Edgar Wright Runs The Pod

Edgar Wright stops by the pod to talk The Running Man and the dangers of reality tv! Then we talk about Edgar Wright, his best films, our favorite films and the evolution of his style.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
What's going on? Everybody at your boys green A Straw
had goofy your movie guy, and I'm here with the
director of The Running Man, Edgar Wright. How you doing, bro?

Speaker 2 (00:07):
What antro?

Speaker 1 (00:08):
I gotta do it every time? I gotta do it
every time? Wake up? Did you time to go to work?
All right? Can we talk about it? Get it? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (00:20):
Wake up?

Speaker 1 (00:20):
I get it? That get it? That goal with everyone's
saying that mop nest, it's not my father, the focus
of goals, that making that hit us a web that
my neighbor is a movie, the way that that role
they staying it with baby. You know, I'm making everybody
upset because we the best that we get.

Speaker 3 (00:34):
And I know, gonna get bread, bread, gonna get bread bread.

Speaker 1 (00:44):
I'm glad you like commented on it. Man. I'm a huge,
super huge fan of me.

Speaker 2 (00:48):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (00:48):
I've been watching movies forever. Seana the Dead is my
favorite zombie movie of all time. Thank you killed that thing, man.
It made me. It made me see just kind of
like genre bending a lot differently, Like I didn't know
you could being drama in the way that you have
done it. And every movie from Scott Pilgrim to just
the whole cornetto Trilogy to Baby Driver. I'm just like, man,
I just I was dying at the chance to get
to talk to you, and now here we are.

Speaker 2 (01:09):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (01:11):
What I want to talk about like what I like
to do on my show it's called Get Reck with
straw had Goofy, where I talked to wonderful people like yourself.
And I believe that movies kind of like build us
in a way, they kind of like create the building
blocks to who we are. So what I like to
ask my guests is what is a movie that you
can recommend that changed your brain chemistry and created the
building blocks to who egger writers?

Speaker 2 (01:31):
Oh my god, there's so many. I mean, if I
if I talk about one that kind of I think
was I mean, I did think like a direct influence
on this. But like, I'll give you a thing. Actually,
when we had the first test screening for the film,
you know, you have those focus groups and they're talking

(01:53):
about kind of like the film, and then one person,
the focus crier gets said it reminded me of like
the film Brazil. I was like, and I was like, oh,
I said, I take that as I And actually funny
that the moderate of the focus group said, oh, we'll
getting a little old school there, and I was like,
I said, hey, I love a result now, I mean
that would be a film actually that I think I

(02:16):
saw that on TV. I didn't see it at the
cinema at the time. I saw on TV when I
was probably about thirteen, and it really that definitely rewired
my brain in terms of I just sort of something
being so nightmarish but also like imaginative and like funny

(02:37):
at the same time. It's like it's a sort of
such a glorious, interesting world, but at the same time
it's this Orwellian nightmare. So it's this strange mix of
a sort of like a really funny film and a
really dark film at the same time. And I just
liked the sort of level of invention in that movie.
And actually, you know, it's sort of like just it

(03:00):
really you know, kind of fuel like sort of my
artistic passions and stuff. But then watching it now having
made movies, I'm also very aware of how difficult that
movie must have been to may right, of course, because
it's sort of like just a high level of difficulty

(03:22):
throughout that movie. And of course, if you read anything
about the production of it, it wasn't necessarily an easy production,
but it's an incredible movie.

Speaker 1 (03:29):
Yeah, And I love what you're saying here because it
seems like that that awoke awakened, awakened your passion for
like Trojan horse movies. I remember you describe like a
lot of your films as like a trojan horse for
these like deeper themes and like these stories, right, and
you can like look at Seana the Dead, it's like
a trojan Horse in that genre, like talking about some
of your favorite kind of like in the same ven

(03:51):
as Brazil, like your favorite Trojan Horse type of movies
where it seems like something on the outside, but when
you dig a little bit deeper, it like says something more.

Speaker 2 (03:59):
I think I think the best of genre is where
the message is kind of smuggled in, so and I
think that's the thing, is that because you actually might
reach a wider audience with a genre film that would
not necessarily watch a you know, kind of like straight

(04:21):
up dramatic movie on the same subject, I mean a
really good one as an example. And this is this
is an interesting one because I think at the time
that it came out, it could be kind of interpreted
as two different things on different sides of the political spectrum.
But like the original Invasion of the Body Snatches. It's
a classic example because I suspect the writers of that

(04:43):
movie were like, like pretty left wing, but it actually
kind of worked perfectly as a sort of like a
you know, it works in two different ways. It's like,
is it a metaphor about the McCarthy witch hunts or
is it actually, you know, a movie about you know,
a communist invasion. And the fact that it works both ways,

(05:04):
I think probably what that's smuggling in is that they
they smuggled a left wing movie in a right wing message.
That's back in those days. Back in those days, the
makers of eventual Body Sessions, they didn't have to do
press junkers or anything, so they just kind of sneak
in that. I mean, I'm not I'm not, you know,

(05:26):
so I think you know them.

Speaker 1 (05:28):
Will look like today that would be kind of wild.

Speaker 2 (05:30):
Right, I think probably not a good idea. Yeah, So
I mean I think that's the thing that I think.
I mean, also, it's just that that you know, also,
I think movies that could be interpreted interpreted in different ways,
you know, like you know, the Fly, the David Crannenberg's
film is a really interesting one because you know body

(05:51):
horror in the eighties, obviously, you know that was right
at the time of like the sort of you know,
the awareness of of like aids, and it's never like
directly like a movie about that, but it's impossible not
to think about it, mamparison and make that comparison. And

(06:11):
that's the thing I think that's really this. The amazing
thing about like genre films is how you can speak
on a subject without even saying it out loud.

Speaker 1 (06:20):
Yeah, And I feel like you. I feel like, obviously
you're doing this with a running Man. But like another
Stephen King adaptation I saw this year, The Long Walk,
it has has that same type of thing, right Like
it's a big giant metaphor for Vietnam, which is what
Richard Bachman and Stephen King wrote it for. But in
today's climate it kind of mean takes on a whole
new meaning because you can kind of tie that to today.
So I love what you're saying there. I want to

(06:41):
go back to what you're saying about movies that were
difficult to get made because of what they were trying
to say. I feel like you have earned the right
no pun intended. I promise to basically make the type
of film that you want to make. I feel like
when we see a Edgar Wright film, we know we're
getting an egga right film. It's like your passion and
your voice just like pops off of the screen. H

(07:01):
do you feel like, how does it feel having earned
the right to do that? Or do you feel like
you've earned the right to do that where like other directors,
like I feel like they have to play a little
bit nice to kind of like work within the mode
of the studio.

Speaker 2 (07:12):
Well, I think, I think, and no, no film is
easy to get.

Speaker 1 (07:16):
Course, yeah, I don't.

Speaker 2 (07:18):
I don't want to think that any of these films
are like a sort of cakewalk and stuff. It's like
sort of it like everything is you're pushing exacting uphill.
So I don't know that's a good question. I mean
I think sort of like, I don't think there's many
directors working today who can kind of like just you know,
kind of make anything caut blanche. You know a couple

(07:40):
of people, but I think most people have to kind
of sing for their supper. So like I wouldn't I
wouldn't suggest that like you know, getting any movie you
made is easy, Like getting any movie you made is hard.
And that was definitely the case with many of the
movies that I've made, Like you know, Baby Driver, like
was was really difficult to get off the ground. And
and you know, and this in a different way, not

(08:02):
in terms of that today there was enthusiasm from the
studio to do it, but just in terms of like
the ambitious nature of it and how to kind of
like how to physically make it was like the thing
that was like just you know, really had to be
you know, like it's a lot of work. Yeah, So
I don't want to think that it's easy.

Speaker 1 (08:20):
Oh no, I don't think it's easy at all. It's
just that when you when I watch your films, like obviously,
like your voice is just so pronounced in it and right,
and I just feel that there's a lot of trust
that comes with you when it comes to making a film.
And so like I just want to applaud you for
like always kind of like having that voice and like
basically like doing it your way and it always comes
off great. So I just saw The Running Man yesterday

(08:42):
and it just it just has that Edgar Right feel
to it.

Speaker 2 (08:44):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (08:45):
It's it's almost like when you watch like a Wes
Anderson movie and how he creates his own genre, like
you know it when you see it, and I feel
like you're you stepped into that with your like with
all of your filmography.

Speaker 2 (08:55):
You know, well, you know, you know sometimes when people
use the word effortless, it's like what you're saying is
you make something seem effortless, which means that it was
done with great effort. It's that that line. It's that
lineing in Sam Peckinport Sam Pegipa's convoy, Chris Chris Jofferson's

(09:17):
character is called rubber Ducky and they say, why are
you called rubber ducky? He goes, because I'm smooth on
the surface, but I'm paddling like the devil underneath. And
that's kind of it is like it's sort of like
it it takes. It takes an enormous amount of work
by hundreds of people to make something seem like it's
kind of like super slick, and.

Speaker 1 (09:38):
We're on the side going like, wow, how did they
make this? And you're just like whoo, we made it,
Like yeah, that's incredible. Let's talk a lot more about
The Running Man because like I watched this film, and
obviously I love the themes of this movie, like what
you're saying about like reality TV, and like there's moments
in this movie where citizens are essentially praising the network,
going back to the film network as well, and it's

(09:59):
almost like a Folt like way. You could definitely see
like the type of government that we as Americans are
living in today, Like we could almost call it a
fascist regime. When you see the state of like reality
TV and the state of citizens almost praising it like
they're doing in The Running Man. When you see that
in real life, what is your emotional reaction to that?
And how do you carry that emotional reaction to filming
this film?

Speaker 2 (10:20):
Well, I mean, I mean, maybe the truth is and
maybe this is the kind of the sobering, like disturbing
part of it is that you know, Stephen King wrote
the book. I mean, the book was published in nineteen
eighty two under his pseudonym, but he wrote it like
ten years before that, and you know, I guess it's

(10:42):
alarming how pressing it is. And like you know, George
Orwell didn't live to see nineteen eighty four, but Stephen
King is still with us here in twenty twenty five. So,
I mean somebody we did an interview the other day
and they asked him how does it feel? And he goes, all,
I wish it was better, but I mean, I think
the thing is. I mean, it's interesting you say about
the kind of the the the cult like nature of

(11:03):
the TV. One of the ideas that me and Michael
McCall had, which isn't said out loud in the movie,
but we thought, like, what if the TVs are like
like like state mandated by the States that everybody has
the same sixty five inch plasma TV in their house.

(11:24):
So even the people who kind of have less money,
everybody has that same TV. And there's one network and
so everybody has to watch the same thing. So it's
not necessarily that people are watching these shows out of choice.
It's just that like it's it's the show that's one.
You know. There's a little bit later where you see
like Bradley, the character played by Daniel Lesra that like

(11:46):
you get the idea that the TV's can't be switched off,
but you see that he's kind of opened up the
panels and has the off switch inside. You know, you
reach inside to turn it off. So you kind of
think he's figured out a way to kind of like
sort like breaking free exactly.

Speaker 1 (12:00):
I like that, and it almost reminds me of the
ending of The Truman Show, right, like how the show
his show is just the thing that's on, so everyone
says very much invested with it, but once he walks out,
the guy just says, what else is on? And I
think it's just one of the best like last lines
in a film, yeah, where it's just kind of like
all right on to the next, right, And so I
feel like in this film people are just forcibly watching

(12:21):
this thing, but that like you said, there are people
who are just willing to just like break the chord
and just kind of like cut it and say I'm
done with this right here.

Speaker 2 (12:27):
Yeah, I mean that's kind of what the ultimate message
of the film is about, Like there's there is a
different way to connect, and that is in talking to
each other.

Speaker 1 (12:37):
Turning it off or so he says. Something that I
really like gravitated towards in this film is something that
Killian says and he talks about the previous I want
to call him like the big producer, just like the
head Honcho. He says he tried to put a hypocritical
message in place of just entertaining people, and it kind

(12:57):
of positions like you can either like entertain Pece and
just like you know, just put things on screen, or
you can actually give them like morality or try to
say something to them. When it comes to making movies,
and like it's someone who makes movie content on the Internet,
there's always people who just say I want to be
entertained versus I want to be taught something. As a filmmaker,
how do you react to that of like, I'm making
something that has a message in it, but I also

(13:18):
want to entertain. How do you balance on that tight rope?

Speaker 2 (13:21):
I think obviously the balance is to sort of like
the win win is to kind of do the two
things at the same time. Like if you can entertain
somebody whilse they're eating their vegetables, then great, right.

Speaker 1 (13:36):
You give like the plane just kind of like.

Speaker 4 (13:38):
The I mean, you know, I do know what you're saying,
and I never felt a bit like that, And now
I will you shoot you?

Speaker 2 (13:48):
You got like your dad feeding your baby some and broccolies.
It comes to train. Okay, we're on the same page.

Speaker 1 (13:56):
Yeah, I love that. I love that so much. Now
when I watch your movies, I'm like, he's doing the
plane thing, and I love it.

Speaker 2 (14:03):
It's very funny. And so it's funny you. I'm with
the plane and I'm with the train. I think that's
how we are man Like, this is me and you
are your father. I am a father, and so have
you done the plane thing? Do you make a plain noise?
I do see I'm not a father, but I would
have done the chu chuo?

Speaker 1 (14:18):
Did you really ju chow? Here comes the train? I
think it's because I always I mean, that's a lot
of fun. But I don't really ride a lot of trains.
I bet you rode a lot of trains back in
the day.

Speaker 2 (14:29):
I mean, I like, I didn't. I didn't get on
a plane until I was eighteen years old.

Speaker 1 (14:34):
So yeah, I didn't get on a plane until I
was like twenty eight. So so I've always had the
dream of woo like planes have just always fascinated me.
Maybe that's why, all right, next question, I really like
there was one little nugget of a line and I
just pulled this one out and I feel like we
have to talk about it. There there's obviously a component
of like deep fakes and AI and how they used

(14:55):
to manipulate like the masses with information and AI is
a super huge topic she in the industry right now.
But I found it hilarious.

Speaker 2 (15:03):
Hope you're going to say the line you're going to say,
but go.

Speaker 1 (15:05):
I found it hilarious that Killian says, you know, we tried.

Speaker 2 (15:11):
I'm very happy you said that because me and Michael
Bacall are really proud of that, and it's a setup
for something that happens later. But it's really important that
even Dan Killian, even in a show where like there's
a lot of manipulation of the image and there's a
lot of deep faking going on, and there's a lot
of lying the audience is being lied to. And that's

(15:32):
something that I think in reality TV in the last
twenty five years, I think people have got wise to
kind of how a show can be edited, right, that
you can have the villain edit that, and also that
members of the public or contestants on the show. Somebody
could be made a laughing stock, somebody can be made
the pantomime villain. That's not necessarily who that person is.

(15:54):
And it's also it's a really dangerous thing. And in
some shows that has led to kind of like some
quite serious concert quences of somebody being made a national
laughing stock on TV or a villain on TV. It's like,
it's very dangerous. And so then Killian says, you know,
because the line is is that Glenn says at one point,
if you can fake everything, why don't you just fake

(16:15):
the whole shit show? And Josh Brolin, as Killian replies,
he goes, he goes, believe me, We've tried, but our
audience lives for these happy accidents. And when he says
happy accidents, he means human exactly, and he means the
randomness of like humans. And I think that's the thing
that you know, people ask about AI all the time

(16:37):
and how do you feel about AI? And I was thinking, well,
you know, it's inherently generic. It's just like an amalgam
of other people's work. I want to believe that the
human brain and you know, and like and real human
artistry will ultimately win out. I'm much more interested in

(16:57):
that than like what Tilly nor what can bring out.

Speaker 1 (17:02):
It's like when you go you go to theater for
a reason because even though you're watching these great performances
and it's great production. You're getting immersed in something. There's
that little nugget behind you that you feel the realness,
so you can feel the hiccups and the mistakes, and
that's it more human, which which is what makes theater
so great, right.

Speaker 2 (17:17):
Yeah, eternally. Yeah, So that happens as well, like sometimes
with like in making, you know, and maybe making where
you actually sort of sometimes in like an action sequensis
and even in things where you're sort of like doing
something with VFX, you might leave in something that's like
slightly imperfect because it actually feels more real. You get

(17:37):
it in camera operation as well. Is it sometimes you
put in a shot which is kind of like that
is slightly imperfect because it has a bit more reality
to it. Yeah, because real life isn't perfect.

Speaker 1 (17:47):
And it's so funny you say it. Because I worked
in advertising for about five years before I got into
this line of work, and we were making a commercial
that was like a cross between the Google pixel for
something and a vendors in game. And we were making
an ad where the Google pixel was kind of like
superimposed into random scenes in a Vender's Infinity War and
so one scene, we had a guy who is like
behind a hot dog cart while the aliens were attacking

(18:09):
New York, and he would take a photo with the
Google pixel and he would like go back down and
duck cover, and he'll look at the photo like, yeah,
it looks great. It looks great. As he's ducking down,
you see the hot dog cart hit him in the
back of the head. And it was such a real
and just human shot that we left it in because
it had that human error to it, right. It wasn't
like super well polished, and it was it was Every

(18:30):
time I watch it, I just go, that's a real
moment there.

Speaker 2 (18:32):
I'm glad that you picked up on that Keillyan line
because it Moe where even he recognizes that is nothing onset.

Speaker 1 (18:41):
I wrote down even the villain is not gonna go
with Ai. It reminds me of this this comic book
where the Jokers being the Joker and apparently, like I think,
like Hitler shows up. Somehow he comes face to face
with Hitler and even Joker says, I don't mess with that.
Heck no, I may be a bad maybe, but at

(19:01):
least I'm not you. And so it's just one of
those things where even the villain acknowledges like what's right
and what's wrong. It's incredible. I believe you only have
a couple of minutes left. And since this like heavily
deals with reality television, I need to know what reality
TV shows have you watched and which one did you
watch that made you go, oh, we're kind of going
down a dark path here.

Speaker 2 (19:21):
Well, I mean, I think the thing is is that,
like I mean, in the UK, I mean I think
there was a period where I was probably watching more
of those things, and that even if you start to
sort of like chune out like sort of like they're
still like in the Zeitgei, so you can't kind of
escape them. So I'm not gonna say that I've watched

(19:42):
a lot of Real Housewives or the Kardashians or vand
of pump Roles, but certainly I'm aware of it, god,
you know, and and aware of like like what they
look like and how they're made. I mean, I guess
like in maybe like twenty five years ago, when there
was the real sort of like rise of reality TV
and this kind of millennium in the UK, at least,
like shows like Big Brother were like enormous and like

(20:05):
the kind of the the original version of American Idol
which was called pop Idol, and then later X Factor,
those singing competitions and then also you know, so definitely
aware of those and also then like talk shows, like
even in the UK, Jerry Springer was like massive, Yeah,
like that was syndicated in the UK as well, and
it was like enormous and like, you know, it's interesting.

(20:27):
Just before we started filming and just we started, before
we started filming with Josh and Coleman, that Jerry Springer
documentary was on Netflix and that seemed to confirm everything
that was in the script about what's really going on
behind the scenes and like, you know, really disturbing. And
so I think the thing is is that you know,
even in singing competitions, like you start to find out

(20:50):
things about those shows and it's like ruthless and it's
mercenary and it's not good for people's mental health, and
like the way things are edited is like sort of
like you know, you know, not reflective of who those
people are. And you know, I think that it's it's
it's a TV is a very powerful medium, and I

(21:11):
think sort of I think that fame that comes from
or infamy that comes from those shows is a really
difficult thing to deal with, even for people where it
goes well, you know, there's a sort of lack of
aftercare on those shows about you know, like at least
actors know what they're signing up for if they want
to be a movie star.

Speaker 1 (21:30):
But I think people who come.

Speaker 2 (21:31):
In off the street aren't really ready for like sort
of like what fame actually means.

Speaker 1 (21:36):
Yeah, well, thank you so much for talking to me
about this, man, and I can talk to you for hours.

Speaker 2 (21:40):
Appreciate that. Thank you.

Speaker 1 (22:40):
What's going on, guys, it's your boy, Juj green Acre,
straw Had Goofy. You're a movie guy. We're back with
another episode of Get Wrecked with straw Had Goofy, where
we wreck you some really great movies and just like
I have interviews with your favorite actors, directors and things
of that sort while sharing conversations about what we love. Today,
we got a very special episode for you guys today.
It is an Edgar Wright episode. Baby. By the time

(23:01):
you get to this part of the podcast, you will
have probably seen the interview between me and egger Wright
where we talk about the Running Man, the Running Man
comes out this weekend. Really excited for a lot of
you guys to see that one. That was one of
my most anticipated movies of the year. Some would say
it's a remake of the Arnold Switzenegger eighties movie, but
it is honestly, very very different. It's based off the
Stephen King book. I think this movie follows that book

(23:24):
a little bit better. I didn't read the book, but
I did do, like a little bit of a cliff
note Wikipedia dive into it, and this one does kind
of fit the mode of that one. So we're gonna
talk about The Running Man. I have seen The Running Man.
I'll give you like my quick little thoughts on it
the reviews, but we're just gonna like dive into some
Edgor Wright stuff. The Man has made many a great film.
I mean, we're talking about the Cornetto trilogy. We're talking

(23:44):
about Scott pilgrin Versus the World, which is probably one
of my favorite Edgar Wright films too. You know it's
I mean, I'll tell you about a date that I
went on when it came to that movie. It was
very telling about the future, but also Baby Driver as well.
And we know how you feel about Baby Driver. We
can get into that. It's a whole thing. I get it.

(24:06):
But I think I think the start off The Running Man, right.
So this year has been the year of Stephen King adaptations.
There's been like maybe like I think five of them.
We have The Long Walk, which is currently sitting at
my second favorite movie of the year, Lovely, lovely, amazing film.
It's weird to call that movie lovely when you know
how brutal depressing that film is. But The Long Walk

(24:30):
was great. Welcome to Dairy, it welcome the Dairy is
banging right now. Like I think episode three comes out
this Sunday.

Speaker 5 (24:37):
Is so good, really good.

Speaker 1 (24:39):
We need to have a Stephen King episode, so I think,
and then we can like cover like everything, you know what.

Speaker 5 (24:43):
That would be a good one. When Stony is back
in town, we can do that. We go hometown with
Stony and we'll talk about it.

Speaker 1 (24:50):
I'm down for it. I'm down for it. Yeah. So, yeah,
it welcomed the Dairy, the Long Walk. I believe The Institution,
which is a series on MG and plus or what's
that other one, uh AMC. It might be on AMC.
Uh So it's an institution. And then we have the
Running Man and I feel like I'm missing, Oh, Life
of Chuck. Life of Chuck also came out earlier this year,
directed by Mike flan Against, starring Tom Hillston. So we've

(25:12):
had some Stevie King adaptations, but The Running Man is
out this weekend, and this was one that obviously, like,
you know, it's right to get excited for because anytime
Ako Wright is attached to something like you gotta you
gotta show up. Glenn Powell, who's like the new movie star,
like he just has the movie star archetype thing, like,
you know, I feel like Tom Cruise has been like

(25:33):
I don't want to I was gonna say a word
that I knew the comments was just gonna run with.
But he's been grouped. They're gonna run with that too,
damn it. You know, I'm gonna just say it. He's
been grooming him to be the next like movie action star, right,
like him in a Top Gun. And we've seen him
in movies like God, what's the one I really loved

(25:54):
last year? Hit Man? Did you watch him?

Speaker 2 (25:56):
Man?

Speaker 5 (25:56):
I saw him?

Speaker 1 (25:57):
Hitman is incredible and he's great.

Speaker 5 (25:58):
He's really good to hit Man.

Speaker 1 (25:59):
He's yeah, like him and Audre Aljana, Like they're the
driving forces of that.

Speaker 5 (26:03):
And I think you want to say, he's passing the baton.

Speaker 1 (26:05):
He's passing.

Speaker 5 (26:06):
There we go, there, we go good. I know we
already know.

Speaker 1 (26:13):
It's fine, but I feel like, like Glenn Powell is
that like movie star quality. He's got the face, he's
got the charm, he's got the charisma, and so you
put him in this movie directed by Edgar Wright, and
you get excitement, and it was there was a lot
of excitement for me now watching the movie. My honest opinion,
it's a it's a tale of three parts to me,

(26:34):
or it's yeah, it's a tale of three parts to me.
I feel like the mid section of the movie is
extremely strong. It's extremely strong. I feel like it the opening,
the first act. In that third act, I struggle with
it a lot because you understand where he's coming from.
You understand kind of like the backstory, and like, you know,
I believe the story is like he's trying to get

(26:56):
medicine for his daughter, but they live in slumside and
you know, they don't have the money, and they're living
in this dystopian future where there's like mandated reality shows
that are very dangerous for the contestants that go on there,
and the Running Man being the most dangerous one, where
the whole world is out to get you for thirty days,
so you have to survive thirty days and then you'll
get like boatloads of money, like a life changing supply

(27:19):
of money. So the opening of the movie, like it's
not hard to understand the stakes of everything, it's just
it just feels like we're just trying to get to
that midsection and it's it's a weird thing when I'm
looking at the clock at the very beginning of the movie, right,

(27:42):
and I just really I just really really struggled with it,
Like I didn't think that I didn't think we got
enough of the world. He just kind of like there's
this scene where he's kind of like walking from his
house to the station, and I think that was meant
to be like, oh, yeah, this is the world, like
this is what we're living in. But for me, it
just felt just in my face all the time. Now,
maybe that's what Edgar Wright was going for. Maybe that

(28:04):
was the point. You know, capitalism like constant, like the
TV's constantly on. One of the big messages in the
movie is turn it off, think for yourself, fight back
against the network. Everything leading up to him joining the game,
I was just kind of like, all right, I'm a
little maybe I was overstimulated in my in my sense

(28:26):
now that Midsections fucking banger. Once he like gets to
Josh Broland. Once he kind of like gets on that stage,
and once like you know, Covid Domingo's doing his thing
and he's running from everybody, and he's like meeting the
people who could help him, the people who sell them out.
That's where the movie like really hits a strong point.
It's fun, it's energetic, it's that classic Edgar Wright like
playing with character and picture. There's a moment, and it's

(28:49):
in the trailer where he's out on the run for
the first time and he's wearing a disguise and he's
kind of like trying to be inconspicuous, but there's a
giant poster like his wanted poster, like behind him, and
every time he looks left, the poster looks left. Every
time he looks right, the poster looks right. And there's
some really great visual site gags and like moments that

(29:10):
I really love from Edgar Wrights films like he knows
how to just be different in how characters enter and
leave a scene and the dialogue that they have and
just like basically subverting expectations when it comes to action
sequences and things like that. So Edger right, once he
gets to that mode of the movie, fantastic. However, one

(29:33):
gripe that I'm finding this year when it comes to movies,
and I found this very difficult with him as well.
I think it has the same problem as him, is
that the movie was in the third act and I
didn't know we were in the third act. It felt
like we miss something.

Speaker 5 (29:47):
You and I talk about not liking that. Yeah, you know,
And I said it the other day is when you're
watching something and you're like, wait a minute, let me
check with the run has been so far, and you're like, oh,
there's only fifteen minutes left. I didn't even know, right, right, yeah, right,
So it's yeah, you kind of like I like knowing
when we're about to like we're in the third act,
is either about to escalate, there's like a climax or

(30:07):
something or whatever, or there's gonna be some sort of resolution.

Speaker 1 (30:10):
Yeah, yeah, And I think like a big part of
that and because you know again, this is a movie
where he has to survive thirty days, right, so the
passage of time and this is every is everything, And
there are moments in the movie where they will tell
you like, oh, what day is it? Like what time
is he at? Like da dah dah dah. But I
don't think he's anywhere near like thirty days by the

(30:31):
time the movie ends, right like, and so I'm I'm
in my mind thinking, Okay, this movie is leading to
the thirty day climax. That's naturally where he has to survive,
but where it's at I'm like, wait, the time's not up?
Why is the movie like up? You know what I'm
saying that? And that's something that really it's stuck with

(30:51):
me and it bothered me so like as I was
thinking about that, I was like, Okay, we're here. This
is a big moment. This is a bit it feels climactic,
but at the same time, there has to be more, right,
this is only day four, day ten. Maybe you know
what I'm saying, So like it's those type of things
and maybe you can say I'm nitpicking. That's fine, Like

(31:12):
it's just when I watch a movie, I like to
know where we're at. I like to see the chess
pieces on the board, so that way, like whenever i'm
you know, analyzing and breaking down, like I need to
know where everything is at so I can kind of
like see everything on the field. And I feel like
the field the movies field, it's very uh jumbled for me.

(31:36):
So yeah, that third act, it just kind of zooms
in and I just feel like it was just kind
of wrapped up, just kind of like, Okay, we're done.
Tanks a lot and I remember you're just going, oh, okay, cool,
like you know, and I had a good time, Like, right,
I didn't walk out saying like that movie was terrible.
I don't even think it's mid it's just structural issues
within the movie that like I really struggle with. But

(31:58):
I think Glenn Powell, you know, another thing we could
talk about. At the very beginning, me and my friend
we're talking about this, and I feel like Glenn Powell
was over selling anger right, like because his whole character
is like an angry guy in the movie, makes it
a point to tell you how angry he is, and
it almost seems overdone, like overcooked. Like there's this moment

(32:20):
where someone's asking him questions and he's giving the most
angry man answers you could think of. And it's funny,
don't get me wrong, but it's kind of like, okay, man,
I could see the vein like popping out of your
neck and in your head, like I get it, like
you're mad, But it turns of like again setting up
the world or like the backstory, I don't understand why

(32:41):
he's so angry other than the fact that he just
is a poor guy, right, Like I wanted to learn
a little bit more about him as to like how
did he get this way? What was he like growing up?
Like I know what type of man he is. He's
a good man who will always go out on a
limb for the little guy, but he's also angry as shit.

(33:03):
So it's like, so I'm just kind of like, so,
you're a good guy who does things angrily. Like it's
just these type of things in the beginning. I might
have to see it again to like really like set
everything in place and be like, okay, knowing this now,
I think it was like my first time experiencing this
character in this way just kind of like threw me off.
But again, great visuals, great action Action's pretty fucking dope

(33:26):
Glenn Powell once he gets to go and it's awesome.
I think the uh. I think Edgar Wright as a director,
like he never necessarily fails when it comes to delivering
that big action. But as far as like The Running Man,
is it like the best move one of the best
movies of the year. Not by any stretch. Is it
in my top ten? I don't think it's in my
top fifteen, top twenty. I don't know if it's in

(33:48):
my top twenty. But still, with all that being said,
I know it sounds like I'm shitting on it. But
with all that being said, like I liked The Running Man, right,
But yeah, man, that's just kind of like my little
thoughts after seeing the movie one time a week ago.

Speaker 5 (34:04):
So it wasn't one of your top movies of the year,
but entertaining, and you would recommend people see it?

Speaker 1 (34:08):
Yeah, oh yeah, I definitely recommend people, saying it for sure.
I just again, as someone who likes to really know
where he's at when it comes to a movie, I
just feel like a lot of pieces in that beginning
that could have been used to like setting it up
versus just trying to get to the game, which is good,

(34:29):
and I understand why he wanted to get there. It's
just for me. I wish there was like a little
bit of a slower thing, like I'll tell you this,
I told you The Long Walk. Another Stephen King adaptation,
is my second favorite movie of the year. I liked
how slow that movie starts. It's not to a crawl,
but character walks in. You get a taste of he

(34:52):
and his mom's like life together, you get their dynamic.
He sits down, meets the characters, the characters start walking, boom,
first character dies. You understand the situation. That was like
I think it was like a good thirty minutes before
the title sequence even dropped, and that was like, holy shit, Okay, cool,

(35:13):
that is a great setting of the sakes. Do you
understand the character dynamics, You understand what's about to happen
on this journey and what you're getting a taste of
what the rest of the movie is like. And I
feel like the Running Man just kind of drops a
bunch of exposition as to their current situation. Okay, I'm
going to join the game now, and then where we're

(35:34):
going to the game. So and I feel like that
first act is very important for actually getting me invested.
And I wasn't invested until gun started flying and he
started hiding those type of things.

Speaker 5 (35:45):
Right. So yeah, so let me ask you, did you
see the first like the og running Man, I did, Arnold?

Speaker 2 (35:51):
I did?

Speaker 5 (35:51):
How long ago?

Speaker 1 (35:53):
Oh? I watched that this year?

Speaker 5 (35:54):
Okay, so you watched that first?

Speaker 1 (35:56):
Yeah?

Speaker 5 (35:56):
So did they completely abandon the Ben Richards Arnold Swarzenegger
cop forced to be on the game show situation?

Speaker 1 (36:06):
Yeah? Well so wait, remind you was he a cop?

Speaker 5 (36:08):
Yeah? He was. He was like a framed ex cop.

Speaker 1 (36:11):
Yeah, and then he was that whole thing.

Speaker 5 (36:13):
Yeah, okay, yeah.

Speaker 1 (36:14):
So he was like he was more in this one.
He's like a factory worker or something like that, and
like he's like a he's like an everyman.

Speaker 5 (36:20):
Okay, so every man kind of down on his luck. Ye,
angry has feels like he has nothing to lose, participates
to potentially change his life.

Speaker 1 (36:26):
Literally, he's a man existing in a world where doing
the right thing is often punished, right. Like, there's a
scene in the trailer I believe they released his clip
as well, where a man starts coughing in the line
because he's sick and he like collapses and he gets
out of line to help the guy. Dude kicks his
ass because he got out of line to help this guy, right,
So he's that type of man existing in this world.

(36:49):
And I do love the messages that this movie has
when it comes to uh you know, uh networks basically
being these like mandated things that very much how we
view society. Right, Like it makes uses of AI deep fakes.
They literally control what everyone watches, and that controls how
we perceive each other. And so there are great scenes

(37:13):
that challenge these notions of like fascist regimes using the
media in order to kind of like control society, and
I feel like those moments are really really well done.
Sometimes you can get a little preachy. There's one particular
scene in a car with a woman that gets very
very preachy. But I feel like when we're just existing
in the world where he's like hiding and like we

(37:34):
hear people and these whispers about him, and the pingel
on swings from back and forth on whether he's a
good guy, whether he's a bad guy, those are the
best things about the movie that like, I was very
very much intrigued by. But yeah, the movie just has
like a bunch of things, and I feel like it's
a lot that you want. So I'm really curious to
see what people think about this once the movie comes out.

Speaker 5 (37:53):
But yeah, yeah, when I heard that they were kind
of remaking, rebooting, whatever you want to call it, I
was thinking that the creative what's going to go down
the line of the same framed ex cop being forced
to participate and then all these things that are just
outrageous of control, especially with the prevalence of reality TV,

(38:14):
because that wasn't necessarily a thing back in eighteen eighty seven.
So I thought there may be a little bit of
a take on that. And it feels like, I don't
know if you saw this movie. There's a movie that
came out a couple of years ago with it's called
Self Reliance.

Speaker 1 (38:29):
Hold on it sounds I don't think Jake.

Speaker 5 (38:31):
Johnson from New Girl, he did a movie called Self
Reliance and it was a movie about like a life
for death game show and it was a guy but
it was a comedy but like kind of bumbling and
like trying to stay alive and was miserable but he
could get this money. And I was like, damn, this

(38:52):
this sounds very much like that. But like more obviously
it's a more serious tone versus comedic.

Speaker 1 (38:58):
Right, and it's still like a right, so like he'll
still like insert a lot of comedy beats in there,
and you know, there's a lot of great one liners
that glimpse like spouts that will make you laugh out loud,
like totally. But yeah, it's it's almost like exactly what
you were saying, like, you know, taking on that reality
show thing. And Edgar Wright talked about this in the
interview where reality wasn't a thing back then, especially when

(39:19):
this book was released was published, so it was really
cool to kind of like see things like the real world.
Even there's even a really funny like Kardashians thing in
there and how obsessed with people are with that. So
you know, the movie, the movie has a lot of
things in there, but like and again for me, it
was just maybe a little too overstimulating for my personal taste.

(39:43):
But where ever, Wright is like really going Edgar Wright
in it, like it's pretty it's pretty enjoyable. It's pretty enjoyable.
I think I think it's gonna be one of those
movies for me that like I can just turn on
at home and just kind of like you know.

Speaker 5 (39:55):
Is it like a Sunday movie.

Speaker 1 (39:56):
Sunday movie. I think it's a Sunday movie, Yeah for sure.

Speaker 2 (40:00):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (40:00):
All right, So there's quite a few things I want
to talk about because Edgar Wright, I was introduced to
eka right through I want to say, Shawna the Dead.
That was like my first eco right movie that I've seen.
And then we know that he did like the Cornado
trilogy of Shawna the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and at worlds End,
and I think all those movies are great. I think,

(40:21):
I think, I think.

Speaker 5 (40:22):
I agree with you, right, I agree with you know.

Speaker 1 (40:25):
And then like obviously that kind of like led to
him getting like a job like directing ant Man, which
he developed for I believe eight years before eventually like
he had to leave the project due to create a
different differences with Marvel. And now that's one of the
greatest what ifs in to me movie history, Like what
what does that look like? I would love to see

(40:46):
a Edgar Wright cut of the ant Man movie? And
I'm really excited to see what would that looked like.
I'm not excited, but like I really I'm hopeful that
maybe we'll get that. I don't know, but Scott Pilgrim
Versus the World was another movie that kind of like
was a formative movie for me. I think this was
around the time that I started to like really love movies,

(41:07):
like like in high school. And I remember going on
a date with this girl and she was like, oh, like,
what should we do. We can go out to dinner,
we can go to the fair, we can do this.
I said, we go to the fair, but first, let's
watch this movie. I'm in dying to see Scott Pigrim
Versus the World. And she's like, yeah, okay, for sure,

(41:29):
for sure. I don't know if she was planning on
just getting like some makeout session or something like that.
I don't know if that was her goal. I don't
go to the movies for that. In case you don't know.

Speaker 5 (41:39):
It's like, I'm a gentleman. I go, I only want
to view the movie. That's it.

Speaker 1 (41:43):
It's being a gentleman. If I'm going to the movie.
This is a serious thing for me. And it's serious
that I'm taking you to this movie because like this
is a like this is a bonding moment for us.

Speaker 2 (41:53):
Right.

Speaker 1 (41:53):
So I'm watching this movie and I'm loving it, right,
Like I'm loving it, But I'm noticing the entire time
she's not reacting to the movie at all, Like there's
no laughs, there's no giggles, there's no I don't condone
people talking in the movie. I don't necessarily talk in
a movie, but you know, not like when you're watching
a movie, you have like a little bit of commentary,
whether it's to yourself or to the person next to you.

Speaker 5 (42:13):
There's a way to talk.

Speaker 1 (42:14):
Way.

Speaker 5 (42:15):
Not everybody knows how to do that. There is a
way to talk during a movie.

Speaker 1 (42:18):
Like something happens you go, oh damn, Like I was like, oh,
and then even if you got a question, if you
miss something, wait did that just happen? Like you know,
it's one of those type of things. It's part of
the communal experience. She was not in on the communal experience, right,
And I was. She didn't know I was clocking it,
but I was clocking it. I was clocking it hard. Right.
So we walk out and I say, yes, what do
you think about the movie? She was like I didn't

(42:40):
get it. And I was like, hmmm, hmmm, how's this
gonna work out with the kids? Hmmm? Like right, like,
how is this gonna work out? In a marriage right now.
Me being a dumb teenager, I was like, I didn't
have the intelligence to be like, oh, she doesn't like
the same things that I like, or she's not willing

(43:00):
to engage with the things that I like. So this
is gonna spell trouble for further down the road for
this relationship. So I'm still thinking, like, that's okay, let's
go to the fair. So we go to the fair
and I think me seeing that movie with her turned
her off a lot and so cause she was very
like stand offish and it was very quiet after that,
and I was I couldn't place what was wrong with her,

(43:21):
but it never thought to me that it was the movie. Right.
So fast forward maybe like a month later, right, we're
texting this whole time, and we're going to We're going
to separate high school. She actually went to high school
with my best friend, and we're me and my best
friend are hanging out every single day. And so while
I'm at this separate school, he texts me and he says, yo, bro,

(43:42):
I thought you was such and such was like going out.
I was like, I thought, so I thought we were
on track, right yeah? Yeah, And he says, oh, why
is she like making out with our homeboy right now?
And I was like what And I said, pixel didn't

(44:05):
happen right literally two seconds later foo full video. I went,
I I'm a getter, and I think it was like
later that day, like we were just kind of like
on the phone and this is like eight pm a
night something like that, and she goes, yeah, so, like
how was your day? I was like, you know, it

(44:26):
was cool, it was cool. How was you? And what's
his name's day? And she goes, what do you mean me?
And what's his name? Like how do you even know him?
I was like, oh, that's the homie, and you didn't
answer my question. She goes, I mean, I guess this
day was good. Like I didn't see him at all,

(44:46):
Like I guess we don't have the same classes. And
I sent her the video back to her and she's like,
who sent you? That doesn't matter and she and so
now she's like, oh my god, like I'm so sorry,
like it just happened and da da da da dah.
And I'm like, listen, we're not together. Do you do
what you want? Just don't be sitting in my face
texting me all day, like saying when are we going

(45:08):
out and do it. I don't do that right, Like,
I don't do it at least like as a kid.
Like I'm not trying to do the whole like casual
dating thing or whatever. I didn't understand. I didn't know
that was a thing. So that was like, and I
kept thinking to myself, I should have known her a
Scott Pilgrim. She wasn't fucking with Scott Pilgrim, so.

Speaker 5 (45:25):
You shouldn't have been fucking with her.

Speaker 1 (45:27):
I should have been fucking with her. So I think
every time I think about Scott Pilgrim, every time I
watch it, I go, this movie's fucking great. Why did
what's her name? Like this? Dale movie?

Speaker 5 (45:38):
Movies do that? Man, do you just tap right back
into the moment when you first saw it. There's always
some sort of connection where you were in your life
and all that. And that's one of the things. And
it's one of the things I love about movies.

Speaker 1 (45:50):
And I say this all the time. I say this
on the show all the time. Movies can help us
gauge who we are as people, right, Like your movie
taste means everything, right, I can tell who you are
by what you watch, what you like, what you don't.
And I learned a lot about this girl that day.
And I'm not saying she's a bad person, right And
I'm not salty about it to this day. It's just

(46:11):
an experience that happened. But I should have realized that
we were not compatible because of this movie, right, So,
and who knows, maybe like she's married now. I believe
we're still friends. But she's married now, great husband. I
believe they had a baby recently. But he seems like
the type of guy that likes Scott Pilgrim versus the world.
So I really hope that they either watched it together

(46:34):
and she got a new lens on it because he
liked it, or he watches it she's just like, oh
my god, like and she gets reminded of our time
watching that tail.

Speaker 5 (46:44):
She's like, fucked up, nothing like that.

Speaker 1 (46:48):
Don't put that on me, don't put that on up.

Speaker 5 (46:51):
I should have just watched the movie.

Speaker 2 (46:54):
But I could have been on the red carpet, no nod.

Speaker 1 (46:58):
Can you imagine if that was the case. And she's
just like Straw, Wifey Straw had Wifey Straw had wite,
Straw had Clara Bell because people say that Clara Bell
and Goroofy are like, oh no, you know, I need
to find the name of that li Brian from extremely
Goofy movie because once she was fine two two That's
what I would call my girlfriend reer on out straw
had whatever her name is short had librarian for right

(47:20):
now like Brian. But yeah, but I think in my
mind it's hard because I'm gonna ask you this, what
do you think is the best egg right movie that
you've seen? Like? For me, I go back and forth
between SHAWNA the Dead and Scott Pilgrim because Scott Pilgrim

(47:40):
is just so different, bro like it like at the
time it was released, like it took like video game culture,
it took the manga feel it, you know, and I
don't think it do you look this up like which
came out for a speed Racer or or Scott Pilgrim,
because I feel like Scott Pilgrim with the Ben Scott

(48:00):
Pilgrim without speed Racer or vice versa.

Speaker 5 (48:04):
So speed Racer was in eight seven, right, Pilgrim was.

Speaker 2 (48:13):
Ten.

Speaker 1 (48:14):
Oh my gosh, speed Racer being a blueprint as we
all know, Like I think speed Racer was ahead of
its time and the way it took the manga feel
and aesthetic and absolutely applied it to film.

Speaker 5 (48:28):
I just talked to Ace about this. Ace is actually
doing a video on speed Racer and he's saying and
he was saying like he just thinks that people weren't
ready for it and that it's it was ahead of
its time. We were just talking about this two days ago.

Speaker 1 (48:42):
Bro. I wasn't ready for it when it came out.
I was like, what the hell is this? Right, but
then like but but that last racing scene pulled me
back into it. And then I watched it a few
times after saying like, oh, what the hell is this?
And I was like, this is actually a pretty fire
ass movie. And I didn't understand it at the time,
but like, you know, someone who is a fan of
like anime and manga and you know, like kind of

(49:03):
like blending genres together, speed Racer does it possibly the best,
at the very least, it is the blueprint for that.
And then so a couple of years later, Scott Pilgrim
comes out, and I do believe that without Speed Racer
we don't get a movie like Scott Pilgrim. Right, Like
the fact that this movie I'm watching feels very much
like the manga that I read, the anime that I watch,

(49:25):
and the Saturday morning cartoons that I sit in front
of every single Saturday. But still feels like a feature
like that was so different when I watched it. So
I feel like, for those reasons alone, I would probably
have to like put Scott Pilgrim is like his best movie,
Shanna the Dead. I thought, I know I saw first.
I know that came out first.

Speaker 5 (49:44):
Yeah, well no, that came out a little earlier. I
want to say four.

Speaker 1 (49:48):
Four Okay, Shanna Dead, Yep, great. I think it's the
best zombie movie of all time if you're asking me.
But yeah, man, I feel like between those two, I
feel like it's Scott Pilgrim for me and then Shawna
The Dead.

Speaker 5 (50:00):
For me, it's Seanna the Dead.

Speaker 1 (50:01):
It is.

Speaker 5 (50:02):
I mean, horror is my favorite genre, horror comedy at
that level amazing it is. I think top ten zombie movie,
arguably top five. You know, my favorite is twenty eight
Days Later. So we've talked about that, you know, but
it's not to go off on a tangent, but when

(50:22):
you're talking about watching something with people and kind of
understanding who they are or maybe who they aren't, when
I saw twenty eight days later with two people, one
of them was still one of my best friends in
the world. I'm like, of course, of course you didn't
like this movie. You just I was like, but I
know who he is.

Speaker 1 (50:40):
Not for everybody.

Speaker 5 (50:41):
It's not for everybody. But going back to your point here,
like I feel like just Sean of the Dead, I
don't think we've seen horror comedy executed on that level,
and people that don't even like a horror genre we're
gravitating towards this movie. It was so well written, the
performances were performance his were amazing.

Speaker 1 (51:01):
You know, I'm and Peg and Nick Frost like the chemistry. Yeah,
And also it's the it's an introduction for a lot
of people because a lot of people were probably introduced
through the office or things of that sort. British to
British comedy in the British comedy style, and more importantly
Edgar Wright's comedic style, like that comedy in that movie
is so fucking well done. And the moment, like the

(51:25):
scene that I love and I try I always like
quote this scene a lot is where he's like running
over the plan and he's all like, okay, we go
we get mom, we killed Jerry. Sorry Jerry, I don't
know the boyfriend's name. It was like, oh, sorry, Jerry Boot.
Then we pick up the girls, go to west Chester,
have a pint, and wait till it all blows over.
It's like the kinetic energy, the cuts, the editing, the dialogue.

(51:48):
It was so fucking funny and it was so different
than what I saw up until that point. And so
it was like a cool introduction to how Edgar Wright
makes his films. And I believe that was his Uh
I wanna say that was his second feature film, after
Fist full of Fingers, which he made all the way
back in nineteen ninety five.

Speaker 5 (52:07):
Yeah, checking right now, Yeah, yeah, but yeah.

Speaker 1 (52:11):
It was just a great introduction to like that brand
of comedy, right.

Speaker 5 (52:15):
Yeah, because he did a lot of TV he did
after Fist full of Fingers.

Speaker 1 (52:18):
Well that's what okay, I want to talk about, right real? Yeah,
So Fist full of Fingers, I like kind of did
a cool little dive on it, and you know, it
feels very much like a student film. It was his
first feature, feels very much like a student film. There's
some funny moments, but like you could tell he's a
little rough around the edges, like you could tell he
didn't have to, like he made it for fifteen thousand dollars.
It is what it is, right, But I remember seeing

(52:40):
this interview where he was talking about how he couldn't
he could barely afford getting the train ticket to get
to London to do Q and A's for his own screening.
But luckily, like at that screening, like a couple of
comedians like saw it, they loved it, and that's what
got him a job doing TV. And he said that's

(53:00):
where he began to like hone his craft and to
get into his movie making education. And it worked. That
school worked because he's yeah, now making.

Speaker 5 (53:12):
Yeah, he went from because he did Full of Fingers
in ninety five and then Shawna the Dead came out
in four so years and years are just digging in
getting better, and I mean we're talking a lot of
episodes of TV.

Speaker 1 (53:24):
Yeah, yeah, So I just think that's like really cool.
And then next you know, like the Cornetto trilogy, just
like he takes it to the whole next level with
Hot Fuzz, which like it's not to me, it's not
as good as Shawna the Dead. But because it's in
a different genre, it's still at the top of its genre,
if that makes sense, right, Like the action comedy, the
send up of action comedy is a satirical nature of it,

(53:47):
the over the top nature of it. Like that movie
is so fucking funny. It's like it existed during the
time where Will Ferrell was on that crazy run that
he was doing, like the other guys and Talladega Knights
and Blades of Glory, and it had like Will Ferrell
feel like it was like a Will Ferrell movie, but

(54:07):
from the other side of the pond. And it was
cool that that movie kind of like existed in the
middle of it. It was almost like it was almost
like while the Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers are battling
it out, you had some great teams in the middle
that were like top of their game. They just couldn't
get nowhere because that rivalry is just so damn strong.
But I feel like Hot Fuzz still transcended the Will

(54:30):
Ferrell comedy like era of that time. That was a
strong fucking era that like he was the face of
comedy during that time.

Speaker 5 (54:36):
Yeah, you know what's interesting about that thinking back of
when I saw it, I didn't love it when I
first saw it. I didn't hate it. Yeah, I didn't
love it, But I didn't love it because I'm comparing
it to Shown a Dead It's not that I was
comparing it to other action comedies that were out in
you know. Yeah, So I think that would be a
good rewatch for me.

Speaker 1 (54:57):
Oh, I think it would be, yeah, because especially when
you just realize because like the only thing that remains
constant about the Cornello trilogy is like some of the cast,
like obviously Nick Fross and Simon Pegg are like just
constance in that whole thing. But the comedy, the comedy
is also you could say, is like kind of the same.
But what he does with each one, they all feel

(55:18):
distinctly different while feeling the same.

Speaker 5 (55:20):
No any And that's what I love that about, just
his style, his direction. I love that because The World's
End is so goddamn good.

Speaker 2 (55:28):
It's so good.

Speaker 5 (55:29):
It's such a good movie. The action in the movie.

Speaker 1 (55:31):
Yo, Like I was the bathroom scene crazy, it's so good. Yeah,
And I was just like, man like, like that scene
is so funny because they are not action heroes. They're
just every man, but every man doing action hero shit.
Like I think there's a moment where, like I wanted
it was either Martin Freeman or Nick Fross where they

(55:52):
like bang one of the alien's heads on the urinal
and then he like falls on the ground and he
kicks himself through the legs of the alien and he
does like this action man slide.

Speaker 5 (56:02):
I was like, oh shit, but that's what I loved
about it because I was like, you expect like silly
comedy kind of action in a movie like right, but
this felt I was like, damn, they are just kicked
out kicking their coverage the movie. That action was so
good incomparable to any other action scene, you know what
I mean. So and his tracking shot, yeah exactly. I

(56:23):
just felt like a little some of the techniques were
just not I don't want to say a little ahead
of the time, but maybe not pioneering because that's a
little aggressive. But it was just like he was taking
it there. I know a lot of people are pulling
influence from that that that film, well.

Speaker 1 (56:36):
You can see the evolution of Edgar right through the
Cornetto trilogy, right like you kind of see like you know,
his roots of fist full of fingers and Seana the
Dead you can see his comedy roots there, and then
he ups the ante with like you know, his the
messaging and the themes and everything of Hot Fuzz and
then like the over the top nature of it and

(56:56):
using over the top action to talk about action films
that are over the top. And then you see him
like kick it to another gear as a director in
At World's End. Right, and mind you, I think At
World's End is probably the weaker of the three, but again,
the action is great. I like the center of the
story about this like manchild like type of character. I

(57:19):
think maybe the man child thing was like maybe a
little overdone because again with Will Ferrell, like we talked about,
he's already just kind of like did that to death.

Speaker 5 (57:24):
Yeah, it was played up a little bit.

Speaker 1 (57:26):
It was played up a little bit, right, but again
like it's still really really fucking good. But then, like
I believe after the Cornetto trilogy he tried ant Man
ant Man didn't work. Then I always said, I'm excited
to see what that would have been. But what was
the next movie he did? Baby Driver was the next one, right,
So I think Baby Driver was his more Western movie,

(57:50):
if that makes sense. Like it they definitely felt like
it was catered to Americans, you could say, because maybe
had an American cast and like the jokes are very American,
but it feels like an American action movie. But he
still had that egger right feel. He edited to music,
like there's this scene with John Hamm where he's firing
the gun and it's literally the bullets are coming out
to the sound of the score that it's happening, and

(58:12):
using the music as a character in and of itself.
You know, that movie just feels like the ultimate evolution
of Edgar Wright. And I feel like it was the
last I don't want to say the last good movie,
because we just talked about running in and I feel
like that is good despite all the things that I said.
But I don't know, because I didn't like last Night

(58:35):
and so, and I feel like he lost something with
Last Night and So.

Speaker 5 (58:38):
I didn't finish it. Yeah, I watched the first thirty Yeah,
and I still wasn't in. So I was like, I'm
just gonna hit pause and I'm gonna come back when
I'm in a different headspace.

Speaker 1 (58:48):
Maybe I'm just not.

Speaker 5 (58:49):
I just really wasn't connecting with it.

Speaker 2 (58:50):
No, I was.

Speaker 5 (58:51):
I tried three times.

Speaker 1 (58:53):
Feel like egg Wright to me, and like, you know,
that was like a change in genre because that one
e skewed more into the thriller horror aspect of it.
Not really a lot of comedy in that movie. And
I'm not trying to paint echo Right in a box
like we've seen directors jump from here to there and whatever,
but that movie just didn't feel like it had a
voice other than some of the visual techniques that he

(59:15):
had in that film. Nothing felt like an echo right film.
It just felt like a paint by numbers horror thriller,
big twist like it just didn't necessarily grab me.

Speaker 5 (59:27):
That's why I'm reserving like a critique. I want to
actually watch it. The fact that I didn't make it
past the first thirty I'm not gonna be like I
wasn't good. I didn't watch it the first couple of minutes.
I need to sit down and watch it before I
actually have this opinion. Because I've seen Baby Driver. I've
seen I don't care for a Baby Driver.

Speaker 1 (59:47):
So that's and see, this is interesting because I feel
like Baby Driver is peak like and again I've already
said that I think Scott Pilgrim is his best film
with Sean and Dead being under But I feel like
Baby Driver is his peak Edgar Wright at the top
of his powers. He's fully knowing what he's doing. He's
throwing everything at the wall, he's using it, and he

(01:00:07):
creates a fun, fast paced movie with a lot of energy,
great music, great performances. Like you want to talk about
Jimmy Fox Nevian. You won't talk about Kevin Spacey, Kevin Spacey,
but you want to talk about, you know, Kevin Spacey
in that movie Who's Good? You give credit where credit
is due an soel Elgirt, which also a couple people
in that cast not doing well, not very much like

(01:00:30):
great people. Right, I get it. But at the time,
at the time Baby Driver, you watch it, You're like, damn,
why did these people have to suck?

Speaker 5 (01:00:42):
Okay, so this is what I will do for the
since we're talking about this on the podcast, I will
say what I did like about the movie. Okay, while
I did not like the movie, I loved John Barenthal, Yes,
I love his performance was amazing. I wish that John

(01:01:03):
Ham's character was actually John b Yeah. I thought Parental
would have done a much better job for me. I
love Jamie Jamie Fox. I did not love him in this, yeah,
but there was something there were some good lines that

(01:01:26):
were that that they got off. But it just and
then the you know, I record things in there, just
in my floorboards. Why do I do it? I just
do it to do it. It was just a little again,
I'm going, I'm going, I'm going, I'm going bad.

Speaker 1 (01:01:43):
I'm not trying to go bad, but you can go bad,
you know. I don't want to, you know what, I
don't want.

Speaker 5 (01:01:46):
To go bad because because I appreciate the filmmaking, I
saw where it was coming together. I just don't think
I loved the story in Lily James is in that movie.
I love Lily James. I I don't think she really misses.
It's all about the project.

Speaker 1 (01:02:03):
Great Cinerell.

Speaker 5 (01:02:04):
Yeah, because I've seen her in other things that I
did not particularly like. But I've always really.

Speaker 1 (01:02:09):
Good, right, so just you know, Yeah, Isaac Anzales, Yes,
he's good in it.

Speaker 5 (01:02:14):
Hell, she's a killer.

Speaker 1 (01:02:15):
Crazy, got crazy in it all right. So anyway, we
talked about your extreme hatred for Baby Driver, you talked
about your love for Shan.

Speaker 5 (01:02:25):
Of the Dead, but I do love Egg, right, let's
keep it but you know what, sometimes its just sometimes
it doesn't. It just doesn't work for some of us.

Speaker 1 (01:02:33):
Sometimes it doesn't hit, and I feel like, you know,
I've I've told this story many different times. At this point,
I don't give a damn. Like, if you're a director
and you're going in with this like mindset that like
everything you make is going to hit with everybody and
everybody's gonna love it, maybe you shouldn't be a director, right,
Maybe you shouldn't be. Like the best directors are the
ones who are so open to be like, I'm making

(01:02:54):
something as universal as I can make it, and if
it doesn't hit, that's just how it is. Like it
at this point, it's not for me, it's for the
people who want to rock with it.

Speaker 5 (01:03:04):
See. This is why I can appreciate and respect directors
even if the project doesn't align with me or what
I like, because it takes a lot to get a
movie made, period, period. So just the fact that you
got something done that's.

Speaker 1 (01:03:20):
Already fault you for that never gonna make you feel
like for that.

Speaker 5 (01:03:23):
Yeah. But of course, I mean, people could watch something
that we've done and they'll just be like, yeah, I
don't really like this podcast. Yeah, I don't know that
it's not for them, So that's what's like. I always
respect people that have been able to put a project,
and which is why I always try to choose my
words carefully when someone asked me my opinion about it, right,
So I'm never gonna disparage somebody for making a movie

(01:03:44):
I did not care for. As much as I love
James Cameron, you know how I feel about Avatar, right,
But I love Terminator too, and I love Aliens, and
it's made some of my favorite movies.

Speaker 1 (01:03:58):
Is overrated, but I love.

Speaker 5 (01:04:00):
Titanic, but he's made some of my favorite movies. But
you can miss me on the Avatar lose my number.

Speaker 1 (01:04:06):
Yeah, listen, listen. Ryan Google told me straight up, if
I make some shit, I'm trusting you to tell me,
and I will tell I will tell you. No. It's
a funny ass story. I don't want to get too
far into this socide. But Sev who's the producer on Cinners,
he's like a frequent collaborator of Ryan and all those
guys like at Proximity Media running Proximity Media, shout out

(01:04:27):
to you, Sep. Like we were at a screening for
Centers at Imax headquarters like two three weeks ago. And
I love Seth because he's literally talking to people and
asking them their opinion about the movie that they had
just seen, and right before they answer, he says, and
don't forget you could be completely honest, like I would
love any type of criticisms. We're always trying to get better,
like just just let me know. And for him to

(01:04:50):
be that open to just say that like out loud
takes a lot, right, And I told him, I told him,
like what they can approve on even with Sinners, you know,
Senters is my number one movie of the year, so
like and he sat there, he listened to what I
have to say. He listened to the criticisms that I had,
and we literally had a whole dialogue about it about
like oh, like this is what happened here, da da da.

(01:05:12):
And those are the type of people that I respect
the most. Right, they have that sense of awareness versus
like the people where it's where they ask you your
opinion on a movie and you just say like I
don't think it's for me and they give you that
look like do you realize who you're talking to? Like, yeah,
I know who I'm talking to you asked me what
I you know? So I don't know. The business is

(01:05:34):
the business can be strange, but you know, it's fine.

Speaker 5 (01:05:38):
We don't have to talk about it now. But I
am curious what your criticism or critique of Sinners, because
I know how much you love it, so I wonder.
I mean, I know, I'm not give it.

Speaker 1 (01:05:48):
To you right now.

Speaker 5 (01:05:48):
Yeah, yeah, I'm just curious.

Speaker 1 (01:05:49):
Yeah, I give it to you right now. It was
the third act, like how you remember where the vampires
descended on the juke joint and random people just started dying.

Speaker 5 (01:06:00):
Oh yeah, we talked about this on another episode. Yeah,
like where were.

Speaker 1 (01:06:02):
They and they and I found that they were there,
Yeah I did.

Speaker 5 (01:06:05):
I remember you did a video video, which I thought
that was great because you mentioned it and then you
dug in and then you actually expounded on it on
your own platform.

Speaker 1 (01:06:13):
Yeah. But in the moment, I'm just kind of like,
it doesn't change the fact that they were basically absent
for this entire movie. They're just there in the outskirts
of every scene, Like you don't have to give them
entire character arts or anything like that, just established that
they're there. So that way, I'm not jarred by the
third act, right and so, and he you know, he
talked about it and he was like, you want to

(01:06:34):
know what's funny is that we talked about that in
the edit, like we were like, yo, have we not
been showing these people? But that was why they had
the the ending scene where like smoke is like thinking
back about the jew joint before they like fixed it
up and everything and the people. So that was their
way of like kind of solving that thing. And you know, again,

(01:06:55):
you got to appreciate the thought and they did film that,
and you know that it takes a lot to make
a movie just something's just slipped through the cracks. The
movie is still a fucking banger. And I don't think
if we would have saw more of these people that
the movie would have been like a perfect movie still,
but you know what I'm saying, it's just these things happen,
and you just got to have awareness of these things happening.

(01:07:16):
And I wasn't a dick about it. He asked, and
I was like, yeah, bro, like this is this is
all I found. And he just said, oh, for sure,
let's talk about it.

Speaker 5 (01:07:23):
So that's a cool thing about working with artists. They
are happy. Most I've found happy to discuss their art
because they want to know how their art made you
feel that part.

Speaker 1 (01:07:34):
It's that part, right, And because again, once you put
it out there, like it's open for interpretation for anybody.
Like the two episodes ago we had Yorgroslan Demos, right
and your Ghost was talking about Pogonia, which is a
movie that lends itself to the ambiguity of things, and
like it doesn't give you all the answers, and he said,
why should I give you the answers? Right, Like, it's

(01:07:54):
really cool that when the movie's done, you have your
interpretation of it. It's not the fact that he made
it that way, right, Like, oh, I'm gonna just leave
it open ended, and like people need to do it.
He's like, I have my own thoughts on how this
movie ended. What are yours? And we can talk about that, right.
So again, and you're go se get one of those

(01:08:15):
guys that I just respect.

Speaker 3 (01:08:16):
Right.

Speaker 1 (01:08:16):
I don't think he would be pissed off if you
said this movie he made wasn't for me. You're probably like, okay, cool,
I got my audience, Like you know, like it's it
just is what it is. And so but I feel
like with Edgar Wright, like to loop it back around
to him. He makes so many genre bending films that
he always touches on different types of fan bases. He's
getting introduced to a lot of people a bunch of

(01:08:37):
different times. So like, I feel like the Cornetto trilogy
fans are a rabbit diehard set of fans by themselves,
he brought them in. Further, he got a whole new
set of fans with Scott Pigrin versus, the world got
a whole new set of fans when it came to
Baby Driver, and then with Last Night, and soho I
wonder again because I didn't really dig the movie like that,
And I don't know Edgar right, and I don't know

(01:08:59):
like his stop process and like how he views audiences
see in his movie. But was there pressure to make
that movie a certain way or like, you know, did
he have audiences in mind? And that's why was the
studio interference? Like what was the behind the scenes thing
that caused that movie to come out the way it did?
Because it didn't feel eggor right. It felt like such
a departure that I could barely pick up on his

(01:09:21):
voice as a director at that at that point, and
then after he did a documentary called, uh The Spark Brothers.
I didn't watch that one. I'm not a big documentary guy,
to be honest, and that's I'm just not one of
those audiences that he would be on that he would
have touched on that point. But uh, then that brings
us to The Running Man, which you know, fall into

(01:09:41):
his purposes. It feels like I don't want to say
he's getting his mojo back, because like, I don't think
he like lost it, but it feels like we're getting
Edgar right again, right like after the Last Night and
sol whole thing anyway, And uh, I feel like for
the most part he accomplishes that. I wish it would
have been a little bit more needle drops. I wish

(01:10:02):
there would have been more because he really hammers in
on this idea and truth that music and visuals are
so important when it comes to the movie, like music
is like just as sometimes more important, And what he's
been doing so far, he showed that he has a
great respect for music and film, and walking out of

(01:10:23):
The Running Man, I can't remember a single musical driven moment, right,
I'm sure there was some in there, like I think
there was some in there, but as far as like
right now as I'm talking to you, I cannot remember
any of those that stand out that I would have
hoped to come out of an eggor Wrte movie, you know.
So you know, I feel like, now that we're in

(01:10:44):
this present time, I think I'm very curious to see
what the consensus on The Running Man is. For me,
it's enjoyable, it's a Sunday movie. It'll do its job,
and you're in entertaining you. If you're looking for anything
beyond that, yeah, yeah, I just gotta war on that broke.

Speaker 5 (01:11:08):
So before we wrap, one question for you. If there
was a movie or just a standalone movie or a
franchise where Edgar Wright could go back and remake remake it?
What movie or yeah, excluding a Man, what do you

(01:11:29):
think he could grab and elevate.

Speaker 1 (01:11:35):
Mortal Kombat?

Speaker 5 (01:11:37):
Ooh, okay, Mortal Kombat? Okay.

Speaker 1 (01:11:39):
Like I say that mostly because of what he did
with Scott Pilgrim, and I'm not saying it needs to
be a one to one. I just think that Edgar
Wright would understand the nature of Mortal Kombat more than
anybody else in a feature length sense, right, because the
world of Mortal Kombat. Yes, it's very brutal, it can

(01:12:00):
be very dramatic, especially if you play like all the games,
like you know, Deadly Alliance and Mortal Kombat Won and
X and whatever. But I just feel that he will
be able to capture the action, like the choreography of it.
I think the dialogue will be really great, like he
will get character, like the characters will be on point.
A very kiss to see what his cast will look like.

(01:12:22):
And what I find is if you give them something
like Mortal Kombat, that set, the vibes on set will
be out of all time high. Because what I like
to do is I like to hear cast members talk
about what it was like to be on set at
Scott Pilgrim and everybody from Chris Evans to Michael Sarah

(01:12:43):
to Mary Elizabeth One said everybody said it is the
best set that they've ever worked on, and that if
they would have worked on it for another year, they
would have film in that movie. It was just nothing
but vibes. And so I feel like and you could
tell from the movie like it just you could just
hell that it was a good time, that all the
actors were comfortable everybody knew their roles like everything, which

(01:13:05):
is so tight on that movie. I want that for
Mortal Kombat. I want that for Mortal Kombat for sure.

Speaker 5 (01:13:12):
Okay, you know this mine is a little bit of
a deep cut. Did you ever see the movie Priest.
It came out in twenty eleven. Paul Bettany was in it.

Speaker 1 (01:13:21):
Yes, yes, Carl.

Speaker 5 (01:13:25):
I thought the premise was cool. I thought it was
dark subject matter. Yeah, the action, I mean, you got,
Paul Bettany is an amazing movie. No, you know when
you're thinking about No, you're thinking about Legion is my shit? Yeah,
I love Legion.

Speaker 1 (01:13:43):
Bettany Allegian.

Speaker 5 (01:13:44):
Yes, I'm saying so, Paul. That's why it's always Yeah,
he was in Legion, so he did Legion. He did
Legion in Priest around the same time. So Legion came
out in twenty ten and then Priest came out in
twenty eleven. Yeah, so I was just like I was
expecting something leaning a little bit more toward the Legion
aspect of it. But Priest would have been really dope

(01:14:07):
if Edgar Wright would have gotten his hands on it.

Speaker 1 (01:14:09):
That is so wild that he did Priest and Legion
back to back. How how crazy. Is that that's wild?
I really thought those were the same movie for a second.
And you know, this is like right before Paul Betty
got to the MCU. This is when he felt like
his career was like over.

Speaker 5 (01:14:25):
Yeah, and I remember hearing him talk about how tough
things were at that time for him and he was
about to quit acting and he got the call for
for Jarvis.

Speaker 1 (01:14:34):
Yeah, look at him, Look at him now, he's he's
our vision. He's got Vision Quest coming up pretty soon.

Speaker 5 (01:14:38):
Yeah, I know. I mean I'm interested to see what
they're going to do with that.

Speaker 1 (01:14:41):
Same Yeah, all right, I think that's a good point
to wrap this. Yep, man, Like I think I think
this is a good episode. Love talking about some Edgar Wright.
We gotta do that Stephen King episode though.

Speaker 5 (01:14:51):
Yeah, I think shout out to Stony.

Speaker 1 (01:14:52):
Shout out to shout out to Stony. Give him a call.
When is he coming back?

Speaker 5 (01:14:56):
We were supposed to do it. He's supposed to come
back this month. He just had to move some things around,
so I'll try to get them back out here.

Speaker 1 (01:15:02):
Well, good man, Craig, thank you for talking to me
about movies again. Man, This is always such a pleasure, bro,
especially when it comes to your favorite Baby.

Speaker 5 (01:15:08):
Driver, come on, Mike, on that one. Come on, Mike.

Speaker 1 (01:15:15):
It's all good, man, it's all good. That's the beauty
of movies. We may not always like the same things,
but we can at least talk about them, and that's
what the pot is for. Ask for you guys at home.
Thank you so much for watching or listening to the podcast.
Wherever you get your kicks at, whether it's Spotify, whether
it's Apple, whether it's YouTube, whether it's iHeartRadio better be
iHeart Radio. Thank you so much for watching. Make sure
we keep us an holurgorithm by liking, subscribing, commenting. Let

(01:15:35):
us know what you thought about the episode. What is
your favorite egg or right movie or be right, word,
be wrong? How good or how bad weather it takes anyway, guys,
I'm strong had goofy. You're a movie guy and if
you like talking about movies, can I be your movie guy,