March 4, 2025 • 30 mins
Welcome to Season 2 of The Film Dept. Podcast! We've got a new crew reviewing the latest films screening at The Beverly in downtown Las Vegas... and beyond.
This episode is beyond! For over 25 years UNLV Film has taken a cohort of students to the Sundance Film Festival. At the annual UNLV College of Fine Arts party on Main Street in Park City, we kicked off our inaugural Sundance panel with writer Brock Norman Brock (BRONSON, 2008), filmmaker Brett Levner (RIOT IN BLOOM, 2025), Actor Adam Paul (HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER), and producer May May Luong (HOME: A MOTHER OF 3000, 2024) - all members of the UNLV Film faculty. The pnael focused on the latest initiatives by UNLV Film as the department continues to build bridges to the entertainment industry.
Credits:
Email us: thefilmdeptpod@gmail.com
HOSTS - Nic Patrick, Ani Rogy, L Villareal
Production Sound Mixer - Sydney Maier
Co-Producer/Editor - Lilly Richie
Assistant Editor - Byron Schnell Davis
Production Coordinator - Kay Walgate
PRODUCERS - Tom Bjelic, Sam Decker
EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY - Adam Paul, Roudi Boroumand
To read the hosts' reviews, head over to substack.com/thefilmdeptpodcast
This semester, The Film Department has teamed up with the mad geniuses of The Beverly Theater. Imagined by The Rogers Foundation, The Beverly Theater brings cinematic connectivity, novel collaborations, live happenings, cultural portals, and a zest for independent spirits to DTLV. With a mission to stage uncommon cinematic, literary, and live experiences, The Beverly Theater is Las Vegas’ first and only independent film house, storytelling arena, and live music venue.
For the latest screenings and events at The Beverly, visit thebeverlytheater.com
The Film Department Podcast is supported by UNLV Film. At the film department of the University of Nevada Las Vegas, every story has a beginning.With degree programs for undergraduates and graduates, state of the art equipment and facilities, incredible professional internships around the world, and expert guest speakers, students discover the power and potential of cinema as they prepare for the film and television industry… and beyond.
Learn more at UNLV.EDU/FILM UNLV Film. Find your voice. Tell your story.
This episode is beyond! For over 25 years UNLV Film has taken a cohort of students to the Sundance Film Festival. At the annual UNLV College of Fine Arts party on Main Street in Park City, we kicked off our inaugural Sundance panel with writer Brock Norman Brock (BRONSON, 2008), filmmaker Brett Levner (RIOT IN BLOOM, 2025), Actor Adam Paul (HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER), and producer May May Luong (HOME: A MOTHER OF 3000, 2024) - all members of the UNLV Film faculty. The pnael focused on the latest initiatives by UNLV Film as the department continues to build bridges to the entertainment industry.
Credits:
Email us: thefilmdeptpod@gmail.com
HOSTS - Nic Patrick, Ani Rogy, L Villareal
Production Sound Mixer - Sydney Maier
Co-Producer/Editor - Lilly Richie
Assistant Editor - Byron Schnell Davis
Production Coordinator - Kay Walgate
PRODUCERS - Tom Bjelic, Sam Decker
EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY - Adam Paul, Roudi Boroumand
To read the hosts' reviews, head over to substack.com/thefilmdeptpodcast
This semester, The Film Department has teamed up with the mad geniuses of The Beverly Theater. Imagined by The Rogers Foundation, The Beverly Theater brings cinematic connectivity, novel collaborations, live happenings, cultural portals, and a zest for independent spirits to DTLV. With a mission to stage uncommon cinematic, literary, and live experiences, The Beverly Theater is Las Vegas’ first and only independent film house, storytelling arena, and live music venue.
For the latest screenings and events at The Beverly, visit thebeverlytheater.com
The Film Department Podcast is supported by UNLV Film. At the film department of the University of Nevada Las Vegas, every story has a beginning.With degree programs for undergraduates and graduates, state of the art equipment and facilities, incredible professional internships around the world, and expert guest speakers, students discover the power and potential of cinema as they prepare for the film and television industry… and beyond.
Learn more at UNLV.EDU/FILM UNLV Film. Find your voice. Tell your story.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
The Film Department is supported by UNLV Film.
(00:04):
At the Film Department of the University of Nevada Las Vegas, every story has a beginning.
With degree programs for undergraduates and graduates, state-of-the-art equipment and
facilities, incredible professional internships around the world, and expert guest speakers,
students discover the power and potential of cinema as they prepare for the film and
(00:24):
television industry and beyond.
Learn more at unlv.edu/film.
UNLV Film.
Find your voice.
Tell your story.
Welcome to the Film Department, the movie review podcast of UNLV Film.
(00:48):
This semester, we'll be discussing the film screening at our partner movie house,
the Beverly Theatre.
Las Vegas is only independent film house and performance venue.
I'm Nick Patrick, a third year film major in your host for this episode, and I'm joined
by Annie.
Hi, I'm a production designer, primarily.
(01:08):
And I'm L. I am a fourth year fifth, actually, geez.
But yeah, I'm kind of up.
You're racking them up?
I'm racking them up.
This is a screenwriter, somewhat a film historian, but I'm happy to be here.
Oh, awesome.
Well, how are you guys doing today?
We're doing good.
We'll learn this.
Yeah.
(01:29):
In a good way.
Oh, exactly.
Yeah.
Yeah.
How are you doing?
Yeah, good.
I'm good.
I'm ready to talk about this week's film, The Last Showgirl.
But before we get into that, I want to bring up some, I think it would be insane not to bring
up the Oscar nominations that we just, we just got a few days ago.
(01:49):
Exactly.
How are you guys feeling?
I mean, we got, there's some snubs.
There's some big wins and big misses.
There's big L's, big W's.
Yeah.
Well, I mean, where did the Miele appraezz come from?
I did not hear about the movie until all of the, like, nominations.
L, do you know what this movie is?
Of course, I know what this movie is.
It just goes throughout my whole, whole for you page for like how weird it is.
(02:13):
Well, so we, we, we, we, you're watching the movie on, on real.
Oh, no, no, no, just, just, just, just, mainly like how people are feeling about it.
Okay.
And how, um, I didn't, one like something, one for like the music or what was it?
I'm like, no, it's nominated for.
Is it a musical?
I think so.
Okay.
(02:34):
I think so.
I don't call me on this because I'm obviously, um, I'm, I'm a little bit out of the loop
when it comes to lots of, and when you speak of Oscar nominations, I feel like a bad film
major here.
Right.
Yeah, they're here.
Right.
But I'm, what, so what did it get nominated as well?
(02:54):
Well, uh, for best picture, we did get, uh, Emilie Perez, which again, oh, again,
came out of nowhere.
I didn't know.
I didn't know about the, uh, 13 nominations.
Yeah.
So it's up there.
It's, it's, it's up there for having the most nominations.
Uh, Anora, the brutalist, uh, Dune Part II, Conclave, uh, Nickel Boys.
(03:15):
Uh, I'm still here, the substance and wicked.
Um, it's an interesting stuff.
So yeah, it's a good spread.
Um, I'm really happy the substance is getting a lot of nominations.
I'm really surprised that the Academy was looking at it.
Yeah.
So that's, that's big for, for Corley, you know, um, so I'm pretty much about that.
Yeah.
Um, um, what are you, what are you hoping for for the win?
(03:35):
For best picture?
Yeah.
Man, I, I, I'm, I'm, I'm going for brutalist.
I have to.
Yeah.
I have to.
You love the brutalist.
It's so much, it's now my favorite movie.
Top four letterbox.
It's my number one.
It's my, I've seen it twice and it's now my number one.
Oh my god.
Yeah.
So very big fan.
Yeah.
(03:56):
Wow.
Fantastic.
Yeah.
I feel like I'm missing out.
Oh, you gotta go see it.
You gotta go see it.
I obviously have to.
It's, it's insane.
It's insane.
We are going to talk about it a little bit.
Yeah.
We are.
Um, I, I do want to bring up challengers though.
Yes.
I, uh, yeah.
No, no norms for challengers.
Not even a score.
Not even score.
Not even score.
(04:16):
There just snow.
So that is a snob.
It's, it's messed up.
Trent Rezner and Adicus Ross killed it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But it's okay.
Daniel Bloomberg, brutalist.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
So I think that'll, that'll pull through.
That's pretty amazing.
So this is those big trombones?
Exactly.
Yeah.
Exactly.
Yeah.
(04:37):
Big tromb.
I also, I was looking up now.
I may have mixed mini press for another one.
My bad guys.
No, I do think it is a musical maybe.
But again, I had, I had no idea that it was out.
I didn't know anything about it until it started getting all of the nominations.
Yeah.
So I have no contacts at all.
Yeah.
(04:58):
Selena Gomez produced it, I think.
Oh, really?
Yeah.
Oh, wow.
Or I know she is a character.
Okay.
Yeah.
I don't know.
No, I'll have to, I'll have to check it out.
Yeah.
Because, you know, you can't, you can't talk smack on it.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Exactly.
So I gotta see what it's all about.
On that place.
But yeah, I think we should keep talking about the brutalist though, because recently there
(05:20):
was an AI controversy with the brutalist.
The film's editor came out and mentioned that AI was used in the film to alter the speech
of Adrian Brody and Felicity Jones in the film, specifically when they're speaking Hungarian.
And when Brody Corbett came out and defended it and said that the entire process was done
(05:44):
in post was done manually by the post sound team and just kind of adjusted like their vowels
and stuff in the Hungarian speech and stuff like that.
I mean, what do you guys think about that?
I mean, is that, does that destroy their performances?
Is that, you know, does that disqualify their nom, their nominations?
There's so many things to debate, I feel like.
(06:07):
Because on one hand, at the end of the day, I think AI at this point, as long as it's used
as a tool because we can't get away from it anymore, I think.
And I think it just depends on the way that it's used.
So there's that, but there also is a little bit of controversy in terms of the production
(06:27):
design and the use of AI in this, unfortunately, but looking into it a little bit more and
I didn't do enough research.
But if you want to, Jamie, pull it up.
Yeah, they did say, Brady said that the production designer and their team did not use AI
to create a surrender, any of the buildings or any of the designs or anything, but all the
(06:52):
images were hand drawn by artists.
But, and this is all via Hollywood Reporter, but in the end scene, there was, there is
claims that the AI was used in some of the digital renderings of those scenes in the 80s to
make them look bad or stuff like that.
(07:14):
For me, a bit of a stickler, I'm not going to lie.
I can understand that there are some benefits and uses to AI when it comes to fixing things
and post and such.
But to me, I can't get behind it.
(07:34):
It's just, I'm speaking as both someone who's in film, but also who does art as in terms of
like drawing and such.
But it's just, it's funny because in my film theory last semester, I did a whole paper
on AI within film and one of the things that I came to with the conclusion through like
(07:57):
art or theory and then coding and decoding is that if film is made with AI explicitly
or, you know, there's, and it no longer becomes film because so much of it has specific intent
and, yeah, I understand that mistakes needed to be rectified, but I think that's what makes
film so beautiful mistakes happen.
(08:19):
Yeah, yeah, I do understand that.
I do think that one thing to bring up though with the brutalist is the fact that it was
all created with a $10 million budget, which is extremely cheap when you think about the
scale of that film.
And not to, and I'm still very much against AI when I say this, but in the context that
(08:40):
they used it in, I feel a little more forgiving, but I do think that at the same time it's not
something that should be praised or it's a, it's a big topic of debate, you know, for
a reason.
Yeah, it kind of brings up the question of, well, what next?
Yeah.
But, but we'll just have to, we'll just have to see, you know, we, I really hope it, stuff
(09:00):
like that isn't something that filmmakers fall back on.
I want to talk about today's film, The Last Showgirl, and I know we all just saw it yesterday
or a few days ago.
Yes.
Well, what did you guys think?
It was really good.
(09:22):
And I really much, and I went with my mother.
I went over to the Beverly because she wanted to go see it and also wanted to see the Beverly
itself.
And she enjoyed a lot of aspects of it.
I was so funny because while I was over here, like analyzing certain things, I see my
mom who's next to me just crying her eyes out during some sense, like, oh, okay, and then
(09:44):
I'm just like, I'm going back to it.
But I thought it was really cool.
It was really awesome to see a film in Las Vegas, you know, in a way that it was.
What about you, Anna?
I had a very similar screen experience.
I took my Nana.
I did.
And it was very sweet.
I think one, it was the first time she had ever been to the Bev.
(10:05):
So I was really excited to take her.
But, yeah, very similar experience.
We're both crying at the end.
I feel her start to quiver a little bit nights to me and then I start crying more.
But I think the thing that was just so surreal about watching it at the Beverly in this
moment of time was that I walked out and I realized, again, that everything was, that was the
(10:28):
heart of the whole movie was downtown Las Vegas.
So to me, especially, I don't know if you're born and raised here, but, yeah, yeah, being,
you know, growing up on the East Side, always being downtown, like every, every place that
they went to is a familiar place to me, which was surreal.
(10:49):
It really, it struck me.
Absolutely.
I remember being like, I know where that is.
Yeah.
I know exactly where that shopping place is.
I know where that grocery store is.
I know where that angel statue is.
I have so much to say about the angel statue.
Beautiful.
I can't wait.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
What did you think?
Yeah, I had a very different viewing experience.
(11:09):
I went alone with two other people in the theater.
Oh, wow.
This sat all the way in the back.
Yeah, it was, it was, I did not see it at the Beverly.
But I really wanted to.
You should see things at the Beverly.
Yeah, it is.
Yeah, it's good.
But I, yeah, I watched it alone.
And I enjoyed the film.
I enjoyed the film, but I don't think I had a very strong connection to it.
(11:35):
But the thing is, I mean, when you're, you know, when you're talking about art, their, your
identity and your background will dictate or influence your connection to that art that
you're, that you're, that you're consuming or viewing.
I'm so, so, you know, when I, when I, when I was processing the film, I, I, I think it was
(11:57):
just harder for me to, to process some of the themes.
And because it's, it's, it's, it's, I'm a, I'm a 21 year old, you know, man who's going,
who's going to film school, you know, like I'm, I'm the furthest thing away from Pamela
Anderson's character, Shelley.
Who's a wonderful character?
Yeah, I, I, I adore, I adore Pamela Anderson's, Shelley.
(12:21):
But, but no, I definitely didn't have a, a strong connection to film and, and, but I, but
I, I, I did have a good time.
I did have a good time.
I did have a good time.
I did have a good time.
I did have a good time.
I did have a good time.
Even though you're not in the main demographic of it, one thing that we can all, the three of
us connect on is the fact that we are Vegas locals to grew up here.
And this is such a beautiful version of Vegas that I don't think has ever really been
(12:43):
highlighted.
And it's like the mundane reality of living in Las Vegas.
And you know, that's so true.
Yeah, that's something that for me, like it means a lot to me because I, that's one of the,
like my favorite themes in film is finding beauty in the mundane.
So when I saw them walking on Charleston in Fremont, and you know, like, the Charleston
Shadow.
(13:03):
The Charleston in Fremont Shadow, yeah, the Angel statue, which again, so much symbolism
for me on that.
But, yeah, there's something so striking about seeing a version of Vegas that felt
real for the first time.
And it wasn't in like a glamorous light.
And do you know what that's?
That's the part that I really walked away with.
(13:25):
The two sort of words that stuck in my mind when I was thinking about it was glitz and hardship.
Ooh.
Thank you.
Oh my gosh.
Hey, what did I say?
Yeah, right.
But it's because, I mean, so much of it shows the glitz, the glamour, the, the spatical
of what is Las Vegas.
You know, you have like the, the rhinestones on the headrests.
(13:50):
You have the people, you have the, the lights on somethings, but there was also the, the
hardship of it, of, of working in the industry, of being a part of the air and time, because
we're the air and time of the world, that way, that way.
And, um, and it's going back to that, the, making it mundane.
I, when I was watching it, the one thing that really stuck out to me, said most films when
(14:15):
we talk, when they talk about Vegas, or they have a scene of Vegas, they often like put
insert shot after insert shot of like, Hey, here's like a scene.
Oh, hey, here's some, you know, here's some ships and hey, look at, it's crazy.
It's wild.
But here, especially when it comes to the strip itself, most of the time, I saw it in
(14:37):
the background, or just very, it looked so obscured and blurry.
You couldn't even tell what exactly Casino was.
And sometimes you know, it did see the stratosphere, you did see like, there was that one shot
on the rooftop where there was all of it, but most of the time, it's in the background, because
that's how it feels like it, well, while we live here.
Yeah, yeah.
It's just something that happens right over there and we just kind of are here.
(14:58):
It's just our jobs.
It's just our, our daily life.
And I think that that was, yeah, showcase it so beautifully in this.
One thing I do also think that's really important, especially when tying it into the Shelley
characters, the fact that this is old Vegas.
And it's highlighting old Vegas by being downtown, by being on three months straight the entire
(15:20):
time.
Like that in itself is Shelley's character.
She's so tied to the old Vegas ideal of being a showgirl and being in the glamour of everything.
And I think when we see that as the background for her, it's truly representative of her
character throughout the entire thing.
(15:41):
And it, on another note also kind of becomes the antagonist of it in general, where it is
the thing that is demoralizing her, but she's latching onto it the entire time and she's
trying to grasp the Vegas and the old version of herself that she has always been kind of
(16:02):
hidden behind.
And then when she begins to lose it, she begins to realize that there's so much to herself
that she neglected.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I wanted to bring up, because you brought up the city kind of being an antagonist.
And I, and I saw that and I, but I was kind of hoping that Jicopla would push that further.
(16:22):
Because I, I do think Vegas, I, I love, I love the mundane parts that are in this film,
because that is real Vegas.
That is what we experience.
And that is what her character would experience on the day to day, you know, just being in the,
in the grocery store and you're struggling with the self-checkout.
Yeah.
And you know, your, your best friend just smoking a cigarette in the store because why not,
you know?
(16:43):
But I, I wanted to see a stronger contrast between the mundane Vegas and the, the glitz
and the glamour.
Mm-hmm.
Because Shelley is attached to that old Vegas.
And I feel like whenever we do see, we, I feel like we never see old Vegas.
We never see the big spectacles and, and, and, and the, and again, the glitz and the glamour.
(17:08):
And I think it would have been really cool to see that contrast.
Yeah, I can see that.
And it really only comes up in the ending of the film where, where the spotlight returns
to her and, and, and, and, and the ending is this subjective, like, like, just, the moment
for her, this final who rougher her.
And you see, I actually think that was the most, I, I think that was a very smart decision.
(17:30):
Okay.
Because I feel like when we see her on the stage, if we were to have moments where we see
her on the stage, they're at the whole film, it would be, they would want to be as momentous
and my, it wouldn't feel so important.
And I feel like seeing the backstage and seeing her daily life.
(17:52):
We, we, we, we can't, caught in, in this whole thing of, of all her problems of all, of
she experiences.
And then I kid you not the moment that we see her on stage.
I was, it was like, wow.
Yeah.
Because, you know, most of the time, correct me if I'm wrong here, but I feel like when
it came to the lighting of her, that so much of the lighting was very much in the back,
(18:16):
like, reverse key or like, to the side.
Yeah.
But the moment, the, I think the only moment we see that fool on the light, basking her is
that ending shot.
And it looked like, I think it was done in such a way because with those other methods,
you get the, the angles on the face become more harder and the wrinkles become more noticeable.
(18:37):
But having it like that, having it like that, it just, you see the spectacle itself.
You become the person that's in that, in, in that auditorium watching her, seeing her.
And I think, I think in that sort of way, we see the woman first and then we see the God
(19:01):
of her, the image, the spectacle of her.
And that's the end.
That's, and we don't know where she goes from there.
And I think that itself is very, very interesting.
This makes me really want to talk about the statue, you know?
Please.
But the entire time, every insert that they had of the blue angel was so striking to me,
(19:24):
mainly because it's something I see pretty much on a daily basis.
But talking about the ending, I think that the representation of her is perfectly symbolized
in this statue.
And for those who did not grow up in Vegas, the blue, sorry, the blue angel motel.
(19:45):
It was a Veda staple, it's a pillar.
And it's protected.
This angel statue was protected by the state, but the actual motel is gone, completely gone.
Where is the statue?
It's on Charleston in Fremont.
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
So this statue is standing there right next to a bus stop, but the actual motel itself has
(20:10):
been completely gone just for the sake of the street.
And I feel like that is Shelley.
That's Shelley at the end of the film, especially because her entire structure, her foundation,
her purpose is gone.
But she still stands there with her ripped wings, basting in the sunlight, becoming sunbares
(20:33):
to buy Las Vegas.
That's, that's honestly amazing.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And I didn't realize there was the whole reason behind that.
And that provides so much to me.
I just was really like that symbol itself, just I needed to think about that for a really
long time afterwards.
And yeah, just I think the symbolism of it being a blue angel, her last outfit is blue,
(20:59):
her ripped wings.
Yeah, yeah.
It's the spotlight.
I don't know.
I feel like I was blind.
I feel like I didn't even see that.
I didn't even see the, like, I was like, "What is the angel?
I didn't see that.
Now I feel blind."
But yeah, I do think that that was a little bit of a missed opportunity because if you don't
know that hotel and you don't know the, the history behind it, you wouldn't really see
(21:19):
that, but it's also a little easter egg too.
Yeah.
You know what?
Speaking of that then, one shot that did sort of, I catch my attention that in an exact
summer way was, I believe it was her daughter.
It was her daughter walking, just some part of the strip.
(21:40):
And then there was, like, destruction of like a building or something that was like, it
was just like, she was walking through ruins.
And to me, I was like, "Wow, that's, that's Shelley's life.
Shelley's life is in ruins."
And even more than that, I think, when we were talking about the antagonist of the film
being Las Vegas itself, for me, I feel like the antagonist in some similar vein is New
(22:03):
Vegas.
Yeah.
New Vegas.
Yeah.
New Vegas, absolutely.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Because old Vegas, there is this, I mean, I have like, so much of my relatives or people that
I have like gone around, like, traveling with my parents and such.
When they talk about Vegas, they talk about how different it is now versus how it was back
(22:24):
then, that there was this sort of feeling and distinction to it.
And even more than that, when we go to the idea of the show girl, I mean, that, that, that,
that was like, prestigious, that, and that's why I think when it comes to Shelley, she's
a character that chases after prestige because, you know, I spoke about it a little bit when
(22:50):
it comes to her and her relation to the two other dancers.
I think one of them is Jody.
And Mary Ann.
There it is.
Jody and Mary Ann, with Mary Ann, you know, she sees this as just, you know, oh, I, this is
a job.
It pays real American dollars.
I was doing it.
So just that.
And she doesn't really like that at all.
(23:11):
Or that, at least that mindset behind it.
And when it comes to Jody, one scene that stuck out to me, one's when she was showing her
the routine for the other one.
And you know, it's got like, orangy movements and lots of people.
Still, he's horrified.
I don't want to watch this anymore.
I don't.
Exactly.
This, what she sees herself doing isn't like a sex appeal, orangy thing.
(23:33):
It's art.
It's prestige.
And it's having all of the, she wields these things like, she wields a showgirl like a
title, like a king, her, the headdress is a crown and the wings are her cape.
And when it comes to at least, biggest in their attainment in general, if they, in her
(23:54):
attainment, deems you irrelevant, they'll spit you out.
Absolutely.
They won't care.
They won't care about you as a person.
They care about you as a product.
Yeah.
And so while she should be remembered, while she should be someone who is celebrated for
the history that she has in the, the, the era of which she exists, she's not.
(24:16):
Because it's deemed as you're not pretty enough.
You're, you're old.
Goodbye.
Yeah.
And she shouldn't be the case as someone so-and-so art, especially when you're an artist.
Because we're all artists.
We all have that sort of fear about the fact that whenever, what we ever set to do at the
current moment, it could be relevant.
(24:37):
It could be awesome.
It could be something that, but the moment industry decides, yeah.
No.
Yeah.
It's just not, it's, it's really cool because, because like, that's a cool distinction to
make, because it is, it is an old Vegas versus new Vegas thing.
And you could see new Vegas as an antagonist, or you can see new Vegas as just inevitable.
(24:58):
You know?
And, and same thing, my family is always talking about old, they, you know, back in the old,
when the mob was here, you know, you couldn't, you know, but it, it, it's really cool seeing
how Shelley struggles with that and how she's latched onto this old Vegas.
And she sees new Vegas as an antagonist, but characters like Jody and Mary Ann, even
(25:19):
a net, like, even Jamie, Jamie, Jamie Lee Curtis is a net.
They are more transitive.
They're more accepting of like, well, you just have to move on to the next thing.
You just, you have to keep moving, but Shelley's latched onto this, this, this grandeur, but
the grandeur is still there.
It's just changing.
Yeah.
(25:40):
One thing with that as well is bringing up the different, the different relationships
between the characters.
As I do feel like Shelley antagonizes the new Vegas through the two younger dancers when
really the two of them are trying to support her the entire time.
They're trying to latch to her and look to her for guidance, but she's running away from
(26:00):
it in the same way that she's running towards the ideal of her life, you know?
She pushes away the things that are there right in front of her for the ideal of something.
I think ultimately does that make Vegas the antagonist or does that make her the antagonist
herself?
And you know speaking of that, those relations, you know, it's so interesting because we
(26:25):
have in this film a mother, a mother daughter, you know, both in the sense of adoptive and biological
relationship.
And that itself is so interesting to me because I at least what I look at her relationship
Shelley and Jody's relationship, what I see, it's the strange role of, you know, that they
(26:52):
were, you know, Jody calls her like her mom and says, but at the same time, sometimes
I feel like it's Jody who acts like the mom and Shelley, the teenager because so much
of her is just feels so immature in some ways.
Like she is has this, you know, maturity of age, but I mean down to the way she sometimes
(27:14):
she dresses and to all the way that she acts when she actually encounters a hard situation.
Her first instinct is to leave the room and to like just completely go away, which feels
kind of like a teenager.
And so it's interesting to see them kind of with that.
There's definitely such like a, it's almost toxic relationship between Jody and Shelley.
(27:37):
And I was thinking about that, but yet Shelley is like the more naive and more younger feeling
character while Jody, again, we learn has been kind of like a strange from her mother and
has to kind of become more independent and kind of take on her own world.
And it's, again, it creates this toxic relationship where when Jody does come to Shelley seeking
(28:04):
support, Shelley turns, turns her away, you know, Shelley can't handle it.
She can only handle so much at a certain, at a given point.
And it's a really cool relationship, but I do wish it was developed more.
I wish that we got to kind of see more of their relationship outside of the show.
But maybe that was a good thing.
(28:25):
Maybe that was something that we needed to have in.
I do think that we see the dynamic between them foiled with Hannah, her actual daughter.
And I think that the comparables between the two show that she's running away from someone
who does actually see her as a mother figure and she's neglecting her in the same way that
(28:46):
she did to her own daughter when she was chasing the show girl life.
So I think it is ultimately a cycle.
It's a pattern.
This is shown on film, which is somewhat of a rarity these days.
You don't see a lot of everything shut digital that started happening in the early 2000s,
especially pioneered by like David Fincher and James Cameron and stuff like that.
(29:07):
And it looks beautiful.
It's beautiful.
I mean, I'm really happy that there are so many filmmakers and studios and even theaters
that are doing their best to keep this part of the art form, really the core of the art
form alive.
And it keeps, it makes the image look alive.
Then you don't really see that with digital.
(29:28):
I mean, there are beautiful digital films.
Don't get me wrong, but film is the core of this.
I mean, that's why we call it film.
And I don't know.
What do you guys think about the way it was shot with film and do you think this is an important
thing moving forward?
Yeah.
I mean, I think it's really important considering the fact that we're now out of phase where
(29:48):
technology is starting to become an antagonist to art in itself.
I feel like there's now becoming like a wave of retaliation back to analog.
And pretty much every film that was super notable to me from this year, Anora, this, the brutalist,
they're all shot on film.
(30:10):
And I think that's such a beautiful new direction and retaliation and renaissance that we're
hoping we're getting out of this.
And especially if we're able to view them on original film again in the same way that I
felt, I feel so fortunate I was able to see the brutalist in 70 millimeter.
(30:31):
And after that, I was like, I don't think I ever want to watch a movie like that ever again.
Yeah, it is.
It is.
It's so stunning.
And I think with the love show girl, it just, it works so beautifully because I think it
creates such a perfect halo around the entire thing and the blues are so vibrant in it.
Absolutely.
Yeah, I think that it's so, it is important, especially when it comes to film, because you know,
(30:57):
that's, of course, that's where we originated from in terms of how all of this came from
the fact that somebody looked at films like we could do something with this.
And it's just just sort of related back to the last showgirl for a second.
I mean, in a sense, that's essentially what Shelley feels.
Because in Shelley's mind and how Shelley views the world while it is still like, it can
(31:24):
be considered older or it can be considered less convenient to do, it's stunning.
It's beautiful and it's, and it's something important.
And just because, you know, you could take something digital and just shoot it.
And by all means, go ahead.
But there is this form of really being in touch and tune with the roots of film and with
(31:53):
an art itself.
And so I feel like it's important in all of its ways.
Yeah, and it serves the symbolism of the story really beautifully for it to be shot on
digital, on film versus digital, because yeah, like you said, like that is Shelley.
And I don't think the glamour of being a showgirl could be seen in anything else besides that
(32:14):
you would not get the sparkle that you do if it weren't for that.
This was shot on 60 millimeter film, which it just looks gorgeous.
It's seeing Las Vegas in that light is amazing.
And you were talking about the lighting earlier and how it all leads up to this grand moment
in the ending where she's fully lit up.
(32:36):
And it's just this gorgeous spectacle.
But the lighting is all like backlit.
And I think that is just so, it just feels so mundane.
And I love that.
I love the way that they shot it.
It just truly, it's amazing.
Yeah.
And your production designer, what do you think about kind of the sets and everything?
(32:56):
The sets are beautiful.
I do love Shelley's house in particular.
I do feel like it's this perfect representation of her because it's all this, you know, glitz
and glam, but at the same time it's trapped inside of a house that's probably downtown Las
Vegas from the location, you know?
And I think that that's, it's her, like it's her expression just kind of, like, spilling
(33:21):
into her environment and she's able to control her space in that way.
And one thing that I find really interesting about the house itself too is that she is constantly
denying people like access to that house.
And like she, you know, in the very beginning we see them all together in the little dinner
(33:42):
scene, but we don't see anyone inside after that.
And I think that representing that within her house is really interesting.
But on another note, obviously the show girl looks are just stunning.
They're so stunning.
And I really want to do more research into the designers of the time and see how they
(34:04):
pulled reference from that.
I really want to know what fabrics and materials they used if they recycled anything from
previous, you know, previous use or not.
I believe Hannah says a line where it's like photography is hard or something like art is
hard and Shelley freaks out and she's like, "No, art isn't hard work, no, no, no."
(34:24):
So thank you, Geocopola.
Yeah.
It's not hard, you did it, you shot it on film and it looks amazing.
And I thought the film was a great experience and it was really, really fantastic seeing my
city on the big screen and I really hope we keep seeing my city on the big screen.
Oh yeah.
What are your guys's final thoughts on the last show girl?
(34:47):
I think it's the perfect homage to all of those who grew up in the city.
Back when it was the old Vegas and to those who are currently now living in the new Vegas
and had no idea about the as much detail experience of the old Vegas and how we as a new generation
(35:10):
can come to appreciate both, you know, the history of this great city and also being able
to look at all of this and know the fact that being and doing art especially in a place like
this, it has community, you know, and to be in community with one another as artists is
(35:35):
a beautiful thing and I think that's the reason why our house films itself, like our house,
movie theaters themselves, are great places to go because it's community and you know,
that's at the Beverly.
You got good sense of community.
What about you, Annie?
Shout out Pamela Anderson.
Hey.
Shout out the Beverly.
Yeah.
(35:56):
Yeah, I loved it.
Keep it easy.
Keep it soundcloud.
Keep it real.
Keep it factual.
Well, I think that is it for this week's film department.
We hope you enjoyed today's episode and we'll like, subscribe and share wherever you're
listening to. If you'd like to read our in-depth analysis of the film, the last showgirl, you
(36:21):
can head over to our substack at the film department.
Thank you to the Beverly.
Be sure to check out their list programming at thebeverly.com, including dates and times for
the last showgirl.
Thank you guys.
Imagine by the Rogers Foundation, the Beverly Theatre brings cinematic connectivity,
novel collaborations, live happenings, cultural portals and assessed for independent spirits
(36:46):
to downtown Las Vegas.
With a mission to stage uncommon cinematic, literary and live experiences, the Beverly
Theatre is Las Vegas's first and only independent film house, storytelling arena and live music venue.
Check out our event calendar at thebeverlytheater.com.
[Music]
The Film Department is supported by UNLV Film.
(00:04):
At the Film Department of the University of Nevada Las Vegas, every story has a beginning.
With degree programs for undergraduates and graduates, state-of-the-art equipment and
facilities, incredible professional internships around the world, and expert guest speakers,
students discover the power and potential of cinema as they prepare for the film and
(00:24):
television industry and beyond.
Learn more at unlv.edu/film.
UNLV Film.
Find your voice.
Tell your story.
Welcome to the Film Department, the movie review podcast of UNLV Film.
(00:48):
This semester, we'll be discussing the film screening at our partner movie house,
the Beverly Theatre.
Las Vegas is only independent film house and performance venue.
I'm Nick Patrick, a third year film major in your host for this episode, and I'm joined
by Annie.
Hi, I'm a production designer, primarily.
(01:08):
And I'm L. I am a fourth year fifth, actually, geez.
But yeah, I'm kind of up.
You're racking them up?
I'm racking them up.
This is a screenwriter, somewhat a film historian, but I'm happy to be here.
Oh, awesome.
Well, how are you guys doing today?
We're doing good.
We'll learn this.
Yeah.
(01:29):
In a good way.
Oh, exactly.
Yeah.
Yeah.
How are you doing?
Yeah, good.
I'm good.
I'm ready to talk about this week's film, The Last Showgirl.
But before we get into that, I want to bring up some, I think it would be insane not to bring
up the Oscar nominations that we just, we just got a few days ago.
(01:49):
Exactly.
How are you guys feeling?
I mean, we got, there's some snubs.
There's some big wins and big misses.
There's big L's, big W's.
Yeah.
Well, I mean, where did the Miele appraezz come from?
I did not hear about the movie until all of the, like, nominations.
L, do you know what this movie is?
Of course, I know what this movie is.
It just goes throughout my whole, whole for you page for like how weird it is.
(02:13):
Well, so we, we, we, we, you're watching the movie on, on real.
Oh, no, no, no, just, just, just, just, mainly like how people are feeling about it.
Okay.
And how, um, I didn't, one like something, one for like the music or what was it?
I'm like, no, it's nominated for.
Is it a musical?
I think so.
Okay.
(02:34):
I think so.
I don't call me on this because I'm obviously, um, I'm, I'm a little bit out of the loop
when it comes to lots of, and when you speak of Oscar nominations, I feel like a bad film
major here.
Right.
Yeah, they're here.
Right.
But I'm, what, so what did it get nominated as well?
(02:54):
Well, uh, for best picture, we did get, uh, Emilie Perez, which again, oh, again,
came out of nowhere.
I didn't know.
I didn't know about the, uh, 13 nominations.
Yeah.
So it's up there.
It's, it's, it's up there for having the most nominations.
Uh, Anora, the brutalist, uh, Dune Part II, Conclave, uh, Nickel Boys.
(03:15):
Uh, I'm still here, the substance and wicked.
Um, it's an interesting stuff.
So yeah, it's a good spread.
Um, I'm really happy the substance is getting a lot of nominations.
I'm really surprised that the Academy was looking at it.
Yeah.
So that's, that's big for, for Corley, you know, um, so I'm pretty much about that.
Yeah.
Um, um, what are you, what are you hoping for for the win?
(03:35):
For best picture?
Yeah.
Man, I, I, I'm, I'm, I'm going for brutalist.
I have to.
Yeah.
I have to.
You love the brutalist.
It's so much, it's now my favorite movie.
Top four letterbox.
It's my number one.
It's my, I've seen it twice and it's now my number one.
Oh my god.
Yeah.
So very big fan.
Yeah.
(03:56):
Wow.
Fantastic.
Yeah.
I feel like I'm missing out.
Oh, you gotta go see it.
You gotta go see it.
I obviously have to.
It's, it's insane.
It's insane.
We are going to talk about it a little bit.
Yeah.
We are.
Um, I, I do want to bring up challengers though.
Yes.
I, uh, yeah.
No, no norms for challengers.
Not even a score.
Not even score.
Not even score.
(04:16):
There just snow.
So that is a snob.
It's, it's messed up.
Trent Rezner and Adicus Ross killed it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But it's okay.
Daniel Bloomberg, brutalist.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
So I think that'll, that'll pull through.
That's pretty amazing.
So this is those big trombones?
Exactly.
Yeah.
Exactly.
Yeah.
(04:37):
Big tromb.
I also, I was looking up now.
I may have mixed mini press for another one.
My bad guys.
No, I do think it is a musical maybe.
But again, I had, I had no idea that it was out.
I didn't know anything about it until it started getting all of the nominations.
Yeah.
So I have no contacts at all.
Yeah.
(04:58):
Selena Gomez produced it, I think.
Oh, really?
Yeah.
Oh, wow.
Or I know she is a character.
Okay.
Yeah.
I don't know.
No, I'll have to, I'll have to check it out.
Yeah.
Because, you know, you can't, you can't talk smack on it.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Exactly.
So I gotta see what it's all about.
On that place.
But yeah, I think we should keep talking about the brutalist though, because recently there
(05:20):
was an AI controversy with the brutalist.
The film's editor came out and mentioned that AI was used in the film to alter the speech
of Adrian Brody and Felicity Jones in the film, specifically when they're speaking Hungarian.
And when Brody Corbett came out and defended it and said that the entire process was done
(05:44):
in post was done manually by the post sound team and just kind of adjusted like their vowels
and stuff in the Hungarian speech and stuff like that.
I mean, what do you guys think about that?
I mean, is that, does that destroy their performances?
Is that, you know, does that disqualify their nom, their nominations?
There's so many things to debate, I feel like.
(06:07):
Because on one hand, at the end of the day, I think AI at this point, as long as it's used
as a tool because we can't get away from it anymore, I think.
And I think it just depends on the way that it's used.
So there's that, but there also is a little bit of controversy in terms of the production
(06:27):
design and the use of AI in this, unfortunately, but looking into it a little bit more and
I didn't do enough research.
But if you want to, Jamie, pull it up.
Yeah, they did say, Brady said that the production designer and their team did not use AI
to create a surrender, any of the buildings or any of the designs or anything, but all the
(06:52):
images were hand drawn by artists.
But, and this is all via Hollywood Reporter, but in the end scene, there was, there is
claims that the AI was used in some of the digital renderings of those scenes in the 80s to
make them look bad or stuff like that.
(07:14):
For me, a bit of a stickler, I'm not going to lie.
I can understand that there are some benefits and uses to AI when it comes to fixing things
and post and such.
But to me, I can't get behind it.
(07:34):
It's just, I'm speaking as both someone who's in film, but also who does art as in terms of
like drawing and such.
But it's just, it's funny because in my film theory last semester, I did a whole paper
on AI within film and one of the things that I came to with the conclusion through like
(07:57):
art or theory and then coding and decoding is that if film is made with AI explicitly
or, you know, there's, and it no longer becomes film because so much of it has specific intent
and, yeah, I understand that mistakes needed to be rectified, but I think that's what makes
film so beautiful mistakes happen.
(08:19):
Yeah, yeah, I do understand that.
I do think that one thing to bring up though with the brutalist is the fact that it was
all created with a $10 million budget, which is extremely cheap when you think about the
scale of that film.
And not to, and I'm still very much against AI when I say this, but in the context that
(08:40):
they used it in, I feel a little more forgiving, but I do think that at the same time it's not
something that should be praised or it's a, it's a big topic of debate, you know, for
a reason.
Yeah, it kind of brings up the question of, well, what next?
Yeah.
But, but we'll just have to, we'll just have to see, you know, we, I really hope it, stuff
(09:00):
like that isn't something that filmmakers fall back on.
I want to talk about today's film, The Last Showgirl, and I know we all just saw it yesterday
or a few days ago.
Yes.
Well, what did you guys think?
It was really good.
(09:22):
And I really much, and I went with my mother.
I went over to the Beverly because she wanted to go see it and also wanted to see the Beverly
itself.
And she enjoyed a lot of aspects of it.
I was so funny because while I was over here, like analyzing certain things, I see my
mom who's next to me just crying her eyes out during some sense, like, oh, okay, and then
(09:44):
I'm just like, I'm going back to it.
But I thought it was really cool.
It was really awesome to see a film in Las Vegas, you know, in a way that it was.
What about you, Anna?
I had a very similar screen experience.
I took my Nana.
I did.
And it was very sweet.
I think one, it was the first time she had ever been to the Bev.
(10:05):
So I was really excited to take her.
But, yeah, very similar experience.
We're both crying at the end.
I feel her start to quiver a little bit nights to me and then I start crying more.
But I think the thing that was just so surreal about watching it at the Beverly in this
moment of time was that I walked out and I realized, again, that everything was, that was the
(10:28):
heart of the whole movie was downtown Las Vegas.
So to me, especially, I don't know if you're born and raised here, but, yeah, yeah, being,
you know, growing up on the East Side, always being downtown, like every, every place that
they went to is a familiar place to me, which was surreal.
(10:49):
It really, it struck me.
Absolutely.
I remember being like, I know where that is.
Yeah.
I know exactly where that shopping place is.
I know where that grocery store is.
I know where that angel statue is.
I have so much to say about the angel statue.
Beautiful.
I can't wait.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
What did you think?
Yeah, I had a very different viewing experience.
(11:09):
I went alone with two other people in the theater.
Oh, wow.
This sat all the way in the back.
Yeah, it was, it was, I did not see it at the Beverly.
But I really wanted to.
You should see things at the Beverly.
Yeah, it is.
Yeah, it's good.
But I, yeah, I watched it alone.
And I enjoyed the film.
I enjoyed the film, but I don't think I had a very strong connection to it.
(11:35):
But the thing is, I mean, when you're, you know, when you're talking about art, their, your
identity and your background will dictate or influence your connection to that art that
you're, that you're, that you're consuming or viewing.
I'm so, so, you know, when I, when I, when I was processing the film, I, I, I think it was
(11:57):
just harder for me to, to process some of the themes.
And because it's, it's, it's, it's, I'm a, I'm a 21 year old, you know, man who's going,
who's going to film school, you know, like I'm, I'm the furthest thing away from Pamela
Anderson's character, Shelley.
Who's a wonderful character?
Yeah, I, I, I adore, I adore Pamela Anderson's, Shelley.
(12:21):
But, but no, I definitely didn't have a, a strong connection to film and, and, but I, but
I, I, I did have a good time.
I did have a good time.
I did have a good time.
I did have a good time.
I did have a good time.
I did have a good time.
Even though you're not in the main demographic of it, one thing that we can all, the three of
us connect on is the fact that we are Vegas locals to grew up here.
And this is such a beautiful version of Vegas that I don't think has ever really been
(12:43):
highlighted.
And it's like the mundane reality of living in Las Vegas.
And you know, that's so true.
Yeah, that's something that for me, like it means a lot to me because I, that's one of the,
like my favorite themes in film is finding beauty in the mundane.
So when I saw them walking on Charleston in Fremont, and you know, like, the Charleston
Shadow.
(13:03):
The Charleston in Fremont Shadow, yeah, the Angel statue, which again, so much symbolism
for me on that.
But, yeah, there's something so striking about seeing a version of Vegas that felt
real for the first time.
And it wasn't in like a glamorous light.
And do you know what that's?
That's the part that I really walked away with.
(13:25):
The two sort of words that stuck in my mind when I was thinking about it was glitz and hardship.
Ooh.
Thank you.
Oh my gosh.
Hey, what did I say?
Yeah, right.
But it's because, I mean, so much of it shows the glitz, the glamour, the, the spatical
of what is Las Vegas.
You know, you have like the, the rhinestones on the headrests.
(13:50):
You have the people, you have the, the lights on somethings, but there was also the, the
hardship of it, of, of working in the industry, of being a part of the air and time, because
we're the air and time of the world, that way, that way.
And, um, and it's going back to that, the, making it mundane.
I, when I was watching it, the one thing that really stuck out to me, said most films when
(14:15):
we talk, when they talk about Vegas, or they have a scene of Vegas, they often like put
insert shot after insert shot of like, Hey, here's like a scene.
Oh, hey, here's some, you know, here's some ships and hey, look at, it's crazy.
It's wild.
But here, especially when it comes to the strip itself, most of the time, I saw it in
(14:37):
the background, or just very, it looked so obscured and blurry.
You couldn't even tell what exactly Casino was.
And sometimes you know, it did see the stratosphere, you did see like, there was that one shot
on the rooftop where there was all of it, but most of the time, it's in the background, because
that's how it feels like it, well, while we live here.
Yeah, yeah.
It's just something that happens right over there and we just kind of are here.
(14:58):
It's just our jobs.
It's just our, our daily life.
And I think that that was, yeah, showcase it so beautifully in this.
One thing I do also think that's really important, especially when tying it into the Shelley
characters, the fact that this is old Vegas.
And it's highlighting old Vegas by being downtown, by being on three months straight the entire
(15:20):
time.
Like that in itself is Shelley's character.
She's so tied to the old Vegas ideal of being a showgirl and being in the glamour of everything.
And I think when we see that as the background for her, it's truly representative of her
character throughout the entire thing.
(15:41):
And it, on another note also kind of becomes the antagonist of it in general, where it is
the thing that is demoralizing her, but she's latching onto it the entire time and she's
trying to grasp the Vegas and the old version of herself that she has always been kind of
(16:02):
hidden behind.
And then when she begins to lose it, she begins to realize that there's so much to herself
that she neglected.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I wanted to bring up, because you brought up the city kind of being an antagonist.
And I, and I saw that and I, but I was kind of hoping that Jicopla would push that further.
(16:22):
Because I, I do think Vegas, I, I love, I love the mundane parts that are in this film,
because that is real Vegas.
That is what we experience.
And that is what her character would experience on the day to day, you know, just being in the,
in the grocery store and you're struggling with the self-checkout.
Yeah.
And you know, your, your best friend just smoking a cigarette in the store because why not,
you know?
(16:43):
But I, I wanted to see a stronger contrast between the mundane Vegas and the, the glitz
and the glamour.
Mm-hmm.
Because Shelley is attached to that old Vegas.
And I feel like whenever we do see, we, I feel like we never see old Vegas.
We never see the big spectacles and, and, and, and the, and again, the glitz and the glamour.
(17:08):
And I think it would have been really cool to see that contrast.
Yeah, I can see that.
And it really only comes up in the ending of the film where, where the spotlight returns
to her and, and, and, and, and the ending is this subjective, like, like, just, the moment
for her, this final who rougher her.
And you see, I actually think that was the most, I, I think that was a very smart decision.
(17:30):
Okay.
Because I feel like when we see her on the stage, if we were to have moments where we see
her on the stage, they're at the whole film, it would be, they would want to be as momentous
and my, it wouldn't feel so important.
And I feel like seeing the backstage and seeing her daily life.
(17:52):
We, we, we, we can't, caught in, in this whole thing of, of all her problems of all, of
she experiences.
And then I kid you not the moment that we see her on stage.
I was, it was like, wow.
Yeah.
Because, you know, most of the time, correct me if I'm wrong here, but I feel like when
it came to the lighting of her, that so much of the lighting was very much in the back,
(18:16):
like, reverse key or like, to the side.
Yeah.
But the moment, the, I think the only moment we see that fool on the light, basking her is
that ending shot.
And it looked like, I think it was done in such a way because with those other methods,
you get the, the angles on the face become more harder and the wrinkles become more noticeable.
(18:37):
But having it like that, having it like that, it just, you see the spectacle itself.
You become the person that's in that, in, in that auditorium watching her, seeing her.
And I think, I think in that sort of way, we see the woman first and then we see the God
(19:01):
of her, the image, the spectacle of her.
And that's the end.
That's, and we don't know where she goes from there.
And I think that itself is very, very interesting.
This makes me really want to talk about the statue, you know?
Please.
But the entire time, every insert that they had of the blue angel was so striking to me,
(19:24):
mainly because it's something I see pretty much on a daily basis.
But talking about the ending, I think that the representation of her is perfectly symbolized
in this statue.
And for those who did not grow up in Vegas, the blue, sorry, the blue angel motel.
(19:45):
It was a Veda staple, it's a pillar.
And it's protected.
This angel statue was protected by the state, but the actual motel is gone, completely gone.
Where is the statue?
It's on Charleston in Fremont.
Oh yeah.
Yeah.
So this statue is standing there right next to a bus stop, but the actual motel itself has
(20:10):
been completely gone just for the sake of the street.
And I feel like that is Shelley.
That's Shelley at the end of the film, especially because her entire structure, her foundation,
her purpose is gone.
But she still stands there with her ripped wings, basting in the sunlight, becoming sunbares
(20:33):
to buy Las Vegas.
That's, that's honestly amazing.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Thank you.
And I didn't realize there was the whole reason behind that.
And that provides so much to me.
I just was really like that symbol itself, just I needed to think about that for a really
long time afterwards.
And yeah, just I think the symbolism of it being a blue angel, her last outfit is blue,
(20:59):
her ripped wings.
Yeah, yeah.
It's the spotlight.
I don't know.
I feel like I was blind.
I feel like I didn't even see that.
I didn't even see the, like, I was like, "What is the angel?
I didn't see that.
Now I feel blind."
But yeah, I do think that that was a little bit of a missed opportunity because if you don't
know that hotel and you don't know the, the history behind it, you wouldn't really see
(21:19):
that, but it's also a little easter egg too.
Yeah.
You know what?
Speaking of that then, one shot that did sort of, I catch my attention that in an exact
summer way was, I believe it was her daughter.
It was her daughter walking, just some part of the strip.
(21:40):
And then there was, like, destruction of like a building or something that was like, it
was just like, she was walking through ruins.
And to me, I was like, "Wow, that's, that's Shelley's life.
Shelley's life is in ruins."
And even more than that, I think, when we were talking about the antagonist of the film
being Las Vegas itself, for me, I feel like the antagonist in some similar vein is New
(22:03):
Vegas.
Yeah.
New Vegas.
Yeah.
New Vegas, absolutely.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Because old Vegas, there is this, I mean, I have like, so much of my relatives or people that
I have like gone around, like, traveling with my parents and such.
When they talk about Vegas, they talk about how different it is now versus how it was back
(22:24):
then, that there was this sort of feeling and distinction to it.
And even more than that, when we go to the idea of the show girl, I mean, that, that, that,
that was like, prestigious, that, and that's why I think when it comes to Shelley, she's
a character that chases after prestige because, you know, I spoke about it a little bit when
(22:50):
it comes to her and her relation to the two other dancers.
I think one of them is Jody.
And Mary Ann.
There it is.
Jody and Mary Ann, with Mary Ann, you know, she sees this as just, you know, oh, I, this is
a job.
It pays real American dollars.
I was doing it.
So just that.
And she doesn't really like that at all.
(23:11):
Or that, at least that mindset behind it.
And when it comes to Jody, one scene that stuck out to me, one's when she was showing her
the routine for the other one.
And you know, it's got like, orangy movements and lots of people.
Still, he's horrified.
I don't want to watch this anymore.
I don't.
Exactly.
This, what she sees herself doing isn't like a sex appeal, orangy thing.
(23:33):
It's art.
It's prestige.
And it's having all of the, she wields these things like, she wields a showgirl like a
title, like a king, her, the headdress is a crown and the wings are her cape.
And when it comes to at least, biggest in their attainment in general, if they, in her
(23:54):
attainment, deems you irrelevant, they'll spit you out.
Absolutely.
They won't care.
They won't care about you as a person.
They care about you as a product.
Yeah.
And so while she should be remembered, while she should be someone who is celebrated for
the history that she has in the, the, the era of which she exists, she's not.
(24:16):
Because it's deemed as you're not pretty enough.
You're, you're old.
Goodbye.
Yeah.
And she shouldn't be the case as someone so-and-so art, especially when you're an artist.
Because we're all artists.
We all have that sort of fear about the fact that whenever, what we ever set to do at the
current moment, it could be relevant.
(24:37):
It could be awesome.
It could be something that, but the moment industry decides, yeah.
No.
Yeah.
It's just not, it's, it's really cool because, because like, that's a cool distinction to
make, because it is, it is an old Vegas versus new Vegas thing.
And you could see new Vegas as an antagonist, or you can see new Vegas as just inevitable.
(24:58):
You know?
And, and same thing, my family is always talking about old, they, you know, back in the old,
when the mob was here, you know, you couldn't, you know, but it, it, it's really cool seeing
how Shelley struggles with that and how she's latched onto this old Vegas.
And she sees new Vegas as an antagonist, but characters like Jody and Mary Ann, even
(25:19):
a net, like, even Jamie, Jamie, Jamie Lee Curtis is a net.
They are more transitive.
They're more accepting of like, well, you just have to move on to the next thing.
You just, you have to keep moving, but Shelley's latched onto this, this, this grandeur, but
the grandeur is still there.
It's just changing.
Yeah.
(25:40):
One thing with that as well is bringing up the different, the different relationships
between the characters.
As I do feel like Shelley antagonizes the new Vegas through the two younger dancers when
really the two of them are trying to support her the entire time.
They're trying to latch to her and look to her for guidance, but she's running away from
(26:00):
it in the same way that she's running towards the ideal of her life, you know?
She pushes away the things that are there right in front of her for the ideal of something.
I think ultimately does that make Vegas the antagonist or does that make her the antagonist
herself?
And you know speaking of that, those relations, you know, it's so interesting because we
(26:25):
have in this film a mother, a mother daughter, you know, both in the sense of adoptive and biological
relationship.
And that itself is so interesting to me because I at least what I look at her relationship
Shelley and Jody's relationship, what I see, it's the strange role of, you know, that they
(26:52):
were, you know, Jody calls her like her mom and says, but at the same time, sometimes
I feel like it's Jody who acts like the mom and Shelley, the teenager because so much
of her is just feels so immature in some ways.
Like she is has this, you know, maturity of age, but I mean down to the way she sometimes
(27:14):
she dresses and to all the way that she acts when she actually encounters a hard situation.
Her first instinct is to leave the room and to like just completely go away, which feels
kind of like a teenager.
And so it's interesting to see them kind of with that.
There's definitely such like a, it's almost toxic relationship between Jody and Shelley.
(27:37):
And I was thinking about that, but yet Shelley is like the more naive and more younger feeling
character while Jody, again, we learn has been kind of like a strange from her mother and
has to kind of become more independent and kind of take on her own world.
And it's, again, it creates this toxic relationship where when Jody does come to Shelley seeking
(28:04):
support, Shelley turns, turns her away, you know, Shelley can't handle it.
She can only handle so much at a certain, at a given point.
And it's a really cool relationship, but I do wish it was developed more.
I wish that we got to kind of see more of their relationship outside of the show.
But maybe that was a good thing.
(28:25):
Maybe that was something that we needed to have in.
I do think that we see the dynamic between them foiled with Hannah, her actual daughter.
And I think that the comparables between the two show that she's running away from someone
who does actually see her as a mother figure and she's neglecting her in the same way that
(28:46):
she did to her own daughter when she was chasing the show girl life.
So I think it is ultimately a cycle.
It's a pattern.
This is shown on film, which is somewhat of a rarity these days.
You don't see a lot of everything shut digital that started happening in the early 2000s,
especially pioneered by like David Fincher and James Cameron and stuff like that.
(29:07):
And it looks beautiful.
It's beautiful.
I mean, I'm really happy that there are so many filmmakers and studios and even theaters
that are doing their best to keep this part of the art form, really the core of the art
form alive.
And it keeps, it makes the image look alive.
Then you don't really see that with digital.
(29:28):
I mean, there are beautiful digital films.
Don't get me wrong, but film is the core of this.
I mean, that's why we call it film.
And I don't know.
What do you guys think about the way it was shot with film and do you think this is an important
thing moving forward?
Yeah.
I mean, I think it's really important considering the fact that we're now out of phase where
(29:48):
technology is starting to become an antagonist to art in itself.
I feel like there's now becoming like a wave of retaliation back to analog.
And pretty much every film that was super notable to me from this year, Anora, this, the brutalist,
they're all shot on film.
(30:10):
And I think that's such a beautiful new direction and retaliation and renaissance that we're
hoping we're getting out of this.
And especially if we're able to view them on original film again in the same way that I
felt, I feel so fortunate I was able to see the brutalist in 70 millimeter.
(30:31):
And after that, I was like, I don't think I ever want to watch a movie like that ever again.
Yeah, it is.
It is.
It's so stunning.
And I think with the love show girl, it just, it works so beautifully because I think it
creates such a perfect halo around the entire thing and the blues are so vibrant in it.
Absolutely.
Yeah, I think that it's so, it is important, especially when it comes to film, because you know,
(30:57):
that's, of course, that's where we originated from in terms of how all of this came from
the fact that somebody looked at films like we could do something with this.
And it's just just sort of related back to the last showgirl for a second.
I mean, in a sense, that's essentially what Shelley feels.
Because in Shelley's mind and how Shelley views the world while it is still like, it can
(31:24):
be considered older or it can be considered less convenient to do, it's stunning.
It's beautiful and it's, and it's something important.
And just because, you know, you could take something digital and just shoot it.
And by all means, go ahead.
But there is this form of really being in touch and tune with the roots of film and with
(31:53):
an art itself.
And so I feel like it's important in all of its ways.
Yeah, and it serves the symbolism of the story really beautifully for it to be shot on
digital, on film versus digital, because yeah, like you said, like that is Shelley.
And I don't think the glamour of being a showgirl could be seen in anything else besides that
(32:14):
you would not get the sparkle that you do if it weren't for that.
This was shot on 60 millimeter film, which it just looks gorgeous.
It's seeing Las Vegas in that light is amazing.
And you were talking about the lighting earlier and how it all leads up to this grand moment
in the ending where she's fully lit up.
(32:36):
And it's just this gorgeous spectacle.
But the lighting is all like backlit.
And I think that is just so, it just feels so mundane.
And I love that.
I love the way that they shot it.
It just truly, it's amazing.
Yeah.
And your production designer, what do you think about kind of the sets and everything?
(32:56):
The sets are beautiful.
I do love Shelley's house in particular.
I do feel like it's this perfect representation of her because it's all this, you know, glitz
and glam, but at the same time it's trapped inside of a house that's probably downtown Las
Vegas from the location, you know?
And I think that that's, it's her, like it's her expression just kind of, like, spilling
(33:21):
into her environment and she's able to control her space in that way.
And one thing that I find really interesting about the house itself too is that she is constantly
denying people like access to that house.
And like she, you know, in the very beginning we see them all together in the little dinner
(33:42):
scene, but we don't see anyone inside after that.
And I think that representing that within her house is really interesting.
But on another note, obviously the show girl looks are just stunning.
They're so stunning.
And I really want to do more research into the designers of the time and see how they
(34:04):
pulled reference from that.
I really want to know what fabrics and materials they used if they recycled anything from
previous, you know, previous use or not.
I believe Hannah says a line where it's like photography is hard or something like art is
hard and Shelley freaks out and she's like, "No, art isn't hard work, no, no, no."
(34:24):
So thank you, Geocopola.
Yeah.
It's not hard, you did it, you shot it on film and it looks amazing.
And I thought the film was a great experience and it was really, really fantastic seeing my
city on the big screen and I really hope we keep seeing my city on the big screen.
Oh yeah.
What are your guys's final thoughts on the last show girl?
(34:47):
I think it's the perfect homage to all of those who grew up in the city.
Back when it was the old Vegas and to those who are currently now living in the new Vegas
and had no idea about the as much detail experience of the old Vegas and how we as a new generation
(35:10):
can come to appreciate both, you know, the history of this great city and also being able
to look at all of this and know the fact that being and doing art especially in a place like
this, it has community, you know, and to be in community with one another as artists is
(35:35):
a beautiful thing and I think that's the reason why our house films itself, like our house,
movie theaters themselves, are great places to go because it's community and you know,
that's at the Beverly.
You got good sense of community.
What about you, Annie?
Shout out Pamela Anderson.
Hey.
Shout out the Beverly.
Yeah.
(35:56):
Yeah, I loved it.
Keep it easy.
Keep it soundcloud.
Keep it real.
Keep it factual.
Well, I think that is it for this week's film department.
We hope you enjoyed today's episode and we'll like, subscribe and share wherever you're
listening to. If you'd like to read our in-depth analysis of the film, the last showgirl, you
(36:21):
can head over to our substack at the film department.
Thank you to the Beverly.
Be sure to check out their list programming at thebeverly.com, including dates and times for
the last showgirl.
Thank you guys.
Imagine by the Rogers Foundation, the Beverly Theatre brings cinematic connectivity,
novel collaborations, live happenings, cultural portals and assessed for independent spirits
(36:46):
to downtown Las Vegas.
With a mission to stage uncommon cinematic, literary and live experiences, the Beverly
Theatre is Las Vegas's first and only independent film house, storytelling arena and live music venue.
Check out our event calendar at thebeverlytheater.com.
[Music]
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