Xolo, The Next Zorro!?!

On this week's episode: James is determined to get Xolo Maridueña cast as the next Zorro (#XoloForZorro)! We also talk to New England Filmmaker Charlie Norton about his short filmed "The Lost Weekend," review "Cocaine Bear," Susan Sarandon's legal battle with Massachusetts company, and ongoing actors/writers strike.

Listen to The Hub on Hollywood anywhere you listen to podcasts. iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1248-the-hub-on-hollywood-50727947/

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
On this week's episode, the writersstrike continues and is delaying one of the
most anticipated movies of the year,an interview with Massachusetts stommaker Charlie Norton,
a teaser trailer is out for GoodBurger Too, and could the Blue Beetle
become the next Zoro? I thinkso. This is the Hub on Hollywood.
I'm James, I'm Jamie, I'mGuard Buche. Let's go, I'm

(00:24):
Guard all right, Welcome back tothe Hub on Hollywood. Thanks so much
for tuning into the podcast now.If you are not already, be sure
to follow us on social media.We are everywhere on Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, TikTok, not on threadsexactly, but you can still follow Jamie

(00:48):
and myself there. But we areat Hub on Hollywood. You can catch
us on YouTube or listen to usanywhere you listen to podcast Jamie. Such
a jam packed episode this week.I'm excited that we were able to talk
to local filmmaker Charlie Norton from Bridgewater, Massachusetts and his short film that will
be premiering at a Soho Film Festivallater next month, and really glad that

(01:12):
he had the time to talk tous on the Hub on Hollywood, and
I'm really glad that he was ableto make movies independently because we're not getting
anything that's related to the union,to the sag Aftra writer strike that's still
ongoing, so of course those moviesare are delayed, but it's great to
see local filmmakers still doing their thing, producing films and getting it out there

(01:34):
for the rest of us to enjoy. There's a tremendous amount of talent in
New England, and I feel likea lot of people don't don't realize that.
They don't realize how many movies aremade here, how many a listers
come here, how many big directors, and how much talent we've got perculating
and moving up the ranks, incompeting in the biggest film festivals in the

(01:57):
world and working their way up andmaking it on screen through all of these
productions that come here to Hollywood East, which is why we are so named
the Hub on Hollywood. Once thestrike is over, James, we typically
have casting calls and we get peoplein the movies, so stick with the

(02:17):
Hub on Hollywood. We might nothave casting calls now, but we certainly
have strike news to keep you updated. On everything that is happening in the
entertainment industry, which is not alot, James. However, the WGA
and the product the producers have beengoing at it. They've been at the

(02:40):
table, negotiating and trading barbs inthe trades, if you will. I
don't know if they are really makingtheir case, and I mean the am
PTP, the producers. I don'tthink that they really played a very good

(03:01):
hand this past week in releasing thedetails of their counter proposal to the WGA.
Reactions to what they are offering haveranged from Okay, it's a good
foundation to this is chuck full ofloopholes and it's just a non starter.

(03:21):
But we're looking at some raises,some protections from AI, some guarantees of
numbers of writers in the writer rooms, and guaranteed amount of time on certain
productions. But the WGA is sayingit is not nearly enough right and they're

(03:44):
calling it like they're saying there aretoo many half measures. And this is
frustrating because last week we were sayingthat it looks like they were going back
to the negotiating table in hopes ofstriking and striking a deal, and no,
that just fell apart over the weekendlast week as well. And yeah,
this is just continuing and because ofthat, we just see again frustration

(04:06):
mounting from all ends. And andthis story that you brought up is concerning
because obviously we are dealing with people'slivelihoods and now threats are being made.
What's going on with this thing?So an I a t SE office closed

(04:27):
down after a worker made a strikerelated threat of some kind. This happened
this past week. So the localeighty office was forced to closed after a
threatening letter which appears to have arethey so claim came from an out of

(04:49):
work grip. So a grip isthat person on set who's putting everything together.
They're they're hauling the equipment, they'reassembling things, they're building the lights
in the ramps, in the stages. You can't do anything without grips.
But remember the WGA, and notonly the people in the union are affected,

(05:10):
right, it's the below the lineworkers. It's everybody who's on set.
And there are thousands of people whowork on movies, and not even
on the set, but even localbusinesses, those those catering, those doing
lighting, those selling props and andeverything, and so so the stalling and
negotiations or maybe bad faith negotiations thatare continuing, is not only affecting writers

(05:34):
actors, it's affecting everybody else,including the grips. I know my best
friend is worked as a grip andworks behind the scenes of these movies and
hasn't been able to work for severalmonths, and so it's frustrating and it's
unfortunate, and you know, obviouslythreats should never be made, but this
just shows the frustration. You know, whichever side of the aisle you see

(05:55):
yourself on, people's lives are beingplayed with and controlled, and it's just
very unfortunate that that we're seeing this. It is unfortunate, and I wanted
to get your take, James,how this strategy of like releasing the offer
right releasing the details of the counteroffer smart play, or crashing and burning

(06:19):
right now for who? The writers, the Writers of Americans or an am
for the AMPTP because they went Iguess they were not making headway with their
proposals so they decided to publish it. Yeah. I don't, I don't
know. I think I don't.I don't think they can say anything right

(06:41):
now that would sway public opinion andso anything, they should not be They
should and should not care about whatthe public general audiences think, because at
the end of the day, theyare negotiating with a WGA and what they
think is the only thing that matters. And so if they're trying this as
a ploy to try to garner sympathysaying you know, we are trying,

(07:05):
but they're not budging, it's amoot. It's a moot point it's pointless
for them to try to do that. Just you know, be honest and
be you know, open to realconcerns from the unions from both you know,
WGA, from the from sag AFTRAand and listen to, you know,
the people that are the most affected, you know, try not to

(07:27):
make a show of this any morethan it already is. So I don't
know, I don't think. Idon't think it helps. If anything,
it helps WGA. It helps theunion members build their case. I agree.
I feel like it only helps theirright the other side, because then
the WGA comes out with their responseand they with those nice little graphs and

(07:48):
wetter andy, they show how theliteral pennies that it would cost the producers
to meet all of their demands theycan afford it, right, So and
a lot of these offers barely meetinflation, and it's just it's not a

(08:09):
good move. So I'm not surewho their public relations person is or who
they're there, their crisis communications strategist. It's it's they're not doing themselves any
favors. So, yeah, thisis just prolonging the inevitable of people wanting,

(08:30):
you know, and you know,hunkering down and waiting until a proper
offer is made. So nothing decided, Nothing has been decided. Nothing.
But also it hasn't been called offright, So at least that's that's a
positive here. One thing that isnot a positive is the strike is still
continuing to delay films including Dune two, Electric Boogaloo, This was this movie,

(08:54):
uh dude, Part two? Sorry, Timothy shallow May, and Azendea.
Yeah. It was slated to originallycome out in November of this year,
making it one of the most anticipatedfilms of the year, including for
myself. It was definitely on mylist, high on my list of movies
I'm I'm very excited to see inthe movie theater. However, because of

(09:15):
the strike, it has now beenpushed back to two twenty four next year,
March fifteenth. This is terrible.This is terrible news. Again,
it's something that you have to accept, you know, when you support the
writers strike, the actor's strike,you know it is what it is.
But you can still hurt from that, you can still feel pain from that
movement. Yeah, it's terrible.But Doom two Electric Boogaloo, that's amazing.

(09:41):
That's all that I'm going to callit now from from now on,
So thank you for that. Yes, So it's looking like right March fifteenth
of next year, this is exactlylike you said, supposed to be one
of the most highly anticipated, probablyone of the most highest grossing movies of
the year. But they want tobe able to promote it and right now

(10:07):
and right now with the strike,the actors are not going to be able
to go in their press tour,They're not going to be able to go
to the premier and they're not goingto be able to promote it and get
as much out of it as theywould like to get their dollar dollar bills.
Godzilla Versus Kong, the New Empirethat was also slated to come out
in March of next year, that'sbeing pushed back a little further to April.

(10:31):
That's also produced by Legendary and WarnerBrothers, the latest movie in the
Monster Versus franchise. So yeah,again, no nobody is happy about this.
So James, I have I havea movie. Pitch it. Okay,
So Godzilla versus Kong versus the sandWorms from Dune? Oh can we

(10:54):
make that happen? We would winin that fight? I think it would
think the sand Worm. I thinkthe sand Worm would easily beat Kong.
However, it would have a tougherfight against Godzilla just because of the fire
breath. I think. Okay,so but but but I'm down to watch
that because again, the sand Wormcan you can easily I would say,
surprise Godzilla. So if he's ableto catch him off guard, then I

(11:18):
think that's a good v one vone matchup. And Kong is just kind
of like thrown out in the verybeginning because you think, like, oh,
con can keep his own but thenlike the sand Worm comes in like
demolishes him, and then he's like, oh wow, this guy's a real
challenge, a real threat. Ihope Godzillly can make it out of it.
That That is a movie I wouldlove to see. Follow me here,

(11:39):
fallow. Okay, So the sandworm, like right, dies under
the sand to escape the fire,to escape Godzilla's fire. But the fire
turns the sand to glass, perhapsslowing the sand worm right, making it
a little bit more difficult for thisthat. Yeah, so many possibilities there.

(12:03):
Let's make it just now. Now, is the sandworm fighting Godzilla on
its own volition? Or is Timothyshallow May riding the back of it and
controlling the sand worm to Now,that's a good plot. If Timothy shallow
May, it's really Timothy versus Godzillaand so. But he's using the worm
as like his own his own monstermech suits of sorts. That's a look

(12:30):
at it, Look at us.We we just pitched another movie recently.
We pitched another movie recently that wasgold. Hollywood needs to hire us when
the strike's over. I'm telling you, Okay, Timothay shallow May doing the
worm on top of the worm whilehe's fighting Godzilla. I'm just saying,
the ideas just keep coming. Let'smake it happen. Want to see that

(12:50):
trailer. If you're a producer,if you're somebody who you know makes movie
pitches come to life, give usa call. We've We've got plenty.
Absolutely, I actually have a awesomemovie pitch, but we will get to
that later in this episode. Stickaround for this awesome Zoro movie pitch.
But before we get to that,let's look at the weekend box office grand
theresmo is Now it's not overtaking Barbie, but is not having a really bad

(13:15):
start off the finish line, It'sraking in around six million dollars over the
weekend, but not able to beatBarbie's twelve to fourteen million dollars that is
expected to make and it's sixth weekendout in theaters. Now, I'm not
sure how interested you are in BlueBeetle, but Blue Beetle is still holding
strong when it comes to audience scores. It has a ninety one percent approval

(13:39):
rating on run Tomato seventy eight percenton the Tomato Meter. Reviews I've heard
is that it's not necessarily a groundbreakingsuperhero movie. We've seen this kind of
story before, where a young herois thrown into this situation where he is
forced to become a hero. Heinitially doesn't want to do it, and

(14:00):
then he learns his powers and eventuallyhe accepts that he must, you know,
fight the good fight, and thenhe really leans into becoming a superhero.
We've heard that story numerous times,countless times. But what was really
having this movie, uh, youknow, be received well by the audience
is the family. Is the actors, the cast, the characters. People

(14:26):
are resonating with these people, andso that is one of the strongest aspects
of this film. I'm actually Iwas I I've been convinced to go watch
this movie. I will watch assoon in the movie theater. Has your
son have you shown any interest inBlue Beetle? I don't think so.
I mean, and to me,it feels it's just Transformers. It's it's

(14:48):
Transformers in different package. You've heard. It's like, yeah, I've heard,
it's like Transformers. It's like IronMan with the suit. It's kind
of like Spider Man with this youngkind of hero. It's kind of like
who else, who Else, kindof like the Green Lantern where this character
can like pretty much create any typeof a weapon that he wants. So
it's like a mishmash of different,you know, things out there. But

(15:11):
again, the story maybe I don'twant to call it basic. I don't
want to call it generic, butwe've seen this kind of storyline. But
what holds it together and what keepspeople interested is the characters, including Sholo
who is the who plays Blue Beetle, who plays him? But yeah,
long story short, I do planto watch Blue Beetle. I've been convinced

(15:33):
to give it a shot. Butbefore we get to Scholo Madi Duenya,
let's talk about Susan Sarandon, whoalso stars in Blue Beetle, who is
the antagonist of the film. Haveyou heard this news of how she has
some beef with some local business inMassachusetts. Yeah, and this is just

(15:54):
odd. I was not expecting thisat all when when you when you shared
this to me with me. Butshe's suing a construction company over problems based
in Massachusetts. Yeah, right,So apparently she hired this company contracting and
property managements based in the Commonwealth towork on her home in Vermonts and apparently

(16:18):
there are According to her lawsuit,there are numerous issues with the construction and
she's not happy with it. Thelawsuit claims that there are extensive issues with
the siding, the installation, mold, incomplete work, and apparently this home
in Stanford Vermont Is. It's likea two million dollar retirement home for Susan

(16:41):
Sarandon. However, she is nothappy with this, and so she lists
forty seven issues allegedly found by engineers, contractors and her staff. Apparently she
had gone back to the home withher family I think, I think for
a recent holiday, and when theywalked through, they just saw like this
is really bad work money to herand the lawsuit, and so she is

(17:02):
suing this company for I believe millionsof dollars. But Susan Surrandon, please
don't think Massachusetts. Don't don't don'tview Massachusetts any negatively. Then you may
already have right now. I'll weare a beautiful state with a lot of
beautiful business. We'll see what thewhat the company contracting and property management has

(17:23):
to say in their rebuttle in theirresponse to the lawsuit. But you know,
lawsuits are never fund for anybody,but especially for Susan Surrandon. I'll
love about it. But you knowwhat, and she this property is forty
five acres near near the Massachusetts borders. So they listen, there's plenty of
space to like build the new houseand tear this one down. But you

(17:47):
don't want to spend two million dollarson a lemon. You know, we
get that, So Susan stick itout. It'll be okay. Maybe if
it maybe find in the grand schemeof things, Susan Surrandon, We'll be
fine. Don't worry, don't cry, don't cry for her. Argentina ass
Yes, movie, But soolo,let's talk solo because yeah, yes,

(18:15):
so you know me. We've talkedabout this before. I am a huge
Zoro fan, uh Antonio Bendettas CatherineZeta Jones. I'm I love Zoro.
I love that character. I've dressedup as Zoro at least a dozen times
in my life for Halloween throughout theyears. And and I've been demanding.
The people have been demanding. Ifeel I can hear the people talking.

(18:37):
I can hear them whistle, allthe people. Yes, they're all speaking
in unison, and U listen.They're saying, we need, we demand
a new Zero movie, a newZero franchise. It's such a iconic character
that everybody is sleeping on, LikeI am, I am bewildered by this.
And we started talking about it recentlybecause Antonio Bendettis had started talking about

(19:03):
you know, people are asking whenare you gonna are you going to don
the mask ever again? When willthat happen? And if you were to
do that, what would that movielook like? And he said, you
know, I would love to andif we were to make that possible,
I would love to kind of likein his first movie where Anthony Hopkins character
his Zoroo passed the torch onto Antonio. He would love to do a movie

(19:26):
where he passed the whip and thecape and the hat and the mask onto
the next generation, the next Zoro. And he mentioned much to my my
horror. Uh, he said TomHolland, he would love to. He'll
love to pass the torch on toTom Holland. And I'm like, okay,
no offense is Tom Holland. Ilove you, Tom. I think

(19:47):
you're a great actor. You're agreat guy. But I don't see you
filling the filling the sombrero and thecape and and I don't know that that
story irked me in the wrong way, and I listened to some other people
who I thought would make a verygood Zoro. However, after seeing all
the publicity and the interviews and youknow, the trailers for Blue Beetle.

(20:08):
I think and I believe that SholoMadi Duenya is the perfect person to cast
in this movie. And I've alreadystarted. I want to start the hashtag
sholo for Zoro. Hashtag for Zoro. If you're listening to this podcast right
now, start tweeting, start tweetingfor James please, yeah, the hashtag

(20:30):
sholo for Zoro. If you arenot familiar with this guy, if you
have not watched Blue Beetle, heis in Cobra Kai. That's like his
breakout performance in his role. He'salso started in Parenthoodie, but he's been
in numerous projects both in TV andfilm for the past several years. He's
twenty two years old. He's aMexican Cuban Ecuadorian descent. And again people

(20:53):
are saying Blue Beetle may have apretty recognizable, familiar storyline plotline. However,
it's the characters. It's the peoplein this movie that really separate it
and really make it enjoyable, especiallySholo. They say that he's very charismatic.

(21:14):
He is able to carry the film, they believe, and they want
to see him in more franchises andin more things. And that's enough for
me. I'm a huge fan ofwife and I are huge fans of Cobra
Kai. He is fantastic in thatin that show, Watching the Trailers of
Blue Beetle, it shows he cando comedy, he can do intense emotional

(21:37):
scenes. I believe that he isthe perfect person to take up the mantle
of Zoro. So we need toget this campaign started. We need to
get Antonio Bendettas on board. Weneed, we need to get into his
ear. Sholo is actually the hostof a podcast, Loan Loan Lobos that
I started recently that I caught ontoand started listening to. He's actually a

(22:00):
co host with one of his costars with Cobra Kai, and it's a
it's a fun podcast. So ifyou are listening to this, tag the
Hub on Hollywood, tag Loan Lobos, tag Sholo, Madi Duenya, and
Antonio Mendetis. We need to startthis because I think we don't want to

(22:21):
miss this opportunity again. I think, Jamie, you can You can tell
from my enthusiasm that I believe inthis, You too passion. It's like
I hear the desperation James Hike.We need, we need Sholo can make
this happen. Yes, listen.Okay, look, when we post this

(22:41):
episode, we'll we'll put together atweet right tagging all of the purple people.
So go to hub On Hollywood onTwitter, Instagram, et cetera.
Share it, you know, retweetit, quote it retweeted, etcetera.
Like, well, we'll make ita thing. We'll make get a thing.
Okay, I may sound crazy,but I've already made I've already made

(23:04):
a photo of a Soholo with aZoro mask and hatch. So check out
our social media. I think Ithink it came out great, and so
I think that's no, it's notcrazy at all. I'm just very confidence
and and and uh and committed tomaking sure we get another Zoro and we
get the right person to get toget the role. So hilarious. If

(23:29):
you see this podcast, reach outto us. We love to talk to
you. We we we we're gonna, we're gonna start this campaign. We're
gonna get you to wear that mask, to get that whip, to get
that sword, and to get thatcapeta. I respect for passion, Zoo
zolo for Zoro. You gotta yougotta respect that passion. Get that out
into the universe. It's gonna happen. It is going to happen. Now,

(23:53):
talking about passion, let's talk aboutanother passionate person, not just myself,
not just yourself, Jamie, butCharlie Norton. I had the chance
to talk to this this young filmmaker, writer, director, and producer who
is from Massachusetts, from Bridgewater,Massachusetts, and has just finished this short
film called The Lost Weekend that isbased and filmed on Cape Cod. And

(24:18):
so I was able to talk toCharlie talking about his project, talk about
his future hopes and dreams, andthen what it's like working in Massachusetts and
shooting and filming in Massachusetts and whathe has in store for us in the
future. Well, without further ado, here is Charlie Norton. All right.
Charlie Norton is a writer, director, and producer currently based in New

(24:41):
York. However, he is originallyfrom Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Most recently he's
worked on the short film called TheLost Weekend that takes place here on Cape
Cod. Charlie, thank you somuch for joining us on the Hub on
Hollywood. Yeah, thank you forhaving me on board. And so you're
excited. Yeah, So, asI mentioned, and just before that,
I started watching the short film andalready it looks beautiful filmed right on Cape

(25:06):
cod. But before we started talkingabout the film, let me ask you,
how did you get into filmmaking andbeing from Massachusetts. What was the
reaction from friends of family when youknow they started learning that you want to
go into this industry? Oh?Absolutely so. I got into filmmaking when
I was in high school. Iwent to Cardinals Film in high school,

(25:26):
and I had a film program mostlyfor video media, showcasing our school and
social media, you know, postingvideos. I do a lot of videography
content. I was also interested init earlier, but I didn't really fully
dive into it until I reached aboutage fifteen, where I took a couple
of screenplay classes and then fully boughtmy first camera and just it just went
from there, just just making videos, making short films, just to say

(25:48):
that I'm doing it and you know, being a filmmaker, labeled myself as
a director and hopefully getting noticed.And then I started submitting some of those
works the film festivals in high school, one of them being the All American
High School Film Festival in twenty nineteen. For one of my shorts just before
I started college and I just recentlygraduated from Hawkshaw University and Hempstead, New

(26:10):
York. So I was living inNew York for about four years, and
I was also pursuing my craft duringthe pandemic, pre pandemic and now currently
post pandemic. And I just cameoff working on my last short, The
Last Weekend, which recently just wonBest in Show at twenty six Hafsha Scooting
Film Festival and it's currently having itsworld premiere at the Soho International Film Festival
in New York City. And beforethat, I was also making some other

(26:34):
content just to get exposure. Andit's it's been a five six year process,
doing a lot of internship work withthe OSPIT qualifying Flickers right own their
national Film festival in high school tomaking my own stuff and being able to
work on professional work. And it'sbeen you know, it's been a long
journey. But you know, nowwe're here and back in New England and

(26:56):
making making films again. So justbeen doing a lot of post roduction work
and shooting as well and producing,so you know, just just love the
craft and just you know, loveto stay active. Yeah, it sounds
like you're really busy and really goingyou know, you're diving head first into
this and for a lot of peopleto get started and to get noticed especially,
that's what it takes to, youknow, start making waves. Is

(27:18):
putting so much work and effort intoit, and already from what I've seen
with the film, you can tellthat a lot of planning, a lot
of work went into this. TheLast Weekend. Can you tell me what
this movie is about and why CapeCod was the perfect place to set this.
The Last Weekend has been a passionproject mine for about four or five

(27:38):
years. It is about a groupof kids falling into perspective of James and
his buddies are going to Cape Houseand Cape Cod, Massachusetts to spend the
whole weekend of team anks shenanigans basically, you know, doing stuff that teenagers
do. But the main issue athand is what does it mean to be

(27:59):
a man? And James doesn't knowwhat it means to be a man,
and he's faced with these ideologies oftoxic masculinity and what his friends are trying
to pressure him into. What,you know, what to find your manhood?
What to find your masculinity? Youknow, we're falling with James on
his whole process on you know whatde finds my manhood and how do I
become my own man? And CapeCod has been somewhere I've grown up my

(28:22):
entire life. I spent all mysummers there with my family. I have
a lot of friends there from CapeCod and a lot of I think a
lot of the experiences with the LastWeekend is just I feel like it's a
story that not a lot of menare able to talk about openly. And
I a lot of people didn't wantme to make it, given with content,
given with the subject matter, andI just didn't want to listen to

(28:45):
them. So there are people thatdidn't want this this story or what does
that mean? When I guess you'refacing some resistance to the idea of this.
I think it was part of itwas in school. A lot of
people in school didn't really want tosee this happen of you know, how
do you become your own? Youknow? How do you appropriately tell a
story? How do you appropriately youknow, convict and talk about you know,

(29:07):
subject matter like this and given thatthese are all personal experiences of what
I was going through, and maybea lot of other men that going through
as well. And I've part ofit was nonsense, but also I feel
like another part of it was jealousyas well. But I can't really think
of people's own opinion on it.You know, it's a it's a story

(29:29):
that means a lot to me,and it's a story that means a lot
to other people as well. AndI'm fortunate to have this. You know,
the team that we came together tomake this film, they believe in
the story. And just the factthat's getting screened, you know, it's
it's an honor. It's not orthey got to watch it. It's not
that people are able to see itand to hopefully get, you know,
a different perspective of you know,how do you properly define yourself as a
person and you know, talking tomen like how do you define manhood?

(29:52):
Yeah? So I love the artof film, the fact that you can
tell so many different stories from differentperspectives and people from different backgrounds. And
it seems like you are very passionateabout telling stories, whether whether those and
stories were inspired by yourself or somebodythat you learn about their story and you
want to tell that for them.And so you said this was years in

(30:15):
the making. When you found theright people to cast for these roles.
What was that process, like,where did you find them? And how
long is that process to find theperfect people? It's it's a lot of
weird what's the words. It's notdeja vu, but it's like fate.
Because I pitched the story to thelead actor, Brennan Egan, he's one

(30:38):
of my best friends, and thelead actress Chloe Lang, who I've known
for around the same time. Weall met at the All American High School
Film Festival when we were eighteen,and I pitched this story to them while
we all while we were all hangingout and just you know, just talking
about you know, what we've beenin and what we were talking about.
But me and Brennan kind of carriedthat conversation for a couple more years,

(31:00):
and it was all talk. Itwas, you know, going from screenplay
draft to screenplay draft until I reachedmy senior year of college. Hasha has
a program where you make your ownscene and thesis capstone film, so about
fifteen to twenty minutes short, andyou could do whatever you want with that
short post grad. But I wantedto do this project. It was.
It was the first screenplay I everwrote in college. It was a story

(31:21):
that I kind of really had attachedand Brendan knew that too, and you
know, he knew how passionate thatthis project meant to me, and he
acts as well. So when Icame down to finding the right people to
star in, I was like,Brendan, you want the audition and it
just went from there, and Ijust I wanted to work with A.
James so I could trust and giventhat he was one of my close friends,

(31:45):
I feel like I could trust himand give him the direction he needed.
And then he ended up getting thepart of James. And then Chlobe
Lang, who was in Nickelodeon's LazyTownand Netflix is the fifth Borrow. She
was someone who I was really nervousto ask about being in the film,
and when she read the script,I was happy that she liked it,
and we ended up casting her nottoo long afterwards. But I feel like

(32:07):
it was it was part fate,but also I think we pulled the pieces
together to you know, pitch thisstory, and you know, a lot
of a lot of the team behindthis project I'm still good friends with,
and it was it was a lotof personal like experiences coming together, and
I never felt that a story likethis could bring those attributes in and everyone

(32:28):
got to bring their own taste intheir characters as well as the crew and
you know, assembling the project.So it was I feel like it slowly
came together in a nice little waywhere people we were able to kind of
be very intimate on set, andthat's that's sometimes some of the best projects
to work on. Yeah, allthe characters so far that I've seen,
they are very relatable. I feellike I've known each of these people through

(32:51):
high school or in college at somepoint or run into each each of these
character types. And the person whoplays James Brendan, you immediately sympathize and
connect with him. So I thinkBrennan does a really great job as the
lead role. It's not easy forany film for the lead actor to put

(33:12):
that on their shoulders, but alreadyhe does a fantastic job. When it
came to the production, how longwas the shooting from day one to the
final take and how was that process? Because I don't know how easy it
is to work on Cape cod whenwhen it comes to permitting or anything like
that, but how did that productiongo? It wasn't as bad as we

(33:34):
thought it was going to be.We knew that this project was going to
be ambitious. We knew that likebudget wise, Townpool, everything that we
needed to do, the set itat that location and really shoot we shot
on Sandwich. It was going totake a lot of you know, prep
work and paperwork and all the prepthey need to do in pre production,
production post production. We started preproduction six months before we shot. We

(34:00):
shot in September twenty twenty two forone weekend and then we had to do
pickups in October because we had toswitch locations last minute. And it was
it was kind of funny, uhthat we had to kind of leave one
house and continue filming more scenes thananother house, and then other others us
places like the Lakers Store and thedrive throughs and stuff. But we went

(34:23):
through trying to get through permits andthey never had a lot of film shoot
shooting Cape cod maybe like in placelike Provincetown or Chatham, but in Sandwich
they had no entertainment permits, sowe had to just we had to get
a coastal access permit to shoot onthe whole prop like the whole like wetlands
of Sandwich, and it was itwas like a weird like it was like

(34:45):
a fish out of water process ofgetting those locations. And I was like,
oh wow, like you have togo through so much work, but
they were just like, ye cango shoot, like they didn't really know
much about it. Yeah, soI was like, all right, you
know what, we walked in,walked out. It was kind of cool,
but yeah, it was. Itwas intense, like we were shooting
about sixteen pages that end up beingtwenty two minutes, and from stunts to

(35:07):
intimacy, to work with sag afterin solidarity with the strikes, you know,
it was a lot and we hadto really muster together and have this
time to plan for you know,what will be an intense shoot and you
know, there were a lot piecestogether that we really had to assemble,
and I think we were able toachieve. We were able to achieve even

(35:30):
though there's a low chaos in between. Do you see yourself coming back to
Massachusetts or at least filming in Massachusetts, because again we call ourselves Hollywood East.
We have a great you know,film tax credit, We have a
lot of talents, we have Iknow, we have ongoing strikes, so
when it comes to the Union,things are up in the air right now.
But for a lot of independent films, a lot of independent filmmakers,

(35:52):
this is a great place to be. It has so many different settings,
so many different locations. Do yousee yourself kind of focus on New England
or are you open to Hollywood Westor other places in the country. You
know, I've found more of appreciationof the East Coast when we made last
Weekend and so on. I mean, given that I've spent my entire life
in Massachusetts and part part of thatin New York. You know, Massachusetts

(36:15):
and in the New England scene hasalways been in my heart. I've always
I've always appreciated how Newing it is, you know, in their film community
has always been very so warm andwelcoming, and you know, it's it's
never gonna leave, like I've ifanything, like, Massachusetts is somewhere where
I want to continue to keep shooting, you know, for as long as
I live, while also still pursuingwork in New York and maybe in Los

(36:37):
Angeles, you know, like Istill see myself working in mass on projects
from time to time, especially personalprojects like this, So where can people
find the last weekend after it itcomes out. You said it's debuting in
Soho, right, yeah, soit's it's having its world premiere Saturday,
September sixteenth at the Soho International FilmFestival, and it's gonna be screening at

(37:00):
Village Et Cinema run by Angelica inNew York City. And I'm super excited
for those are gonna be attending.The tickets are now on sale. I
can finally say that, and we'rehaving It's gonna be our world premiere.
Some of our casting career is goingto be there. There's gonna be some
great other short films and feature filmspremiering. I'm super excited. So if
anyone's in the New York City area, come check it out and come see

(37:22):
the film. Do you plan onintroducing it to other festivals and after the
debut and Soho? Is there anywherethat people can go online or maybe local
theater? Are you are you exploringhaving it shown in other theaters locally?
Oh? Absolutely, I'm trying to. Right now, I'm still locking in
the New England premiere. That's thebig thing for me is I want to

(37:45):
make sure that there's some kind ofNew England premiere, whether it's on Cape
Cod or in Boston or in Providence. Fate just had been the Lamb in
our Hands premiering at SOHO. Butright now, my next my next focus
is making sure of this film thescene in Massachusetts, c and Rhode Island
and basically the whole New England community. So that's my next goal. Awesome,

(38:06):
Charlie. Where can people follow youto keep track of your career?
Oh? Absolutely, you guys.I have an Instagram, so you guys
can follow me on underscore, CharlieNorton. That's where I post a lot
of my content. I also havemy website, Flying Car Productions www dot
Flying Car Productions dot com and Frankwinwho wants to follow more on the Last

(38:28):
Weekend you could follow the Last Weekendfilm on Instagram and we'll be regularly be
posting updates throughout the rest of twentytwenty three and hopefully beyond. I love
it, love it excellent. Well, Charlie, thank you so much for
joining us on the Hub on Hollywood. We are looking forward to the premiere
in SOHO. We wish you thebest of luck and we can't wait till
more people on a wider scale getto see it as well. Absolutely,

(38:51):
thank you so much for having meon board and I look forward to seeing
you guys very soon. Thank youso much. Leave for being with us
here on the Hub on Hollywood.If you are a local filmmaker, actor,
director, lighting guy, costume guy. Oh, stunt guys, we
want to hear from stunt guys.You are involved in the booming Hollywood industry

(39:15):
here in New England. We wantto hear from you. Feature you and
your work on the Hub on Hollywood. Spread the word. Uh, come
join in on the fun. Speakingof fun, James, Uh, Good
Burger too, Film Island, Funny, the bun You're on fire today,

(39:36):
Oh my goodness, and the funcar like the hammer. Yes, look
at we're just making millions off ofthis this episode. Honestly, like the
ideas are just fire today. Funin the fun us. Seriously, I
need a job. Okay, GoodBurger too. The first teaser trailer is

(39:59):
out from Paramount Plus. We're goingto give this a quick watch. And
did you watch the original Good Burger? I did watch it growing up.
I was a fan of Keenan,Keenan and cal growing up of all that's
uh and Good Burger watched the movieas well, of course, produced by
Nickelodeon. This one is also producedby Nickelodeon. This one filmed, however,

(40:22):
not in California, not in NewYork, not in Florida, not
in Utah, randomly Rhode Island.That's right right here in New England,
home of so many films and thisone a cult classic. Cannot wait to
see Keenan and call back as theiroriginal characters. So without further ado,

(40:44):
let's give this quick first teaser trailer. First look at Good Burger, two
A lookye do? And three twoone Hey we got a Burgermobile the New
Adventures of that in deats over theclassic combo is back in a new movie.

(41:19):
D yeah, I think so ohyeah, that's water none for me,
thanks lovely. Okay, let's rewindthis a little bit. Yeah,
so we have so we so wesee. We open up with uh with
Cal. What's Keenan and Cal theactress? But I forgot their names?

(41:42):
But of the characters, but wehave a caw driving a Good Burger car
and he literally runs into Keenan,who flips over and Lance miraculously in the
passenger seat. It looks like fromthe initial viewing, I think it looks
like Cal's character may have just continuedworking at Good Burger for like the past

(42:02):
twenty years, and Keenan is kindof being brought back into the mix to
maybe try to help maybe revive theBurger chain. This is just a theory,
m Yeah, And so it lookslike, yeah, Keenan never really
left Good Burger because that's that's hishome, that's where he you know that,

(42:22):
that's his heart and soul, whichwhich is just wonderful. So yeah,
I think on board with that.I think that maybe they have to
save the Good Burger. He hasto bring Kel back in. But we've
got some of that classic sort ofslapsticky silly comedy, the gags and some

(42:45):
of the original jokes, and Ithink they both look great for how Yeah,
Heaven's be aged, well, especiallyKeenan has an aged. But yeah,
it's funny because they're in the framewhere they're saying, welcome to Good
Burger. Home with the Good Burger, can I take your or We actually
see someone who looks very similar toCal in the background, also with dreadlocks,

(43:07):
so maybe that's his son. Somaybe Cal is running this Good Burger
hopefully after twenty years, he's managerat least, and he's running this place
and he has his son working forhim. And then Keenan is donning the
uniform again, and yeah, sothis is coming out? When is this
coming out? On Paramount Plus onthis same streaming? This fall perfect?

(43:31):
And so are you guys excited tosee Good Burger too? Let us know
in the comments, very very veryfun one to film. And we brought
the casting calls to you right hereon the hub on Hollywood, and again,
once Hollywood gets their act together,we will continue to bring you those

(43:52):
casting calls in every episode and getyou in the next Good Burger three.
How about that? That sounds good? That sounds good. It's funny.
Reading some of the first comments underthis trailer, someone says, honestly,
don't care if this flops or not. I love the first movie as a
kid, and I'll definitely watch thisfor Keenan and cal. Someone says,

(44:13):
Keenan and kel together again. Itmakes me feel like a kid again.
Uh. And if you are anineties kid as we are, Good Burger
is a comedy classic, it's stillhilarious rewatching it today twenty five years.
Can you believe it's been twenty fiveyears. I'm walking with a cane now,
Yeah, I feel it. That'scrazy. That's insane, is it?

(44:35):
It is insane? Oh? Andwhat my last thing? I think
that this movie it looks all that, it looks all it does look like
all that. You know what else? What is all? That's something that
I've watched this week and maybe I'mlate on the party. But Cocaine Bear.

(45:04):
Yeah, I was actually looking forwardto watch but never got around to
it. Yeah, it is nowavailable on streaming services right, It's on
Amazon Prime, It's on Prime Plus. So my husband and I we got
a chance to you know, thekids were sleeping over at their grandparents house
and we got a chance to watchCocaine Bear. And it is just as

(45:24):
ridiculous as it sounds in the bestpossible way. With this great cast.
We've got ray Liota one of hisone of his final performances, Ray Leota
in Cocaine Bear. And they dedicatethey I know it really is and uh

(45:45):
no, does he survive? Nowhe doesn't spoiler alerts, but still really
going out in style in Cocaine Bear. They do dedicate the film to him.
There's a nice little dedication at theend. Carrie Russell, who I
believe this was her brain child.Jesse Tyler Ferguson of Modern Family, Alden

(46:07):
Uh, I've never been able tosay his name, rich Rich of Solo.
Oh yeah, Solo from Solo.This is the first thing that I've
seen him in since Solo and Oppenheimer. He does very good in Oppenheimer.
Okay, see I didn't actually gosee Oppenheimer. But that's that's fantastic.

(46:30):
We love him so very handsome.Oshe Jackson Junior ice Cube right, yes,
ice Cube's son, and Christophe hitsyou from Game of Throne, the
one who really loved the Big ladies, who you know he was really trying
to get with Brand of Tarth.He's He's wonderful. I love him and

(46:52):
everything that he is in, includingCocaine Bear very loosely big based on a
true story, extremely loosely based ona cheese story about these smugglers in nineteen
eighty five who dropped a bunch ofcocaine into the Northern Georgia woods and ultimately

(47:16):
there was a bear that did consumeit. In real life, the bear
just died in this film that manypeople smite if they snorted a whole bag
of cocaine. Right in the film, it goes on a murderous, drug
fueled rampage across the Georgia Woods,fighting an an eccentric gathering of cops,

(47:40):
criminals, tourists, teenagers, momsin this Georgia forest. I love that
it's set in the nineteen eighties,so everybody's kind of decked out in eighties
gear in the best possible way.You know, Nostalgia is really hot right
now, and it's so gory,so ridiculous, so so campy, right

(48:08):
and in just the best possible way. Now. I've seen movies that sort
of do this and they were funny, but like that, the acting was
really really terrible. I feel likethe acting was really good in this or
for what it is and for thecampiness of it, And how could it
not be with with such a gameattached to it. They know what they're

(48:31):
in exactly, they know what kindof movie they're in, and they commit
and they go they go hard.So that just made it even more entertaining.
So if you haven't seen this already, I highly recommend. It's just
ridiculous. Gore, and and andand and comedy Cocaine Bear so titled The

(48:53):
True Story, which it is notstreaming on streaming on Amazon Prime and another
number of other services right now.I think the only real true story,
a true part of this story wasthe cocaine drop, right and what happened

(49:13):
to the drug dealers. But therest is just delightful, excellent. Well,
I'm solving forward to watching it,so I will probably very very well
watch it soon Cocaine Bear. Letus know what you think about it again,
leave your comments, your questions,your interview requests for us. If

(49:35):
you if you are an actor,if you're a filmmaker, if you're a
producer here in New England, reachout to us at hub on Hollywood.
We would love to talk to you. Be sure to follow us at hub
on Hollywood. Also, be sureto get the hashtag sholo for Zoro,
trending tag everybody Involved, tag AntonioBendettas, tag Sholo, tag the tag
Sholos podcast alone and Lobos everybody.We need to get this going. I

(50:00):
believe in this. We need aZoro. The people demand a Zoro.
So all the people in James's headand out in the world, all people
in my head, they're demanding solet's help them out, everybody, and
we'll get shows out cooking, andwe we are cooking with fire here on
the Hub on Hollywood. Thank youfor joining us this week, and again

(50:22):
reach out to us if you wantto join in on the on the conversation,
pitch your movie ideas and all ofthat jazz. So until next week,
I'm Jamie, I'm James. We'llsee yuh bye.