some principles off of or beyond personality traits. Was there anyone that you might have, like, truly feel like I was, I was actually sort of inspired by this character, and I've sort of run with that, maybe subconsciously even. I don't know if I adopted any particular personality traits. I think it was more my personality was reflected in the characters that I identified with. Okay, cool. Christopher Reeves, Superman, Warren Beatty, Dick Tracy,

Leonardo from the Ninja Turtles. Generally people that were very stoic, kind of in the leadership role, trying to keep it together, you know, kind of felt a responsibility to keep the team together, you know, would maybe take on a little bit of that burden.

That, that, I think that there's a reason that I like those characters and that, and it's because I share a lot of those traits. I always joke that if there's a team of, if there's a team of people, I like the boring one. X-Men, favorite X-Man is Cyclops. I mean, literally, it's like never fails. That was my favorite character. So I think it was more like, and I probably wasn't even consciously aware of it at the time, I was drawn towards more stoic, responsible characters

because that's just sort of how I feel what my rule is. And some of that's healthy and some of that's not healthy. I mean, you know, you learn things about yourself as you get older. But yeah, I think I would kind of put it the other way around of just like my personality informed the characters I would drawn to. Yeah. Oh, that makes a lot of sense. I'm going to take that in.

I might take this for another interview. I'm like, that's a pretty interesting interview. Hey, I'd be happy to interview. This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Knowing you could be saving money for the things you really want, like that dream house or ride, is a great feeling. That's why the State Farm Personal Price Plan can help you save when you choose to bundle home and auto. Bundling.

Just another way to save with a personal price plan. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Covered options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts, and savings, and eligibility vary by state. I just mailchimp my marketing. You mailchimped your what? I mailchimped my marketing with AI to create an effective marketing campaign in minutes. No, Mailchimp and way.

Yes, Mailchimp in way. Now I can hyper-personalize my campaigns across email and SMS. You can do all that with MailChimp. What did I just mailchimp and say? Mailchimp your marketing with the number one AI-powered email marketing and automation platform. Intuit MailChimp. Number one, based on publicly available data on competitors' customers, plans vary. SMS available as add-ons. Visit MailChimp.com. The best coast just got better. Introducing Quantum of the Seas sailing from L.A. this fall.

Conquer next-level thrills on the boldest ship in the West, like flowrider surf sessions, bumper cars, and soaring 300 feet above sea level on the North Star. Plus more than 15 dining options on board. All between discoveries in Ensenada and even overnights in Cabo. You've never done Mexico like this. Book your your Boulder Baja adventure from Los Angeles today. Come seek the Royal Caribbean. Itineraries vary by sale date. Ships Registry, Bahamas.

And then you talked about how, like, in the last 10 years, is when you find yourself being a little bit more emotive when it came to allowing yourself to cry. What was that first movie for? I really like knowing this, especially when I'm talking to another guy, what was that first movie that you can recall that really made you tear up a lot? Maybe not the one in last 10 years. Maybe it could have had, was it ET when you were a kid?

But was there something that changed in the last 10 years? I actually cried at 18 now when I didn't when I was a kid. But I cried because I just loved that combination of John Williams' music and the taking off and crossing the sun. I just think it's my favorite movie moment of all time. And I always liked it, but I think for somewhere as I got older when they re-released it in 2002 or whenever. And I saw that.

That was the first time I remember just getting chills. up my entire body. I remember being, I remember getting very, I think I cried, the green mile. Green mile, yeah. Because, you know, again, 16 years old, I, that's another one. I either snuck into that one or somehow I got in because I came out in 1999. My guess is that was, I was almost 17, so my guess is my mom probably said, well, whatever, it's December, you can go, but, so I don't know if I snuck into that or whatever.

but I went to see the green mile. And I think it was, you know, when you're 16, you're not really thinking that much. I mean, death is a reality because people, you know, die and older family members die. But I remember the ending of that movie, I felt so sad because this guy, you know, he got accidentally cursed with this thing that most people think would be great, which is this extremely long life, but you sit and you see everybody that you know dies,

and, you know, he was such a great performance from that actor who played the older version of Tom Hanks' character, and it was just so sad, you know, to think about. And again, I think that was maybe subconsciously the first time, you know, as I'm getting to be 16, almost 17 years old,

I start to process the concept of, you're going to outlive people that you love. You're going to be a, round for hardships and this is going to be a very uh it's a gift but it's also can be painful at times and i think that maybe that was the first movie that really kind of put that into terms that actually made a real in my brain so yeah i remember being very upset at the end of the green mile and i think that was maybe one of the first movies that i think i processed as like an adult or or or somebody who was maturing that i was like oh okay these are these are adult feelings and

as you get older, things, things kind of start to hurt a little. So yeah, that was interesting. I remember that one really getting to me. I agree, first off, with that, because there's something very unique about that, that specific type of death in that movie, because there's such a lead-up and a having to accept that this is going to happen, and you're kind of wishing it won't happen, and there's such like a lot, because it's not like a guy who's dying of cancer in a hospital bed or do they have a bullet wound, like he's just going to be killed.

And it's a very different type of emotional processing than a lot of other movies. And, I mean, if we're talking about John Coffey, that was sad. But for me, it was Tom Hanks' character. It was the idea of that longevity. It's like, you think that'd be a good thing. But it's not. And it's, yeah. And the handshake moment.

That breaks me every day. Yeah. Then they shake hand. But what I've noticed about me particular is like, I've experienced a lot of death in my life. but I strangely don't really cry that often or I'm compelled to cry at death scenes. Green mild makes me ball, but death scenes usually don't make me cry. And I'm totally comfortable crying, like wild robot really teared up a lot. And acts of love I've noticed are the things that I mainly will cry at more than I will at a death scene.

You know, I didn't even cry during, I don't think I cried during Avengers End game when I heard a lot of people around me crying about Tony Star, you know, and I love Tony Star, but I didn't cry. No. I still, what is it, what in movies is the thing that you've noticed generally might actually get you to be moved to tears? Um, a lot of times it's like, like the parting of old friends or losing friends or, uh, or, um, recognizing the depth of a friendship, uh, that sort of thing. Recently, it's been weird. It's been weird things that make me cry.

I went to see here the new Robert Zemeckis movie. The one shot one? The one shot one. Yeah. Okay. And it was okay. There's parts that worked and there's parts that didn't, I didn't think really worked a lot.

You know, I mean, I didn't think it was terrible, but I didn't love it. And then the credits rolled and I was like, and usually if I'm crying, and I know I'm going to start crying. I can see it coming from a mile away. And I didn't, I just realized that I'd started crying. And I couldn't figure out why.

And I think it's because it just identified, you know, I had just moved out of my old house, literally, I think, the week before, two weeks before. And the movie ends with them in an empty house. And there was just, I think there was a lot. And I was contrasting my life with what I saw on screen with this very specific. thing that it just happened that I had just done but the circumstances were very different and it like just flicked a switch in me that I wasn't even aware was was was was getting flipped

um that's unique usually I can tell when it's coming I know when it I know what something's going to make me cry I know what something's going to get me uh that's kind of a new one where I don't see it coming and it's something much deeper um and you know I think that that's that comes with life experience, I think some of it's probably transitory. I think, you know, it comes and goes. But that's kind of a new one for me. I used to kind of know, all right, this is going to get me. This is the kind of thing that's going to get me. And now it's a little more unpredictable. It sneaks up on me a little bit more. You were quick to cite parting of ways with friendships. Why specifically that, though? I don't know. I think maybe it's, maybe it's more

of just like I don't know if it's specific to friendships maybe it's the idea of loss just like profound loss

and when you really see the effect of that like the end of return of the king again same because it's such a good

movie but like that whole scene at the at the gray havens you know where they're they're saying goodbye

and you I mean you just you see how profound that loss is going to be but also there's a lot of positivity there.

I love that moment where Elijah Wood turns around and you can see this weight that's been lifted off of him and he smiles and it's the first happy moment we've seen for that character. So, you know,

it's a happy thing, it's a sad thing. Maybe even the idea of being the one left behind, you know? Oh, interesting. That idea of having to let go and having to deal

with the fallout of that. You know, maybe that's it. I don't know. You know, it's, I feel like the more you kind of pull up the string, the more confusing it becomes. So I just kind of let the string get pulled and then try to sort it out later. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Oh, that's fun. Those are good answers.

Those are really strong answers. Oh, thank you. It's for Return of the King. I cry that you bow to no one moment. Oh, see, that was the, that was the jab, you know, when I remember even the first time I watched it. Like, that was the jab. Like, oh. And then

bam it hits you with the haymaker One thing I did Another thing that it was coming in mind That I really wanted to inquire about Was is there a movie out there That perhaps changed the way There's a lot of like societal commentary movies nowadays

Is there a movie that has helped shift Your societal perspective on things Like what this level of influence I'm talking about of, oh, I watched, I mean, for like a very young age of mine, this is the first time I'm actually opening up about this here at a very, very young age of mine. I grew up around a lot of racism. Like very much exposed, had some directed at me, but I was very much exposed to like, I knew a lot of races. And I believe, I'm bringing this because I only just realized, I believe remember the Titans did do something to me of going, wait a minute, something's

wrong about this racism. It really did, like, do something. Am I not going to go? This is kind of stupid. Like, how can this logic, like racism logically doesn't make sense? Like, it made me, like, go down the path. Because I was questioning, like, how did I grow up around racism, but break away from that in a very, like, natural way where I'm very, I have very strong beliefs of being against it. And I think, remember, the Titans really did do that for me. But that's at a very young age. Is there, is there a movie that perhaps did that for you that did change your, like, societal perspective in a way. Yeah, and I've talked about this, I think, on the channel one or two times before, but Get Out was one that obviously I knew, when watching it, it's not hard to detect

that there are very stark commentary, there's very stark commentary about racism in that movie, but I remember seeing it the first time and being a little, I liked it. it, but I was like, you know, I don't, I liked it, but I don't, I don't get why everybody's so hyping it up, you know, and, and it, and it's a good example of, I think, how, you know, even though my, even though I think that my initial take on it and it's on the internet forever, is not reflective of what I initially thought about the movie, I think it's a good example of processing your own thoughts and then opening yourself up to, uh, everything else. because after I did my review

and I sort of was like I want to read more about this movie because obviously for some people there's there's something there's a level there that I don't that I'm not getting and sometimes I'll do that with a movie and I'll read it and I'll be like no I still think the same way

I get that people think it's operating on this level but I don't agree but reading a lot of reviews and talking to a lot of critics of mine and particularly critics of color and people of color that wrote about that film and understanding the sunken place and what that is and what that what that means to them not my interpretation of what it means

what that means to them and how that ties into for so many people in everyday way of life or a feeling that they have every day and then sort of taking that in and watching it again through the understanding that this is so reflective of the lived experience, I really, really came around a lot. And now I think it's, you know, like I said, my initial take is on the internet forever. That's my quote-unquote review of the movie. I have a substantially different opinion of it. And that comes from taking in the experiences of people and the criticism of people who aren't me, who don't share my perspective. And that's why I think it's so important to take in and share and get.

those perspectives. There's a movie that came out earlier this year called I Saw the TV Glow, which I saw initially and liked, but I'm like, well, I mean, I liked it, but it's, it's so kind of abstract and not really sure what they're getting at. And then I read about the director and how that movie is essentially largely a metaphor for being trans and that experience. And I saw it again recently, and I appreciated it on such a deeper level, because again, I'm seeing it through that lens of the intention of the maker, the intention of the director, and it clicks. It all clicked into place. It's kind of the biggest experience I've had since Get Out, where I understand, I read about the filmmaker, their intention, and I see it again, and it all clicks into place a lot more. So that, that for me is where I think it's been instructive for me. It's, and, you know, I try to be as open and honest as I can. You know, you have blinds, spots um as a person there are experiences that you don't have that you can't relate to because

you haven't lived them and that's why i think it's important to open yourself up to the lived experiences of others because that can not only help you understand people better it can help you understand art better whether that's movies visual the visual arts drama tv whatever um so yeah i'd say there's a handful of times where sort of why I think it's important to open yourself up to what other people are saying because it can really inform you and kind of help you to see things through a different lens and often the intended lens as well like yeah with get out and I saw the TV glow this is not someone's interpretation of what the filmmaker's saying this is the

filmmakers I mean Jordan Peel and uh Jane Schoenberg have said that no this is how this is my meaning this was the intent behind this movie and and so i think that that that is very instructive and very helpful yes i would probably i think i'd agree with you on that because i think it's really easy especially i'm more i'm way more of i feel like every two to three years i'm like i'm a bit of a different individual every like two to three years so much life experience happens and if you're someone who likes to constantly work on yourself and grow naturally you will just you will just grow you know like I've heard change is constant but growth is has to be intentional right yeah and I think growth for me there are certain times where it's like when you watch a movie

and this is part of the thing with like why I like doing I like doing the movie reaction specifically because we get to give our commentary throughout but sometimes it can't be nerve wracking when you're watching a very commentary heavy movie you're like am I coming across like a goddamn idiot right Do I look, do I do I get this movie? Do I not get it? Every day of my life. Yeah. And I think like it's really easy to like want to seem like you get it.

But learning to be honest about it first, I'm putting an initial reaction, having to live with that can be a little tough. Sorry to bother you was that for me. Like I didn't understand it. And you got me thinking about how different movie viewing is. Because from what you were saying, I could see someone. pushing back going, well, a movie shouldn't have to be something where you have to listen to like a director's commentary and then you watch it and then get it. You should just stand

on its own. And I'm like, well, we kind of live in a different world now when it comes to movies. As a film has evolved, that kind of is part of the experience of cinema now. We're so much more exposed to like interviews and behind the scenes and all these things and intentionality of film that I feel like it's kind of, I feel like it's okay to some, because sometimes people just like a movie only because they get it, but they don't really process like, like, do I actually like it? Or do I just like it because I get what the movie is? And I, and I feel like that's a, it's a really fascinating, uh, development of what you were just talking about with how cinema has sort of changed with that. I feel like the most recent example of what I'm talking about

can be like a joker folia do where people are like, no, I get it. I'm like, okay, you get it. but did you like it? It's okay. You can like it. Right. But, you know. So, yeah, it's just part of like the fun, I don't know, food for thought for myself there. Yeah.

And I mean, that's, to be fair, especially when I talk about I sell the TV goal, that's exactly what people say. Like, well, if a movie needs you to know this thing, then it's not a very good movie. And it's like, okay, but you're, people sort of have this, I think a lot of people have this idea of like a movie's, a movie is only as good as what you think the first time you watch it. And if it's not that good, the first time you watch it, then it's not, then it's not, you know, then there's a problem with it. And I'm like, I disagree entirely. I mean, one of the great things about movies is you can watch them two, three, four, five different times and get something new from it every time. And they do change over time. And I think the difference, too, between I saw the TV go and get out is it's not like I was saying, though these movies were terrible.

and then I learned this and now they're great like no it was literally these are movies that I admired that I liked and then once I understood more of where the filmmakers were coming from and can really wrap my head

around their vision and what they were saying I appreciated that much more you know there are movies like I've tried with David Lynch many times before and people saying no this is what he meant here and this is what he meant here and this is what he meant here and I'm like yeah okay yeah I get that It's just not for me.

You know, it's just not, especially the more abstract stuff. You know, some people say Mulholl and Drive is one of those brilliant movies of the 21st century. And I get why they say that. It's just not for me, but that's okay. So, you know, it's not like I'll change my tune on every movie if you just tell me what the director was trying to do. There's plenty of movies where I understand what the director's intentions are. I'm like, you okay, I get it. Still not a fan, you know.

Yeah. That was me for Joker. to you know honestly yeah yeah i feel like you were you were more positive of you i liked it more than most i didn't love it yeah i liked your review about it but that's one of my favorite things about you as a critic generally i've been very open about is like there's so much of the time where you will have a completely different opinion than myself but i'll never i mean generally i'm not but i especially not with you like don't i always feel like oh i really understand where you're coming from on that and i think like your articulation

of how to express what you are feeling while also acknowledging what the other side may be thinking is a really big art to film criticism that you do and it's really impressive like some people I grew up on Eber and Roper I know you've talked a lot about Roger Eber being your like a like the iconic critic for you and to me I'm like no that that's that's that's that's Dan when it comes to the review side of it for me. That's, I mean, that's, like, you have the gold standard of it. I think a lot of people would agree with that. I'm definitely not worthy of that.

I, you know, I do feel like, you know, Siskel and Ebert were big on me. And a lot of people say, like, well, no, they were destructive to the film, to the criticism industry because, you know, they, they introduced polarization, up down, fresh rotten. And I get that. I understand that. I mean. I think that's also putting the assumption with Siskel and Ebert that the only thing that they were worth was their rating, that, you know, like they just opened up the show

and they were like, yes, no, yes, no, yes, no. Yes, no. And it's like, no, that was their hook, and it worked for them. but I didn't watch Siskel and Ebert to see if they were going to say up or down. I watched them to see what are they going to say about the movie. Why? Why are you saying you liked it? Why are you saying you didn't like it?

And I think they introduced that to a whole generation of people, including me. I didn't read movie reviews in the newspaper. I didn't read the newspaper, you know. but they brought film criticism into my living room and really ignited in me an interest not only in how movies are made but how movies are analyzed and I think that's what they don't get credit for is they took film criticism from something

that was sort of academic and that was you know you discuss at cocktail parties and they brought it into your living room and I think inspired a lot of people to start talking about why they like movies too. Did they agree with Roger Ebert? Do you disagree with Roger Ebert?

Did you hear what Ciskel said about that movie? He's crazy. Ebert's the one that's right. Like, no, Ebert's a hack. Siskel's the one that are, I mean, that's film analysis, you know, even if you're analyzing the critics. So, you know, I have plenty of qualms

with the whole polarizing yes, no metric, fresh rotten metric. But it's not, again, it's not so much the problem with the metric. It's how it's interpreted and how it's presented. And I think that context is everything. And, you know, Ebert, particularly, watching him on TV did lead me into reading his reviews,

which I think are even better, some of the best film criticism ever written. And so, yeah, I know the Siskel and Ebert get a lot of flack, but I think to condemn them for dumbing down film criticism is to also dumb down what they were doing to its basic level. And I think they did a lot more good than they did hard. I completely agree with you. When we started, when Real Rejects first started, I tried kicking it off with a show called Reasons to See, which was basically a pros and cons movie review show. It didn't go anywhere. But the idea wasn't, like, I actually weirdly came in on Eberner, rober.

It was after Gene Siskel's death. So I came in on Eberner Roper, which was essentially the same. And it was still long lasting. That was still like a big show for a long time. It was really when Roger Eber left where it stopped, right? Right. But I was just talking with someone recently about like when you started YouTube, what you want to do? I was like, well, I didn't watch any YouTube first off. So I was like, oh, I want to get into YouTube so I could start writing reviews in the newspaper. Right. Completely inverted understanding of how it all worked. Exactly. And now it's like, oh, but none of this like movie reviews and breakdowns and analysis, what everyone does here, I think a lot of people forget to pinpoint it to Siskel and Iber really. were the start of what it was to talk about reviewing movies with a camera pointed at you

and how that became a discussion and a medium of its own beyond, you know, a written article and stuff. So I, I fullheartedly agree with you on that. Yeah. I mean, it was weekly viewing. And also, the other thing they don't create credit for is that in doing their show, I would hear about movies like Fargo or Secrets and Lies or, you know, hoop dreams, these movies that they championed that I never would have heard of

because they usually, I mean, Fargo may have, but the other ones, they didn't play within 100 miles of where I was living. And they were in your living room talking about those movies every week so that maybe you can't go see it in a theater. But if the movie comes out on video, all of a sudden you're like,

oh, yeah, I heard. Francisco and Iber talk about that movie. I'm going to check that out. They did that. They brought that out of the world of newspapers and into the mainstream. And I think that they deserve a lot of credit for that too. And you get a watch, especially for Roger Ebert, I love watching his evolution. Like we're called Real Rejects and that title is inspired by the devil's rejects. I'm not really a Rob Zombie fan. I'm really not. But I watch that movie with my mom of all people in the theaters. I watched that movie because of them. They recommended that movie. And I was like, this is the last movie I'd ever expect these guys to recommend. I got to go check it out.

And that is, to this day, Rob Zombie's like considered his best film by large by, by like most people. So yeah, I think they're very, I completely agree. I'm really glad you brought all that up. No one talks about that. No one ever talks about that. But that is so important, I think, knowledge so thank you for that no of course that's you know my my my goal is to carry on a little bit of that spirit um because it's you know it's not necessarily always about that anymore and it's like this is about the love of the charm yeah and advancing that and promoting that and inspiring discussion and keeping people interested um and that's what i try to do it's i think that's what they did and you know it may not be the most

sensational way to approach it but it's the only way I know how to do it so well it's working it's a great channel you got going on thank you I appreciate that just a couple of just a few quick ones that I wanted to go through really quick that I just had to piqued my interest I know in the last few years you've got them more in a horror

or been more open to it and trying to come up with a question that was not going to be hereditary as the answer Because I feel like hereditary is very, like, given for you. But it might be, if it is, it is. But what would you say is the most memorable scene from a horror movie that when you think about it can still, like, get under your skin or haunt you to this day? In recent times, other than hereditary, but I'd say even more so than the hereditary, the Babadook.

Hmm. The hearing that voice and then the scene where she's in bed and it's up on the ceiling and the, ugh. Yeah. Yeah. What was the most terrifying movie theater experience you had? Ooh, probably signs. Oh, signs scared the hell out of me. Still does.

That movie creeps me out still when I think about it. What's the scariest scene to you in that movie? It's either that moment where he looks up and sees the alien on the roof, cross the looking standing on the roof, and he can barely see it, too. And then, of course, the TV, you know, walking Phoenix and the alien on TV, that's pretty, that movie creeps me out. That is one of those movies that because the ending is so debatable for a lot of people, that the journey is often overlooked on how effective it is? That journey is fantastic. I agree the ending has its issues, but that journey there is so good. Well, speaking of M. Night Shyamalan, what, I mean, and I will interrupt you if I haven't seen the movie, but what movie twist would you say is the one that shocked you the most?

It's tough because you live with so many of them now. It's hard to remember back on how effective they were at the time. plus there's so many that you know going in now because they're sort of in pop culture like usual suspects I already knew by the time I'd seen it because that was just sort of known I mean

Sixth Sense is an easy answer because that's another one where I remember when you realize it you're like what? And then you're like no, that doesn't work and then you go back and you see it again you're like oh my god it works like how did you do that how did because because so much of that

is built on assumption the fact that uh you open with the scene of tony colette and bruce willis sitting across from each other and you assume because i remember thinking like no no no because there's that scene where the two of them are talking in the living room and then you go back and see it again and they're sitting across from each other but nobody's saying anything yeah and you're like she's just sitting there waiting for him to come home from school but you in your head fill in the gaps and assume that they've been talking to each other before he walks in the room when they haven't uh that that one i mean it's such a cliche answer and i think that people think it's cliche because it's like the cliche movie spoiler of just like oh did you know that in the six senses

it's like i get it but at the same time i actually feel bad for people that now will never know that we'll never watch that movie not knowing that's coming because that was so mind blowing and then

and as much the second time to see like he completely fulled me he he that was so well done it was so well done and I feel like everyone's going to be like oh of course he said the six sense. I'm like, I did, but also

like, I don't think people understand. Well, some, some cliches are cliches because they're true. Yeah, exactly. I'm trying to think if there's any other ones that hit me off right off the bat. I mean, yeah, that one's just so dominant that I'm just like, yeah, a fight club was another one.

Again, cliche, same year. But another one where you're like, no, that doesn't work because he was, oh, no, he wasn't, was it. Oh, okay. No, yeah, no, I guess that does work. Yeah, 1999, actually, because you throw the Matrix in there as well, 1999 was a year that completely redefined my understanding of movies at a fundamental level. Now that I think about it, I must have snuck into the Matrix and Fight Club

because I was 16 when they both came out. I guess I snuck into a lot more rated-dard movies than I remember. But that year was like, to be 16 years old in 1999, that I wouldn't trade that for anything because when you're developing your sense of what movies are and what you like and what you don't like and what they can do the combination of the movies that were made that year

and then the emergence of technology from like 1996 to 2005 like it reshaped the whole concept of what a movie can be and that was a really fun time to live through absolutely

yeah I remember you brought me back to six cents actually. I remember when I first watched it. I didn't watch it in the theater. I saw it on a DVD, a rental and wasn't ruined for me. My mom wanted to be funny because she had watched it. Yep. And I was like watching it on the floor. I was like maybe 20 minutes into the movie. And she, and she walks through the door and she's like, did you know, he dies in the movie. Like she says to me, he dies. I was like, mom. But I did not understand what she meant. She sounds like he dies later on in the movie.

Yeah, exactly. So as the move, when the twist happens, I was still like, whoa, what? I was still my, that just shows how effective the twist is. Yeah. Because I was even told he dies, but I did not process it in what I was watching. Like, oh, he's dead the whole time. Like that. So it still goes to show that is a very.

effective twist. It is. And it's such an effective use of visual language, visual storytelling, a filmmaker who understands what an audience assumes or thinks, but somebody who understands how audiences interpret cinematic language and how they fill in the gaps and then taking advantage of that, you know? Yeah. Taking at face value that if you have a scene where two people are at a dinner table and someone's talking and the other person looks up, you assume they're looking at that person and not just that they're looking up um yeah i'll stand by the six cents i think it's it's brilliantly executed forever cemented the very controversial i'm not sure yes and he has yet to make a movie as well executed as that um yeah that's true he's come close a couple times but not lately

unbreakable is actually my favorite of his movies um it's good in terms of effectiveness it's really hard to top like maybe that i've been in like his third movie yeah instead of like first out of the gate that's tough to live up to really hard to live up to that that first like the donnie darko director like he hasn't really done anything after that because like it's just too too high of a mantle and like jordan peel i i'm one of those people who believes in the rule of three when it comes to people's films whether that be an actor or a director is you cement yourself by having three good ones. Yeah.

Then you could have like wave. You could have ones at waiver. You could have mistakes. But as long as you got three, that usually tends to be like this person will have a career moving forward. Just my own little weird rule of thumb. I like it. I like that.

But yeah, I mean, I feel like this was a, I love, I love this conversation. I hope you had a good time, Dan. I had a blast. This is a great time. I mean, you know, I've been talking about red one and stuff like that. on the channel so it's nice to actually dive into cinema keto I guess if you're talking about red one yeah I feel like this is going to be a meme the squissorsese you know this is cinema

you learn about um what when studios are having a hard time when studios are like I never get pressured from from studios to like please come please come but when they do I'm like I know that there's there's something with this movie that's not tracking well is it yeah that's The amount of Red One attendance of like, I can, we can even get you into a free screening at a theater. And you're like, wow, you're really pushing for me to go watch Red One, right? I do remember when Katz was coming out. They were like, come to Cats.

It's going to be a screening. It's 6 to 7 o'clock. Is that the Chinese theater? There's going to be champagne. There's going to be this. And it's just like, wow, are you really wanting to butter us up for cats? Like, this is, this is like, you're trying to make this into an event. Generally, the buttering up is the thing that happens.

You know what? There's, okay. there was one thing I did want to actually okay last thing for sure I mean I keep feeling I keep feeling like I've been having a lot of last things and then I and then something just pops into my mind you're someone who does get involved with like feedback on the internet you do seem like you do dive into the comments and such unfortunately has there been a movie in particular that perhaps you did actually love but was affected by the online discourse to the point that you don't really like to even think about it and on the flip side just to end on a more positive note has there been

one that perhaps you were negative on, that the internet actually made you revisit and go, you know what? I've come around on this one. I can't really think of a movie that I either liked or disliked that was changed by internet discourse. Sometimes internet discourse can make a bad movie more fun. Yeah. With the memes and whatnot.

So, you know, that's kind of cool. But I don't think anything has ever really changed my opinion. I will say I'm doing a, I'm recording a Q&A for Patreon in the next. day or two. And I'm not blaming the person that asked this question because I get it. People still want to talk about it. But somebody was just like in your review of The Last Jedi,

you said that you said that Ryan Johnson was wrong for throwing out everything from the end of the last movie. But isn't that what JJ Abrams did with Star Wars the Force Awakens? Didn't he throw out everything from there? And it's just like, God bless you. I get

it. But that is a movie that I didn't even really love. If you go back to my review, I was just like, I'm torn. There's some things I really liked, and there's some things that I really didn't like. And it graduated from a movie that I was kind of torn by and was interesting to see what the discussion was to a movie I never want to discuss again. It's like every angle, opinion, and type of conversation about The Last Jedi was done six months after it came out. And it is still, I still see stuff about it. And it's like, we as a society have got to move on. It has been seven years. We've just got to make peace and move on. Has it been seven years? In the 2017, it came out.

Yeah. What? Yeah. Oh, my God. Yeah. You're so right. Oh, shit. So, yeah, I think that's a movie where initially I was just like, oh, this is going to be an interesting discussion.

And now I'm just like, I don't, it's not even, I don't have a problem with you bringing it up. It's just like, I can guarantee you whatever you're going to say. I've heard it before 10 times. Yeah. You know, let's move on. Let's put our energy somewhere else. It's crazy. That one movie really did change the course of Star Wars forever.

It changed the course of a lot of things forever. A movie, yeah. I think it changed the course of Disney. It changed the course, the face of Disney, like the channels that have boomed from big, big eyes and whatever. It changed the course of Internet, the YouTube movie world. Because, yes. Like the Star Wars negativity really was born with that. And then it continued on from that.

And then in many cases, it spun out of Star Wars into a bunch of other things that has birthed a whole side. And yeah, it's crazy what was done. You know, for a movie that again, I didn't really love when it came out and that I liked less in context of the one that came after it. So it's like, it's just, it's just nutty to me that that so much was born out of that one movie.

It's weird with Star Wars fandom because when you think about like the online base for it, it seems like the worst thing ever. Yet when I go to cons and whenever I remember doing a wonder, the last WonderCon panel, we had a WonderCon panel. And strangely enough, the questions that were asked from the audience the most were regarding Star Wars and not in a negative way. And it just went to show me that there's still so much love for this franchise, but it's just been, the internet has seemed to like really push it to the wayside or they shun those who still love Star Wars when there's so much fervor for it. Yeah, and it's something also that I always have to remind myself if I get discouraged.

You don't hear as much from the happy ones. No. You don't. There are plenty of people that are perfectly happy and content with Star Wars that have no reason to go online and say anything about it. because they're happy, they're content. You hear from the angry ones or the people that are that are poking at the angry ones.

And then you start to feel like that's the real world. And I mean, this spins off into a whole new topic of discussion that we won't get into here. But I think one of the biggest problems that we face right now is this idea that the online world is a one-to-one reflection of society. Right. It is not. There is nowhere online that is a,

direct reflection of how people in totality feel. It is a fun house mirror reflected in whatever direction, where you are reflects the light. And I think that the sooner that people understand it, and I need a reminder about it all the time, and what you're saying about Star Wars fans, you know, the fact that you think that all Star Wars fans hate Star Wars, then you go to Comic Con or whatever, and you see how many people are dressed up as Ray and how many people are dressed up as Asokitano and how many people love the prequels and how many people love, you know, you understand that it's like, it's not just the voices you hear. There's a whole spectrum of voices out there and a lot of

them you never hear. Yeah. And now there's this thing I hear a lot of toxic positivity. Like, what an oxymor? What a strange concept. Yeah, I just think if you're being, if you're being honest and genuine, then who cares? I mean, I think the only time it gets toxic, is when you're being disingenuous and doing something to sort of manipulate a situation to your own favor in any direction. So, you know, that's a whole side that I don't really dip my toes into and, you know, my brief flirtations have not been pleasant. So it's like, you know what, that's fine.

You guys can do what you do. Do your thing. Works for you. Works very well for you, not you specifically. And that's great. You do your thing and I'll do my thing and that's great. We'll both do things our own way. Do you feel like being back in Arkansas versus living in California has helped out with this?

Sort of being a little more calm about processing these things. You know, as I was the day and I knew when he lived in California was like, you're often put in situations to show your very competitive side. So I don't know if you were like actually. maybe chilled out a little bit more since moving back? Has it been, like, more calm for you in general in terms of processing these things? I'm generally, that's the other thing is if movie fights was definitely a show, it was a performance. That was the whole point.

You're winning points. And so you win that point by whatever means necessary. And for me, it was just like, all right, I'm going to go out at it hard. I'm going to take no prisoners. I'm going to rebut every point. I'm never going to give ground to my argument because that's how you win the game. Um, and then people were like, wow, that, Dan, that, that's, I mean, you know, that's how I played the game. That's not necessarily my personality. And then, you know, things like SJU, uh, again, there was a little, it was a lot more like who I am. But again, I felt like, okay, I need to be entertaining and, you know, you want to provide a, a certain function. And so, you know, I would do bits and go over the top and, you know, yell about upstate New York and stuff because it's like, I'm putting on a show. Um, um, So I would say that I haven't really myself changed that much.

I think that I don't feel like I, and maybe that's to my own detriment, I don't feel the need necessarily to quote unquote put on a show as much. I feel like, you know, I'm just going to kind of be me. And, you know, every once in a while I'll dip into, I'll do a bit or something or we get irrationally angry about something. But I think that being away from L.A. has sort of allowed me to embrace more of my own personality on my channel and not that I wasn't being myself on screen junkies but it's less of putting on a show

and more of just like hey I'm going to be me and you know that that probably doesn't help because a lot of people liked that side of me they liked the angry the rants and etc it just didn't and I'm also older and you do it I don't want to become the angry guy

there's so many angry guys on the internet and again it does really well I was like I didn't want to be the angry guy on the internet I want to talk about passionately and once you're known for one thing you have to do that one thing forever that's your thing now

and so I want to I was like well I get to control what my thing is and sometimes I will find outside of LA that especially with movies that screen early like when you look at it from outside you do see this sometimes

sometimes there is a bit of a bubble when it comes to like hype and like I see because you know all of the critics see the movie together and so it's and and you sometimes you're like okay I think I think everyone needs to take a breath let's let's all you know but that's that's that's just natural that's just that's being in a group of people and social and you know but I do think sometimes I'll notice a lot of times that like you know I think maybe there's a bit of a of a hype bubble around this one or sometimes a hate bubble. Sometimes it's like people decided that they hate a movie. And I'm like,

I don't get, I don't get the hate. I don't get why everybody's dog piling on this thing. So that is a little easier to see outside L.A. But let's say that's few and far between. That's true. Yeah, I'm going back to Colorado in a couple weeks. And it's where my wife is from. And I remember being there and I love it there because no one ever asked what I do for a living. And you know, in L.A., that's like the opener. You know, like, what do you do? And I grew up here. So, like, what you do seems to be who you are. And I like, so I like, so I was curious to me of like, oh, what's it like now transitioning back to where you grew up and do, but still doing what you did here, but even more so now.

And, you know, now that you've embraced it your own. So I was very curious about how that's been resonating with you. I think the thing that I like the most is, and again, this isn't necessarily a criticism. it's just the reality of living in LA when you say what do you do you're like oh I have a channel the conversation becomes about like

oh what are your socials what do you think that let's collab let's come up with something that's you know let's do this let's do that and how can we do that and it's not really about you know like I love when you call when you send me the text because I'm like

this sounds great you know and I don't do this a whole lot but you know it got to a point especially as as YouTube got more competitive it became less about actually for for for some people became less about actually caring what somebody does and being like okay well how can I leverage that person or you know how can we leverage each other to sort of advance and and it could get a little you just so I just was never really quite sure especially if I if I didn't know somebody like do they really want to be my friend? or do they see this as a chance to sort of, you know, build a brand or et cetera? And I've experienced that a couple times in Arkansas, but only one or two times. Here, when people say, what do you do for a living? And I say, I do a YouTube channel, and I talk about movies, like, oh, that's really cool.

Yeah, you know, but they, you know, most people here don't do that. So when people are talking about my channel or want to be interested in it, I feel like they're genuinely interested. and they really want to know and they really want to and it's not so much about like, you know, well, are they going to, because there's so many people I met, I would meet for the first time

where I'd meet at a convention and the only communication I'd ever get from them was like, I knew you, we've known each other for years. When you called and were like, hey, do you want to do my podcast? I'm like, absolutely, because I want to hang out. I want to talk. Like, I know where you're coming from. I know what your vibe is.

I love the premise of the podcast. etc but like there's so many people that you meet them and the only communication you ever get from them is will you be on my podcast or will you do my show or will you do this for me and then they never follow that up with anything else and it's like okay so you obviously only really cared about getting to know me because you saw something transactional there you saw a number exactly that wasn't everybody I want to be very clear about that that wasn't everybody but but especially with people you never met before you always had to ask yourself that question in your head um and i don't have that here so that's one of the things that

i like the tradeoff being it's tougher for me to do my job i don't see as many movies or as early that probably affects my view counts that probably affects how fast the channel grows so you you you sacrifice certain things too but i'm generally happy with the tradeoff and um you know i don't I just enjoy talking about movies. And as long as I can make ends meet doing it, then I'm happy. That's awesome. That's awesome. Yeah, I'm like, yeah, I don't like networking.

I've kind of developed a reputation. I've noticed when I go to networking events now, I'm really good at, like, taking the photo I need to take. Yeah. To make it look like I really participate in this day. I'm really good at that now. Because I work with Roxy Stryor now. She's here. She's one of our rejects. And she runs our social media. So I've been like more encouraged to do more stuff for that purpose. And I'm, I'm one of those people. I'm not talking to everyone. I'm talking to the same few who I just care for the quality discussions. But I've never been comfortable with quote unquote networking or no. I like to connect with people who I care to connect with. I like to talk with people who I care to talk with. But yeah, there are some people. It seems like it's their defaults, right?

No, they just immediately, we should collab, we should collab, we should collab, yeah, what are your sub-s-at? I'm like, what do you mean we should collab. I don't know what you, you don't know what I do. I don't know what you do, but it's like, you know. Exactly. Yeah, I'm bad in a room. I am.

I'm in a big room. I have social anxiety. I'm an introvert, which people think means shy. That's not true. Introvert doesn't mean shy. It just means that it draws energy from you instead of giving you energy. So a big room full of. people that

I feel like I need to speak to is strangers I should say that I feel like I don't know anybody is that's one of my most uncomfortable situations so yeah I was never and have never been good at

the whole working a room networking and I sit in awe of people that are good at it yeah I I know we know one person Koi Jondro he Oh, he can work a room like nobody I've ever seen. He's a beast.

He's a beast. That's what I mean. Like that, that guy, they should study him for science, the energy, the enthusiasm, the positivity, the endurance, the ability to just go out, make friends with anybody. I mean, it's just like, when I say sit in awe, it's like, I don't know how you do it. I admire it, but I could never do it. Yeah, no, it's insane. I'm around him more, a lot more. Now,

him and I become extremely close. So I'm around it a lot. And there are times where he'll just introduce me. And I'm like, I didn't know I was getting introduced to someone right now. Yeah. It's just a, it's a real work of art that he has.

But it says he genuinely loves people. He like feeds off of that. Oh, you can tell. He feeds off. He feeds off of social energy. And, and I do to an extent. But, you know, again, the thing with introverts is you, your battery.

runs dry at a certain point and you've got a retreat and sort of regroup re-center and you don't always get a chance to do that in those kinds of situations so I struggle yeah I think with us being like people on camera they can often mistake that like I have I've had a birthday party every year for the past few years now but every birthday party I find there's usually a solid five to 10 minute period where I vanish without letting anyone know yeah just like okay all right just step outside. Take a breath. Take a breath. Center. Just, it's necessary. It's necessary. But yeah, when people say introvert, you're like, no, that doesn't make sense. You're not shy. I'm like, yeah, most introverts aren't shy. They just need to recharge. And you're also really good at when you have

a job to do, you do your job. So if you're doing some public thing, like Schmowdown or a live movie fights, you have a job to do. So it's easy when you have like a goal in my, like a, you have a direction you have to take so even as an introvert it's easier yeah like when we would do shmow down or if we'd do to comic con with screen junkies if we'd have a meet and greet like i loved it i loved me the chance to meet people and you know i would stay and would talk to as many people as we could if we're walking out of comic con and people want to chat i'll stop and chat but by the end of it you know there'd be the group that would be like all right you want to go let's go out let's do this let's do that i'd be like i'm exhausted i am i am i am i am on e like i need to go

It's not personal. It's not personal. If you guys are going to be out in like an hour, then maybe I'll catch up with you. But like I, my gas tank is on empty. I need to go sit in a room quietly, just kick back, you know, just watch something on YouTube or just sit and just draw a little energy in because, you know, it's just, that's just how it works. It's a different vibe for some people. But that's not everybody's experience. Yeah, I agree. Yeah. All right. Glad we you. Well, if you are ever back in L.A., I would love to just have lunch with you sometime. Without a camera or an audio or anything, I will say this on camera. I'll let you know. You're back at the end of this year?

Yeah. Yeah, I'm coming in for about a week. So I'll let you know. It's not, is it after Christmas? Yes. That's when I'm gone. Oh, damn. It's like literally the week I'm gone. Oh, no. Well, we'll see. Maybe there's a day or two where we overlap. Who knows. Yeah, I would love that. I would love that. Dan, thank you so much for doing this. I absolutely adored everything you gave to this one. I know that whenever you do something, you give it your all. And I appreciate you just giving your all to this one as well. I feel like this was awesome to me. This was really, really special to me. So thank you so much for doing this. This is my pleasure. Let's, you know, if people like it, if you don't see a huge drop off after, let's say, the first 70 minutes. Give me a call.

We'll do a sequel. What's the watch time at? Is it at 100 minutes to watch that? Exactly. What's the engagement here? Yeah, I would love to do it again. And yeah, if you guys haven't subscribed to Dan Meryl's solo channel, I have notifications turned on for it.

I feel like it's pretty apparent. I don't have notes that I was working off of here. I was just going off the nagging off of things. So yeah, I subscribe. I have my notification turned on. You guys should as well. There's a link in the pin comment and a link in the description box for his channel. Please go follow him.

Dan. thank you so much and hopefully we could catch up around the holidays my pleasure thanks for having me of course bye bye