December 28, 2024 • 33 mins
ICYMI: Hour One of ‘Later, with Mo’Kelly’ Presents – A specially crafted ‘Best-Of’ edition of the program revisiting Mark Rahner’s love of ‘black olives’ on pizza…PLUS – Conversations with “Shōgun” Series Creators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo join the program to share their experience bringing the massive production to FX & the reigning WWE United States Champion LA Knight regarding WrestleMania 41, taking place April 19-20 in Las Vegas at the Allegiant Stadium - on KFI AM 640…Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Ok, f IM six forty, it's later with Mo Kelly.
We are live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. And it's
the last Friday of the year, the last weekend of
the year. What a year has been. No, I don't
mean in a glorious way. I mean that in a
tumultuous way. What a year it's been. And next year
(01:05):
we start all over. We'll have a new president, a
new administration, a new Congress.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Who knows where that will lead. We'll have new movies.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
To critique, and of course criticize Mark Ronner, good evening
Mark Ronner. He will have new runner reports about them,
and new TV shows you can best believe, and caf
I will have a new sound to a certain degree.
I never really addressed it prior, and probably it was
for the best that I didn't, but I will say this.
We lost a lot of friends here at CAFI. We
(01:38):
lost a lot of colleagues here at CAFI due to
internal changes.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Yeah, that's what I'll call it, internal changes. This year.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
It was painful and quite frankly miserable for many of us.
I won't lie, I won't get into the specifics, but
I will say that it's been different for you, and
it's been different for all of us. Twenty twenty four
in totality likely won't go down as one of the
best years ever. I remember some decades ago I was
(02:10):
given this book by the author Spencer Johnson.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
It was titled Who Moved My Cheese?
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Was not very long, not very complicated book, and honestly
not all that revelatory, but it reminded me, and it
reminded anyone who reads it that change in every facet
of our lives is inevitable, as they say, from loss
of job to maybe loss of a loved one, or
on the other end of the spectrum, maybe you're a
(02:40):
new parent this year or a newly wed this year.
In any event, twenty twenty five is probably not going
to feel a lot like twenty twenty four, or hopefully
it won't. And you know what, that's okay, because if
you can hear me right now, Let's say you're listening
in your car or listening at home on iHeartRadio app
(03:02):
maybe with a beverage in your hand. But if you
can hear me right now, you're doing a lot better
than many who are no longer here with us.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Twenty twenty four was a difficult year.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
I think we all can agree, and that's probably why
I always wanted this show later with mo Kelly to
sound a bit different than other things that I've done
in the past, or even other things that I do
right now. And I want it to sound different from
maybe other shows that you hear. I wanted to show
to feel more like a warm hug at the end
(03:33):
of a long day, more so than a shove in
the back, more like conversation around the dinner table or
at the bar jack and coke, please, and feel less
like a list of everything that we hate about this
state or this country. Yes, we all have our complaints,
but this is about the feeling of this show. I
(03:57):
know I tend to get philosophical at the end of
each year, so please bear with me. At the end
of each year, just in case you don't remember or
you've never heard me say this, I take stock of
myself and I take stock of my place in the world.
All of us have one less year left here on
this earth. None of us are guaranteed to even make
it to twenty twenty five, much less twenty twenty six,
(04:20):
if I'm being honest. But I do want to be
mindful of whether I'm doing this is about me at
the moment, whether I'm doing anything with this time I
have left other than just getting older.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
My New Year resolution is.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Always the same and has been the same for maybe
twenty years or more, with slight variations or points of emphasis,
and it's simply like this, just be a little better,
be a little kinder, be a little more patient, eat
a little better, exercise more, be more attentive as a husband,
(05:01):
as a stepfather, as a son, a brother, because I
believe that if I do that each and every year,
as an aggregate the sum total, I'll be a far
better person eventually, at least later in life than I
was earlier in life.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
That's all I can really ask for.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
If I am the same person in terms of faults
and impatience and all the things that I'm just not
willing to talk about on the air, which you are negative,
and I'm not demonstrating consistent improvement and growth. I feel
I've been wasting my time. In fact, not only have
I been wasting my time, but I've been wasting the
(05:40):
time of people who have poured into me over the years.
I would be wasting your time, people who've counseled me
over the years, people who've supported me, written letters of
recommendation for me, people who've prayed for me, listen to
me like you right now, people who've shared a kind
word about me to someone else. The very least I
(06:01):
can do is be better tomorrow than I was today,
and that's not always easy. In fact, I think there
are a lot of times where I'm not a better
person now than I was years ago. There's plenty for
me to improve in twenty twenty five, but hopefully in
the long view of things, I will be eventually be
(06:23):
the person I should have been all along if I
stick to it and do what I'm supposed to do
from year to year to year. Growth and improvement is
not a singular event. It's the totality of all that
we put into it, or at least that's how I
approach it. This is what was taught to me, and
I try to keep passing it on to younger people.
(06:45):
There's no guarantee that just because you get older and
we all will be getting older, we're getting older, we're
getting deader. But there's no guarantee that just because we're
all getting older, we're getting wiser, there's no guarantee that
just because you get older, life has something waiting for you,
or that you deserve something later just because you manage
(07:07):
not to die. If you're twenty to twenty five years
old right now, in hearing this, you will be amazed
at what your forties and fifties can look like if
you manage to put this to use.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
I swear by it.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
If I can give any young people any selling advice,
it's this. You start when you're twenty to twenty five,
almost like you know your four O one K. If
you start when you're twenty to twenty five, you'll have
a great retirement fund later on.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Think of this as your life retirement fund.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Later with Moe Kelly has now completed, believe it or not,
two years on KFI, and it has been, without exaggeration,
without exception, the very best two years of my professional life.
And here's why. It's because of people like Tawalla Sharp producer,
(08:02):
who could see the bigger picture, the bigger radio picture,
when people kept telling us there was no picture at
all to see. It's because of people like Mark Ronner, who,
though I tease incessantly, knows, fundamentally knows that he is
my brother until the wheels fall off.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
It's because of people like Stefan, who.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Tries every single night to make this show as funny,
crazy and enjoyable as possible. A lot of which you
don't see, a lot of which you who may be
listening don't even know. But I know he does all
these things, going over and above when it's not even
in his job description. But most importantly later with mo
(08:49):
Kelly has become a thing, as they say, because of
you listening right now, because of you telling someone else
to listen, because of you calling in each it every
Friday night for name that movie called classic, even if
you didn't eventually get through.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
Here's the truth.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
I'm just a regular guy living his best life, living
the dream, and it is just so happens that it's
happening in real time and happening publicly for all of
you to see in here. Two years and there were many,
many who said that this show wouldn't last two months,
no joke in fact, that there were many rooting against
(09:27):
me and rooting against this. So although twenty twenty four was,
without a doubt quite difficult for.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
All of us, all of us.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
I'm joyful at the prospect of what twenty twenty five
stands to be. Just wanted to thank you those who
are listening, wanted to say thank you those who make
this show happen, like Tuala, Mark and Stephen, the Later crew,
and I wanted to say thank you to KFI for
keeping this train running on time because year three is
(09:58):
going to be even more mas. Now, let's listen back
to some of the very best of twenty twenty four
and Later with Mo Kelly.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
You're listening to Later with Mo Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 4 (10:14):
With Molly.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
Mister bo Kelly. Here, let's go back in history. It's
customary that every Friday we usually get food for everyone
in the studio. One week it may be Thai Food
another week, Panda Express, another week KFC.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
You get the idea.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
The understanding is someone on the Later crew has to
make the order.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
I don't do that. I pick up the tab. It's
real simple.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Don't come to me asking what we collectively are getting
to eat.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
That's for everyone else to decide. Again, that's not my job.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Come to me when you need my card, Okay, call
me Daddy Warbucks whatever. I'm the underwriter. That's my job
on one particular occasion, and in fact, I think this
was the first and the last time.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
We let Mark Ronner order any of our food.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Mark ordered pizza seems safe, right, Well, Mark took it
upon himself to get a.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
Whole pizza with black olives on it.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
He will never live that down, and we will never
let him order food again.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
So whenever we refer to Mark Ronner and black olives,
here is whack.
Speaker 5 (11:47):
Mark got us all pizza last week, Here comes the butt.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
No, there's no button.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
That's very generous. And the pizza had black olives on them. Yes,
and you made the decision, didn't tell anybody, well, hell,
it's gonna be like black olives and mushrooms.
Speaker 5 (12:03):
Well no, in my defense, I just said, just give
me a combo at extra large combo. I just figured
it'd be whatever now. But the thing is, there was
pizza over at the left over at the end of
the night. And usually pizza around here gets hoovered up
like a mount of coke in one of your old
strip clubs. But there was pizza left over, and I
thought that was very suspicious. So so ila on the
(12:27):
way out. Hey, you get enough to eat, and then
it's like, time for the talk. Yeah, brothers don't.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
Do coke at the strip clubs.
Speaker 5 (12:36):
I'm so sorry.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
And we don't do olives well, pizzas brothers some probably some,
but by and large we're not down.
Speaker 5 (12:48):
With the black olives. Am I the only person who
didn't know.
Speaker 4 (12:51):
This maybe, and I had to have a talk with
I said, hey, Bark, hey, hey man, look man, I
love you man, like that was really really solid that
you brought there. But I'm gonna tell you something. I'm
gonna tell you the truth. Friend of friend, friend of friend.
The only way Moe was able to eat that he
was in there picking off every single olive.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
Tiffany was like, nah, I'm good period. I just couldn't
do it at all because to me, it's gonna have
the olive after taste.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
I love you, man, but just that's a no. I've
never heard this before.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Mark, don't you know? Just the pizza ordering etiquette with
a doubt. Get a half this and a half that.
Get a half cheese and a half pepperoni. Get a
half pineapple and a half black olive.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
You can do it that way.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Get a half mushroom and get a half comp It
doesn't matter. Just get a half of a half.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
I'm just saying that this is not common knowledge. I
think I am as well informed as anybody who's not
Quentin Tarantino.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
I didn't know this. Hey, Stephan, if you like black olives,
I don't prefer them, but like, it's not a big
deal on the pizza. But I also learned that today too. Okay,
but see see okay, No, look they got Mark and Stephan.
They're both white. They don't mind the black olive we are.
Speaker 5 (13:55):
Wait a second, A couple of weeks ago, you said
I was part black?
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Are you revoking? Are you revoked?
Speaker 5 (14:00):
Because I've been telling a lot of people you're in
I've been telling everybody, but they're.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Gonna take it back.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
If you keep sending black olives, you bet your part
black ass, I will, I will.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Take it back.
Speaker 4 (14:11):
You ever bring potato salad with black olives?
Speaker 6 (14:15):
No, no, no, no no no.
Speaker 5 (14:16):
I hate raisins. Raisins are of the devil. I despise raisins.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
I can just tell you you do not do that.
You don't show up to any black household, to any
cookouts with any dish with black.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
House So they're gonna look at you the green Ones.
Speaker 5 (14:32):
So suddenly I'm this guy.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Now.
Speaker 7 (14:34):
By the way, I would have voted for Obama for
a third term if I could best president in my lifetime,
hands down.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (14:41):
So I'm that guy now, because are you?
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Are you?
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Do you have like a vacation house and you're inviting
brothers over to get like, you know, their minds.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Taken from vacation house.
Speaker 5 (14:54):
I don't even have a four room house, mister Caine,
I have nothing, thank you, all right, all right, bye,
I just I'm just saying you blindsided me with this.
I'm happy to accommodate you guys right side.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
What do you think we thought when it when the
black olives was just staring at us, I was hungry,
I was ready to eat.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
I opened the top like.
Speaker 6 (15:16):
This.
Speaker 5 (15:16):
Well the father did not. Okay, now I know it'll
never happen again. Okay, damn right, it.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Will never happen again. That's why. See, that's what you
get that it must have been. I must have intentionally
not invited you to my house because I knew black collars.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
It all comes out. I said it all that, all
the resentment comes out. Now, well it glad we get
aired this out on the air.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
Well, since since you're part black, this is called playing
a dozens.
Speaker 5 (15:41):
Okay, well, my my notebook's getting thicker and thicker.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
kf I Am sixty.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
When Kelly Okay, We're live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Showgun is set in Japan in the year sixteen hundred
at the dawn of a civil war. Lord Taranaga is
fighting for his life as his enemies on a Council
of Regents unite against him. But when a mysterious European
(16:14):
ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village, it's
English pilot John Blackthorne comes bearing secrets that could help
Toronaga's tip the scales of power. So sets the stage
for Showgun, created for television by Rachel Condo and Justin Marx.
What a pleasure to have on the show's creators this evening.
Justin Marks first, Justin, thank you for coming on tonight.
Speaker 8 (16:35):
Thanks for having us. We're really excited talking about it.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
And Rachel Condo, Rachel, thank you for coming on as well.
Speaker 8 (16:40):
Well.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
Thank you.
Speaker 7 (16:41):
This is exciting.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Rachel. Let me start with you. I'm old enough to
remember and I say this as a bad thing. I'm
old enough to remember the Showgun mini series of nineteen
eighty with Richard Chamberlain. How that was such a mimorable
event in television history. Was there any concern or caution
on your part or Justin's part as far is what
you created today being directly compared to the original, even
(17:04):
though it was forty four years ago.
Speaker 7 (17:06):
I think one of the slight advantages we had going
into this project five years ago was that Justin and
I are of the generation that had just missed both
the book and the miniseries. We were fortunate to kind
of grow up in the aftermath of its impact and
(17:27):
its legacy, really, and so we came to it with
fresh eyes. And I mean, we were aware of its legacy,
but we were not formed and shaped within it. And
so I think that was to our advantage, because we
came to it anew and we wanted to look to
it the way that a brand new audience would. So
(17:51):
that was two our advantage.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
I think, Justin, let me stay right there with that
whole presentation aspect. Some may know you as writer of
Disney The Jungle Book and co wrote Top Gun. Maverick
I need not tell you that telling episodic story on
television is very different from a feature film. But when
I was watching Showgun, it felt like a movie broken
up into parts. It's grand and its presentation. What were
(18:15):
some of the challenges in presenting that level of quality
or making it feel like a movie even though it's
not a movie.
Speaker 9 (18:22):
I think the biggest challenge of that is exhaustion of
making a show that takes eleven months to film in
the way that this did, which is what it takes
if you want something that feels truly like a cinematic event,
you know, I think that for us it's strange. It
doesn't feel it feels like as writers and in the
writer's room with the rest of our team, we weren't
(18:44):
trying to so much as make a ten hour movie,
as we were really trying to tell ten one hour
short stories, you know, translated into a bigger story where
every week what you get has a beginning, middle, and end.
That's what makes TV so exciting that you know it
can we can surprise you with a twister or anything
else ten different times over the course of the story.
Speaker 8 (19:05):
You know.
Speaker 9 (19:05):
I think when you speak of this, how the show
looks and the feeling of it. You know, these days,
it's so hard to do something that's different from what's
around you. And what we really really felt strongly about
is that if you're going to invest as an audience
member ten hours, you know, over ten weeks to watch
this show, that we're going to take you somewhere you've
(19:25):
never been before. We're going to take you to a
place that has rules and an aesthetic that isn't just
what we live in in our everyday life, and we
can change you with that. I mean, that's really our
promise to the.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Audience, Rachel.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
Beyond the setting and transporting the audience, this cast is
something else. Hiro Yuki Sanada never gets enough credit for
anything he's in. He's imminently watchable. I would say, Annashi,
who people may know from Monarch Legacy of Monsters, is
quality and a budding star.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
Talk to me about this fantastic cast.
Speaker 7 (19:58):
Oh, I think you get the nail on the head.
I mean, this is this has been probably the biggest
joy of getting to do this project was was getting
to work alongside these incredible, incredible filmmakers and storytellers and
I we couldn't agree more. I mean hero Yuki Sonata
(20:19):
is is our Tornaga. Almost It's difficult to kind of
parse them out and separate them at this point in time.
But it was part of the reason why it was
so important to us to tell this story in the
language that it was meant to be told in, which
(20:39):
is Japanese, simply because it allowed Justin and Justin and
the casting directors to find actors who who not only
spoke Japanese and English, which is the best actors period.
And so here we get introduced to actors like hero
(21:01):
To Kamai and Moakahoshi and all these incredible actors who
are probably better known in Japan, but now we get
this chance to have a sampling of their vast talents.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
Justin, I think anyone familiar with Shogun knows that it's
based on a book, and it tells the story of
the close of the feudal era of Japan in sixteen hundred,
the civil war between clans and the quest for power.
But beyond that, what type of research did you have
to do or people did you employ to make sure
it was as historically accurate as possible in its presentation
(21:38):
on screen.
Speaker 8 (21:39):
It was a small army of collaborators across many countries
to bring this together. I mean we had not just
our historical advisors or language advisors, but we also had
movement advisors and costume advisors, art department people who came
in just specifically to tie the obi's on these costumes,
(22:00):
which is a skill that it takes a lifetime to
really learn how to do well. And you know, the
purpose there was not just in sort of being respectful
and doing it right, although that was tremendously important to us.
It was also about if we're going to do something
that feels truly different, we have to be able to
see it on that very detailed level and believe that
(22:23):
what we're after is something that's true. I mean, we
even spend hours debating the seating position of characters on
this show, you know, in terms of like how men
and women said, and what is historically accurate versus spiritually authentic.
This was a long debate to get to what you
see on screen. Callum Plente, one of our producers and writers.
She'd put together an instruction manual for this show that
(22:45):
was almost as long as the book itself, almost nine
hundred pages, that we use to build the show every
single day with pictures and diagrams and how to walk
and how not to walk, and how to bow and
who to bow to. All of these things have to
be charted and tracked for us. So yeah, it was.
It took. It took a lot.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Do not be fooled by our politeness, our bows, arms
of rituals.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
Death is in our air and sea and earth.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Just remember, we live and we die m we control
nothing beyond that.
Speaker 6 (23:34):
There's a saying out here.
Speaker 10 (23:36):
Every man has three hearts, one in his mouth for
the world to know, another in his chest just for
his French, and the secret heires very deep where no
(23:58):
one can find it. What kind of man wheel shower
in the landlike nation, the one they open or the
one you never see? Will I die?
Speaker 2 (24:15):
You likely, Rachel?
Speaker 1 (24:20):
Given all that work that justin just told us about,
how is the series being received or how has it
been received in Japan?
Speaker 2 (24:29):
Right about now?
Speaker 7 (24:30):
Oh, we are so excited to learn from our collaborators
in Japan that people are liking it, people are enjoying
I think the obvious effort that went into it. I
think our Japanese collaborators are all incredibly gracious and generous
with us. But I do think that we What is
(24:52):
particularly gratifying has been just how warm the reception has
been in Japan, and that's obviously that was one of
the things that kind of worried us along the way,
is trying to get it right for them.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Well, all I can say is, as someone who saw
the original mini series and I've seen now this updated,
more grand presentation of Showgun in twenty twenty four, it
is visually beautiful, It is authentic as best I can verify.
It is an enjoyable experience. I salute you and celebrate
both of you on your success. Justin Marx Rachel Condo,
(25:31):
thank you so much for this fantastic mini series Showgun,
and thank you for all you do.
Speaker 7 (25:36):
Thank you, Mom, thanks for having us.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
It's Later with Mo Kelly KFI AM six forty. We're
live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 11 (25:49):
So Jimmy and his proper so much Sokola, the of
courses to take on John Cena and La Night in
this match tonight. This I spoke Kelly Night earlier today.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
I spoke to La Night earlier today.
Speaker 11 (26:08):
And he told me guys that this is indeed the
biggest match of his life, the opportunity to team up
with John Cena on this grand stage against the blood Line.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
He understands what this means.
Speaker 11 (26:19):
This truly has the potential to be a make or
break matchup for La Night regarding the future of his
WWE career.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
But it may be the hardest task of his entire life.
Speaker 9 (26:30):
Yeah, anytime you get the team up with a Goat,
you're gonna learn some stuff too.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
So whatever happens tonight is gonna help La Night in
the future.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
In we got a Sina start to this.
Speaker 11 (26:40):
Match called sixteen times World Champion, I've gotten him the
greatest of all time. And I firmly believe that John
Cena against Jimmy.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
Usso of the Bloodline camf I Am six forty It's
later with Moke Kelly were lived everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
WWE's wrestled Media forty one is coming to a Legion
Stadium in law, Las Vegas on April nineteenth and twentieth,
and tickets are available right now via Ticketmaster. Over the
last four decades, WrestleMania has evolved from a made for
television spectacle to a cultural phenomenon complete with stadium and
(27:12):
arena events, fan festivities, and a premium experience. I remember
watching the very first one as a teenager. In addition
to the two nights stadium event, WWE will bring all
of its television properties and the twenty twenty five WWE
Hall of Fame Ceremony to Las Vegas. Joining me right
now to help kick off WrestleMania forty one season is
none other than the WWE U United States Champion himself,
(27:34):
La Night. La Knight, is a pleasure to meet you, Champ.
How you doing tonight?
Speaker 6 (27:38):
I'm good man. I'm hanging out over here in Brooklyn.
We got to snack down here. Of course, we have
WrestleMania coming up, and that's what we're here to talk about.
We got tickets on tail now.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
It doesn't get bigger than WrestleMania. It doesn't get bigger
than Las Vegas. Did you, as a Maryland kid, have
any idea whatsoever that life would lead you in this direction?
Speaker 6 (27:57):
I mean not as a kid, that's for sure.
Speaker 8 (28:00):
You know.
Speaker 6 (28:00):
Once I got to college is kind of where I
got the inkling of this idea to go wrestle and
you know, once I did that, this is kind of
the aim was to you know, I didn't want to
do I didn't want to do it as you know,
maybe I'll make it for me. It was like put
everything I can into making this happen. So in a way, no,
I but at the same time it was kind of
(28:21):
this is where I always had my eyes trained.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
I remember the WWE backham when it was the WWF
and how the talent was so very different than today.
The athleticism today is unreal. You grew up as a
kid during the WWE Attitude era. What do you remember
about that time as just a fan?
Speaker 6 (28:41):
I mean just just being larger life buddy. Everybody had
a rap, everybody was able to talk a lot of trash.
It was just a good like you know, even people
that I knew growing up as kids who didn't traditionally
like wrestling, all of a sudden they were into it.
And so that was always kind of like, okay, wow,
(29:01):
now it's like more mainstream, and you know my brothers,
for instance, who were a little bit more and be like, oh,
I just watched for the talking. You know. Then it
was kind of like that that was kind of a
big thing. To be able to talk and then you know,
backing it up with the matches. So yeah, everybody's a
lot more I would say, athletic now and able to
do crazy, flashy looking things. But at the same time,
(29:22):
you got to be able to talk and bring the
people in, sell the fight, and then get in.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
There and do I find your story remarkable, And if
there's anything really remarkable about your story is how humbling
it is. You worked at a ruby tuesdays, you worked
in a lumber mill, you had to drop out of
college because the financial issues. You have been at this
for a very very long time. You have not been
an overnight success. Did you ever think that you would
(29:47):
give up along the way?
Speaker 6 (29:49):
No, actually, no point way where I really thought that
I would give up, except for during the pandemic, where
I was just like, this might really change things on
such an enormous level. I don't know they're going to
be bringing people in now when the world's turned upside down. Plus,
you know a age where people kind of look negatively
(30:10):
at oh, you know, can he still do it? It's like, well, yeah,
I'm an amazing shape, I can move. I'm I'm moving
better than half the guys that I know they're in
the twenties, so yeah, there's a problem there. But with
that in mind, you you think of the optics of
that and everything that was going on. That's really the
only time where I really started than that, there was
(30:30):
a time or ability for the doubt. I had to
keep pushing because I knew I was doing it was connecting,
even on those smaller circuits where it was working. So no,
I just just keep having the faith.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
If you're just tuning him.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
My guest right now is the WWE United States Champion,
l A Night, La Night. Let's get into WrestleMania forty
one Sin City Allegiance Stadium tickets on sale right now.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
What should we expect? Who should we expect?
Speaker 6 (31:00):
Tell you what you're talking about?
Speaker 8 (31:00):
A show?
Speaker 6 (31:01):
It's so big, it's got to be two nights, and
we're doing two nights in Vegas, which is cool. Actually,
if I'm honest, WrestleMania is doing two nights in Vegas.
We're doing a lot more than that. Because you got
Friday Night, got smacked it. Monday, you're gonna have Raw
Saturday afternoon, you're gonna have NXT, You're gonna have the
Hall of Fame, Friday night. There's so much happening that weekend.
It's gonna be action packed for sure. At the same time,
(31:23):
when you talk about what to expect, who to expect,
anything can happen. Anybody can show up and be there.
Celebrities will show up all the time. But at the
same time, it is gonna be John Cena's last WrestleMania.
He's already announced this, He's caught his shop. It's gonna
be his last WrestleMania. So we know that's gonna happen
for sure. And when you're looking at April, it's gonna
come at us quick. But at the same time, there's
so much stuff that can develop, so who knows where
(31:45):
things are gonna end up.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
By that When you are on that match and there
are literally ten to twenty thousand people around you screaming
and yelling and you're in the match, do you hear anyone?
Speaker 2 (31:56):
Do you see anyone?
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Or are you just so locked in that you don't
notice any uh No.
Speaker 6 (32:01):
I always try and to get an eye on everybody
as much as I can. And yeah, I mean you'll
hear you can hear everyone, But at the same time,
it's like you can hear the little bits of voices
here and there every now and then too, So I mean,
everybody kind of has a voice in that room, which
is crazy because it's like on TV especially, you're pretty
(32:22):
much the massive swallow the crowd based, but like in there,
standing there, you can hear every person. So that's kind
of the cool thing about being there live is you
really get to be truly a part of the show.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
My time is growing short with you, La Night.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
But let me ask you this, Since you can hear
the voices, since you are aware of the people around you,
since you're obviously aware of the enormity of the event,
even at this portion of your career, do you still
get butterflies? Do you still get a little bit nervous
given the size of the moment.
Speaker 6 (32:52):
I don't think there's a way to not have that happen.
I feel like anybody who does this, no matter how
long you've done it, you always get a little bit
of that, a little bit of those nerves just before
you go out the curtain. The weird thing about it, though,
is as soon as you cross that rubicon and you
go through that curtain, it's all gone announce it's time
(33:12):
to do the work.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
Coming up on April nineteenth and twentieth, be sure to
check out La Knight, who is the WWE United States Champion,
and more who will be out there as part of
the Cavalcade of Stars for WrestleMania forty one at Allegiance Stadium.
Tickets are now on sale at Ticketmaster. La Night this
is our first conversation. I've been a lifelong wrestling fan
WWFWWE fan. I wish you nothing but success and thank
(33:37):
you so much for coming on the show tonight.
Speaker 6 (33:39):
Thank you very much, man, I appreciate everybody. Go get
to WrestleMania tickets and I'll see that.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
It's Later with Moe Kelly KFI AM six forty We're
live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (33:49):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty
Ok, f IM six forty, it's later with Mo Kelly.
We are live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. And it's
the last Friday of the year, the last weekend of
the year. What a year has been. No, I don't
mean in a glorious way. I mean that in a
tumultuous way. What a year it's been. And next year
(01:05):
we start all over. We'll have a new president, a
new administration, a new Congress.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Who knows where that will lead. We'll have new movies.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
To critique, and of course criticize Mark Ronner, good evening
Mark Ronner. He will have new runner reports about them,
and new TV shows you can best believe, and caf
I will have a new sound to a certain degree.
I never really addressed it prior, and probably it was
for the best that I didn't, but I will say this.
We lost a lot of friends here at CAFI. We
(01:38):
lost a lot of colleagues here at CAFI due to
internal changes.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
Yeah, that's what I'll call it, internal changes. This year.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
It was painful and quite frankly miserable for many of us.
I won't lie, I won't get into the specifics, but
I will say that it's been different for you, and
it's been different for all of us. Twenty twenty four
in totality likely won't go down as one of the
best years ever. I remember some decades ago I was
(02:10):
given this book by the author Spencer Johnson.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
It was titled Who Moved My Cheese?
Speaker 1 (02:19):
Was not very long, not very complicated book, and honestly
not all that revelatory, but it reminded me, and it
reminded anyone who reads it that change in every facet
of our lives is inevitable, as they say, from loss
of job to maybe loss of a loved one, or
on the other end of the spectrum, maybe you're a
(02:40):
new parent this year or a newly wed this year.
In any event, twenty twenty five is probably not going
to feel a lot like twenty twenty four, or hopefully
it won't. And you know what, that's okay, because if
you can hear me right now, Let's say you're listening
in your car or listening at home on iHeartRadio app
(03:02):
maybe with a beverage in your hand. But if you
can hear me right now, you're doing a lot better
than many who are no longer here with us.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Twenty twenty four was a difficult year.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
I think we all can agree, and that's probably why
I always wanted this show later with mo Kelly to
sound a bit different than other things that I've done
in the past, or even other things that I do
right now. And I want it to sound different from
maybe other shows that you hear. I wanted to show
to feel more like a warm hug at the end
(03:33):
of a long day, more so than a shove in
the back, more like conversation around the dinner table or
at the bar jack and coke, please, and feel less
like a list of everything that we hate about this
state or this country. Yes, we all have our complaints,
but this is about the feeling of this show. I
(03:57):
know I tend to get philosophical at the end of
each year, so please bear with me. At the end
of each year, just in case you don't remember or
you've never heard me say this, I take stock of
myself and I take stock of my place in the world.
All of us have one less year left here on
this earth. None of us are guaranteed to even make
it to twenty twenty five, much less twenty twenty six,
(04:20):
if I'm being honest. But I do want to be
mindful of whether I'm doing this is about me at
the moment, whether I'm doing anything with this time I
have left other than just getting older.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
My New Year resolution is.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Always the same and has been the same for maybe
twenty years or more, with slight variations or points of emphasis,
and it's simply like this, just be a little better,
be a little kinder, be a little more patient, eat
a little better, exercise more, be more attentive as a husband,
(05:01):
as a stepfather, as a son, a brother, because I
believe that if I do that each and every year,
as an aggregate the sum total, I'll be a far
better person eventually, at least later in life than I
was earlier in life.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
That's all I can really ask for.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
If I am the same person in terms of faults
and impatience and all the things that I'm just not
willing to talk about on the air, which you are negative,
and I'm not demonstrating consistent improvement and growth. I feel
I've been wasting my time. In fact, not only have
I been wasting my time, but I've been wasting the
(05:40):
time of people who have poured into me over the years.
I would be wasting your time, people who've counseled me
over the years, people who've supported me, written letters of
recommendation for me, people who've prayed for me, listen to
me like you right now, people who've shared a kind
word about me to someone else. The very least I
(06:01):
can do is be better tomorrow than I was today,
and that's not always easy. In fact, I think there
are a lot of times where I'm not a better
person now than I was years ago. There's plenty for
me to improve in twenty twenty five, but hopefully in
the long view of things, I will be eventually be
(06:23):
the person I should have been all along if I
stick to it and do what I'm supposed to do
from year to year to year. Growth and improvement is
not a singular event. It's the totality of all that
we put into it, or at least that's how I
approach it. This is what was taught to me, and
I try to keep passing it on to younger people.
(06:45):
There's no guarantee that just because you get older and
we all will be getting older, we're getting older, we're
getting deader. But there's no guarantee that just because we're
all getting older, we're getting wiser, there's no guarantee that
just because you get older, life has something waiting for you,
or that you deserve something later just because you manage
(07:07):
not to die. If you're twenty to twenty five years
old right now, in hearing this, you will be amazed
at what your forties and fifties can look like if
you manage to put this to use.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
I swear by it.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
If I can give any young people any selling advice,
it's this. You start when you're twenty to twenty five,
almost like you know your four O one K. If
you start when you're twenty to twenty five, you'll have
a great retirement fund later on.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Think of this as your life retirement fund.
Speaker 1 (07:41):
Later with Moe Kelly has now completed, believe it or not,
two years on KFI, and it has been, without exaggeration,
without exception, the very best two years of my professional life.
And here's why. It's because of people like Tawalla Sharp producer,
(08:02):
who could see the bigger picture, the bigger radio picture,
when people kept telling us there was no picture at
all to see. It's because of people like Mark Ronner, who,
though I tease incessantly, knows, fundamentally knows that he is
my brother until the wheels fall off.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
It's because of people like Stefan, who.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Tries every single night to make this show as funny,
crazy and enjoyable as possible. A lot of which you
don't see, a lot of which you who may be
listening don't even know. But I know he does all
these things, going over and above when it's not even
in his job description. But most importantly later with mo
(08:49):
Kelly has become a thing, as they say, because of
you listening right now, because of you telling someone else
to listen, because of you calling in each it every
Friday night for name that movie called classic, even if
you didn't eventually get through.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
Here's the truth.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
I'm just a regular guy living his best life, living
the dream, and it is just so happens that it's
happening in real time and happening publicly for all of
you to see in here. Two years and there were many,
many who said that this show wouldn't last two months,
no joke in fact, that there were many rooting against
(09:27):
me and rooting against this. So although twenty twenty four was,
without a doubt quite difficult for.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
All of us, all of us.
Speaker 1 (09:36):
I'm joyful at the prospect of what twenty twenty five
stands to be. Just wanted to thank you those who
are listening, wanted to say thank you those who make
this show happen, like Tuala, Mark and Stephen, the Later crew,
and I wanted to say thank you to KFI for
keeping this train running on time because year three is
(09:58):
going to be even more mas. Now, let's listen back
to some of the very best of twenty twenty four
and Later with Mo Kelly.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
You're listening to Later with Mo Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 4 (10:14):
With Molly.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
Mister bo Kelly. Here, let's go back in history. It's
customary that every Friday we usually get food for everyone
in the studio. One week it may be Thai Food
another week, Panda Express, another week KFC.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
You get the idea.
Speaker 1 (10:43):
The understanding is someone on the Later crew has to
make the order.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
I don't do that. I pick up the tab. It's
real simple.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Don't come to me asking what we collectively are getting
to eat.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
That's for everyone else to decide. Again, that's not my job.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Come to me when you need my card, Okay, call
me Daddy Warbucks whatever. I'm the underwriter. That's my job
on one particular occasion, and in fact, I think this
was the first and the last time.
Speaker 2 (11:10):
We let Mark Ronner order any of our food.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
Mark ordered pizza seems safe, right, Well, Mark took it
upon himself to get a.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
Whole pizza with black olives on it.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
He will never live that down, and we will never
let him order food again.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
So whenever we refer to Mark Ronner and black olives,
here is whack.
Speaker 5 (11:47):
Mark got us all pizza last week, Here comes the butt.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
No, there's no button.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
That's very generous. And the pizza had black olives on them. Yes,
and you made the decision, didn't tell anybody, well, hell,
it's gonna be like black olives and mushrooms.
Speaker 5 (12:03):
Well no, in my defense, I just said, just give
me a combo at extra large combo. I just figured
it'd be whatever now. But the thing is, there was
pizza over at the left over at the end of
the night. And usually pizza around here gets hoovered up
like a mount of coke in one of your old
strip clubs. But there was pizza left over, and I
thought that was very suspicious. So so ila on the
(12:27):
way out. Hey, you get enough to eat, and then
it's like, time for the talk. Yeah, brothers don't.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
Do coke at the strip clubs.
Speaker 5 (12:36):
I'm so sorry.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
And we don't do olives well, pizzas brothers some probably some,
but by and large we're not down.
Speaker 5 (12:48):
With the black olives. Am I the only person who
didn't know.
Speaker 4 (12:51):
This maybe, and I had to have a talk with
I said, hey, Bark, hey, hey man, look man, I
love you man, like that was really really solid that
you brought there. But I'm gonna tell you something. I'm
gonna tell you the truth. Friend of friend, friend of friend.
The only way Moe was able to eat that he
was in there picking off every single olive.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
Tiffany was like, nah, I'm good period. I just couldn't
do it at all because to me, it's gonna have
the olive after taste.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
I love you, man, but just that's a no. I've
never heard this before.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
Mark, don't you know? Just the pizza ordering etiquette with
a doubt. Get a half this and a half that.
Get a half cheese and a half pepperoni. Get a
half pineapple and a half black olive.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
You can do it that way.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
Get a half mushroom and get a half comp It
doesn't matter. Just get a half of a half.
Speaker 5 (13:34):
I'm just saying that this is not common knowledge. I
think I am as well informed as anybody who's not
Quentin Tarantino.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
I didn't know this. Hey, Stephan, if you like black olives,
I don't prefer them, but like, it's not a big
deal on the pizza. But I also learned that today too. Okay,
but see see okay, No, look they got Mark and Stephan.
They're both white. They don't mind the black olive we are.
Speaker 5 (13:55):
Wait a second, A couple of weeks ago, you said
I was part black?
Speaker 2 (13:58):
Are you revoking? Are you revoked?
Speaker 5 (14:00):
Because I've been telling a lot of people you're in
I've been telling everybody, but they're.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Gonna take it back.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
If you keep sending black olives, you bet your part
black ass, I will, I will.
Speaker 2 (14:10):
Take it back.
Speaker 4 (14:11):
You ever bring potato salad with black olives?
Speaker 6 (14:15):
No, no, no, no no no.
Speaker 5 (14:16):
I hate raisins. Raisins are of the devil. I despise raisins.
Speaker 4 (14:20):
I can just tell you you do not do that.
You don't show up to any black household, to any
cookouts with any dish with black.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
House So they're gonna look at you the green Ones.
Speaker 5 (14:32):
So suddenly I'm this guy.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
Now.
Speaker 7 (14:34):
By the way, I would have voted for Obama for
a third term if I could best president in my lifetime,
hands down.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (14:41):
So I'm that guy now, because are you?
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Are you?
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Do you have like a vacation house and you're inviting
brothers over to get like, you know, their minds.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
Taken from vacation house.
Speaker 5 (14:54):
I don't even have a four room house, mister Caine,
I have nothing, thank you, all right, all right, bye,
I just I'm just saying you blindsided me with this.
I'm happy to accommodate you guys right side.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
What do you think we thought when it when the
black olives was just staring at us, I was hungry,
I was ready to eat.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
I opened the top like.
Speaker 6 (15:16):
This.
Speaker 5 (15:16):
Well the father did not. Okay, now I know it'll
never happen again. Okay, damn right, it.
Speaker 1 (15:22):
Will never happen again. That's why. See, that's what you
get that it must have been. I must have intentionally
not invited you to my house because I knew black collars.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
It all comes out. I said it all that, all
the resentment comes out. Now, well it glad we get
aired this out on the air.
Speaker 1 (15:37):
Well, since since you're part black, this is called playing
a dozens.
Speaker 5 (15:41):
Okay, well, my my notebook's getting thicker and thicker.
Speaker 3 (15:45):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
kf I Am sixty.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
When Kelly Okay, We're live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Showgun is set in Japan in the year sixteen hundred
at the dawn of a civil war. Lord Taranaga is
fighting for his life as his enemies on a Council
of Regents unite against him. But when a mysterious European
(16:14):
ship is found marooned in a nearby fishing village, it's
English pilot John Blackthorne comes bearing secrets that could help
Toronaga's tip the scales of power. So sets the stage
for Showgun, created for television by Rachel Condo and Justin Marx.
What a pleasure to have on the show's creators this evening.
Justin Marks first, Justin, thank you for coming on tonight.
Speaker 8 (16:35):
Thanks for having us. We're really excited talking about it.
Speaker 2 (16:37):
And Rachel Condo, Rachel, thank you for coming on as well.
Speaker 8 (16:40):
Well.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
Thank you.
Speaker 7 (16:41):
This is exciting.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Rachel. Let me start with you. I'm old enough to
remember and I say this as a bad thing. I'm
old enough to remember the Showgun mini series of nineteen
eighty with Richard Chamberlain. How that was such a mimorable
event in television history. Was there any concern or caution
on your part or Justin's part as far is what
you created today being directly compared to the original, even
(17:04):
though it was forty four years ago.
Speaker 7 (17:06):
I think one of the slight advantages we had going
into this project five years ago was that Justin and
I are of the generation that had just missed both
the book and the miniseries. We were fortunate to kind
of grow up in the aftermath of its impact and
(17:27):
its legacy, really, and so we came to it with
fresh eyes. And I mean, we were aware of its legacy,
but we were not formed and shaped within it. And
so I think that was to our advantage, because we
came to it anew and we wanted to look to
it the way that a brand new audience would. So
(17:51):
that was two our advantage.
Speaker 1 (17:53):
I think, Justin, let me stay right there with that
whole presentation aspect. Some may know you as writer of
Disney The Jungle Book and co wrote Top Gun. Maverick
I need not tell you that telling episodic story on
television is very different from a feature film. But when
I was watching Showgun, it felt like a movie broken
up into parts. It's grand and its presentation. What were
(18:15):
some of the challenges in presenting that level of quality
or making it feel like a movie even though it's
not a movie.
Speaker 9 (18:22):
I think the biggest challenge of that is exhaustion of
making a show that takes eleven months to film in
the way that this did, which is what it takes
if you want something that feels truly like a cinematic event,
you know, I think that for us it's strange. It
doesn't feel it feels like as writers and in the
writer's room with the rest of our team, we weren't
(18:44):
trying to so much as make a ten hour movie,
as we were really trying to tell ten one hour
short stories, you know, translated into a bigger story where
every week what you get has a beginning, middle, and end.
That's what makes TV so exciting that you know it
can we can surprise you with a twister or anything
else ten different times over the course of the story.
Speaker 8 (19:05):
You know.
Speaker 9 (19:05):
I think when you speak of this, how the show
looks and the feeling of it. You know, these days,
it's so hard to do something that's different from what's
around you. And what we really really felt strongly about
is that if you're going to invest as an audience
member ten hours, you know, over ten weeks to watch
this show, that we're going to take you somewhere you've
(19:25):
never been before. We're going to take you to a
place that has rules and an aesthetic that isn't just
what we live in in our everyday life, and we
can change you with that. I mean, that's really our
promise to the.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Audience, Rachel.
Speaker 1 (19:38):
Beyond the setting and transporting the audience, this cast is
something else. Hiro Yuki Sanada never gets enough credit for
anything he's in. He's imminently watchable. I would say, Annashi,
who people may know from Monarch Legacy of Monsters, is
quality and a budding star.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
Talk to me about this fantastic cast.
Speaker 7 (19:58):
Oh, I think you get the nail on the head.
I mean, this is this has been probably the biggest
joy of getting to do this project was was getting
to work alongside these incredible, incredible filmmakers and storytellers and
I we couldn't agree more. I mean hero Yuki Sonata
(20:19):
is is our Tornaga. Almost It's difficult to kind of
parse them out and separate them at this point in time.
But it was part of the reason why it was
so important to us to tell this story in the
language that it was meant to be told in, which
(20:39):
is Japanese, simply because it allowed Justin and Justin and
the casting directors to find actors who who not only
spoke Japanese and English, which is the best actors period.
And so here we get introduced to actors like hero
(21:01):
To Kamai and Moakahoshi and all these incredible actors who
are probably better known in Japan, but now we get
this chance to have a sampling of their vast talents.
Speaker 1 (21:14):
Justin, I think anyone familiar with Shogun knows that it's
based on a book, and it tells the story of
the close of the feudal era of Japan in sixteen hundred,
the civil war between clans and the quest for power.
But beyond that, what type of research did you have
to do or people did you employ to make sure
it was as historically accurate as possible in its presentation
(21:38):
on screen.
Speaker 8 (21:39):
It was a small army of collaborators across many countries
to bring this together. I mean we had not just
our historical advisors or language advisors, but we also had
movement advisors and costume advisors, art department people who came
in just specifically to tie the obi's on these costumes,
(22:00):
which is a skill that it takes a lifetime to
really learn how to do well. And you know, the
purpose there was not just in sort of being respectful
and doing it right, although that was tremendously important to us.
It was also about if we're going to do something
that feels truly different, we have to be able to
see it on that very detailed level and believe that
(22:23):
what we're after is something that's true. I mean, we
even spend hours debating the seating position of characters on
this show, you know, in terms of like how men
and women said, and what is historically accurate versus spiritually authentic.
This was a long debate to get to what you
see on screen. Callum Plente, one of our producers and writers.
She'd put together an instruction manual for this show that
(22:45):
was almost as long as the book itself, almost nine
hundred pages, that we use to build the show every
single day with pictures and diagrams and how to walk
and how not to walk, and how to bow and
who to bow to. All of these things have to
be charted and tracked for us. So yeah, it was.
It took. It took a lot.
Speaker 2 (23:03):
Do not be fooled by our politeness, our bows, arms
of rituals.
Speaker 1 (23:11):
Death is in our air and sea and earth.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
Just remember, we live and we die m we control
nothing beyond that.
Speaker 6 (23:34):
There's a saying out here.
Speaker 10 (23:36):
Every man has three hearts, one in his mouth for
the world to know, another in his chest just for
his French, and the secret heires very deep where no
(23:58):
one can find it. What kind of man wheel shower
in the landlike nation, the one they open or the
one you never see? Will I die?
Speaker 2 (24:15):
You likely, Rachel?
Speaker 1 (24:20):
Given all that work that justin just told us about,
how is the series being received or how has it
been received in Japan?
Speaker 2 (24:29):
Right about now?
Speaker 7 (24:30):
Oh, we are so excited to learn from our collaborators
in Japan that people are liking it, people are enjoying
I think the obvious effort that went into it. I
think our Japanese collaborators are all incredibly gracious and generous
with us. But I do think that we What is
(24:52):
particularly gratifying has been just how warm the reception has
been in Japan, and that's obviously that was one of
the things that kind of worried us along the way,
is trying to get it right for them.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
Well, all I can say is, as someone who saw
the original mini series and I've seen now this updated,
more grand presentation of Showgun in twenty twenty four, it
is visually beautiful, It is authentic as best I can verify.
It is an enjoyable experience. I salute you and celebrate
both of you on your success. Justin Marx Rachel Condo,
(25:31):
thank you so much for this fantastic mini series Showgun,
and thank you for all you do.
Speaker 7 (25:36):
Thank you, Mom, thanks for having us.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
It's Later with Mo Kelly KFI AM six forty. We're
live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 11 (25:49):
So Jimmy and his proper so much Sokola, the of
courses to take on John Cena and La Night in
this match tonight. This I spoke Kelly Night earlier today.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
I spoke to La Night earlier today.
Speaker 11 (26:08):
And he told me guys that this is indeed the
biggest match of his life, the opportunity to team up
with John Cena on this grand stage against the blood Line.
Speaker 2 (26:17):
He understands what this means.
Speaker 11 (26:19):
This truly has the potential to be a make or
break matchup for La Night regarding the future of his
WWE career.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
But it may be the hardest task of his entire life.
Speaker 9 (26:30):
Yeah, anytime you get the team up with a Goat,
you're gonna learn some stuff too.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
So whatever happens tonight is gonna help La Night in
the future.
Speaker 2 (26:36):
In we got a Sina start to this.
Speaker 11 (26:40):
Match called sixteen times World Champion, I've gotten him the
greatest of all time. And I firmly believe that John
Cena against Jimmy.
Speaker 1 (26:49):
Usso of the Bloodline camf I Am six forty It's
later with Moke Kelly were lived everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
WWE's wrestled Media forty one is coming to a Legion
Stadium in law, Las Vegas on April nineteenth and twentieth,
and tickets are available right now via Ticketmaster. Over the
last four decades, WrestleMania has evolved from a made for
television spectacle to a cultural phenomenon complete with stadium and
(27:12):
arena events, fan festivities, and a premium experience. I remember
watching the very first one as a teenager. In addition
to the two nights stadium event, WWE will bring all
of its television properties and the twenty twenty five WWE
Hall of Fame Ceremony to Las Vegas. Joining me right
now to help kick off WrestleMania forty one season is
none other than the WWE U United States Champion himself,
(27:34):
La Night. La Knight, is a pleasure to meet you, Champ.
How you doing tonight?
Speaker 6 (27:38):
I'm good man. I'm hanging out over here in Brooklyn.
We got to snack down here. Of course, we have
WrestleMania coming up, and that's what we're here to talk about.
We got tickets on tail now.
Speaker 1 (27:47):
It doesn't get bigger than WrestleMania. It doesn't get bigger
than Las Vegas. Did you, as a Maryland kid, have
any idea whatsoever that life would lead you in this direction?
Speaker 6 (27:57):
I mean not as a kid, that's for sure.
Speaker 8 (28:00):
You know.
Speaker 6 (28:00):
Once I got to college is kind of where I
got the inkling of this idea to go wrestle and
you know, once I did that, this is kind of
the aim was to you know, I didn't want to
do I didn't want to do it as you know,
maybe I'll make it for me. It was like put
everything I can into making this happen. So in a way, no,
I but at the same time it was kind of
(28:21):
this is where I always had my eyes trained.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
I remember the WWE backham when it was the WWF
and how the talent was so very different than today.
The athleticism today is unreal. You grew up as a
kid during the WWE Attitude era. What do you remember
about that time as just a fan?
Speaker 6 (28:41):
I mean just just being larger life buddy. Everybody had
a rap, everybody was able to talk a lot of trash.
It was just a good like you know, even people
that I knew growing up as kids who didn't traditionally
like wrestling, all of a sudden they were into it.
And so that was always kind of like, okay, wow,
(29:01):
now it's like more mainstream, and you know my brothers,
for instance, who were a little bit more and be like, oh,
I just watched for the talking. You know. Then it
was kind of like that that was kind of a
big thing. To be able to talk and then you know,
backing it up with the matches. So yeah, everybody's a
lot more I would say, athletic now and able to
do crazy, flashy looking things. But at the same time,
(29:22):
you got to be able to talk and bring the
people in, sell the fight, and then get in.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
There and do I find your story remarkable, And if
there's anything really remarkable about your story is how humbling
it is. You worked at a ruby tuesdays, you worked
in a lumber mill, you had to drop out of
college because the financial issues. You have been at this
for a very very long time. You have not been
an overnight success. Did you ever think that you would
(29:47):
give up along the way?
Speaker 6 (29:49):
No, actually, no point way where I really thought that
I would give up, except for during the pandemic, where
I was just like, this might really change things on
such an enormous level. I don't know they're going to
be bringing people in now when the world's turned upside down. Plus,
you know a age where people kind of look negatively
(30:10):
at oh, you know, can he still do it? It's like, well, yeah,
I'm an amazing shape, I can move. I'm I'm moving
better than half the guys that I know they're in
the twenties, so yeah, there's a problem there. But with
that in mind, you you think of the optics of
that and everything that was going on. That's really the
only time where I really started than that, there was
(30:30):
a time or ability for the doubt. I had to
keep pushing because I knew I was doing it was connecting,
even on those smaller circuits where it was working. So no,
I just just keep having the faith.
Speaker 2 (30:44):
If you're just tuning him.
Speaker 1 (30:45):
My guest right now is the WWE United States Champion,
l A Night, La Night. Let's get into WrestleMania forty
one Sin City Allegiance Stadium tickets on sale right now.
Speaker 2 (30:55):
What should we expect? Who should we expect?
Speaker 6 (31:00):
Tell you what you're talking about?
Speaker 8 (31:00):
A show?
Speaker 6 (31:01):
It's so big, it's got to be two nights, and
we're doing two nights in Vegas, which is cool. Actually,
if I'm honest, WrestleMania is doing two nights in Vegas.
We're doing a lot more than that. Because you got
Friday Night, got smacked it. Monday, you're gonna have Raw
Saturday afternoon, you're gonna have NXT, You're gonna have the
Hall of Fame, Friday night. There's so much happening that weekend.
It's gonna be action packed for sure. At the same time,
(31:23):
when you talk about what to expect, who to expect,
anything can happen. Anybody can show up and be there.
Celebrities will show up all the time. But at the
same time, it is gonna be John Cena's last WrestleMania.
He's already announced this, He's caught his shop. It's gonna
be his last WrestleMania. So we know that's gonna happen
for sure. And when you're looking at April, it's gonna
come at us quick. But at the same time, there's
so much stuff that can develop, so who knows where
(31:45):
things are gonna end up.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
By that When you are on that match and there
are literally ten to twenty thousand people around you screaming
and yelling and you're in the match, do you hear anyone?
Speaker 2 (31:56):
Do you see anyone?
Speaker 1 (31:57):
Or are you just so locked in that you don't
notice any uh No.
Speaker 6 (32:01):
I always try and to get an eye on everybody
as much as I can. And yeah, I mean you'll
hear you can hear everyone, But at the same time,
it's like you can hear the little bits of voices
here and there every now and then too, So I mean,
everybody kind of has a voice in that room, which
is crazy because it's like on TV especially, you're pretty
(32:22):
much the massive swallow the crowd based, but like in there,
standing there, you can hear every person. So that's kind
of the cool thing about being there live is you
really get to be truly a part of the show.
Speaker 2 (32:34):
My time is growing short with you, La Night.
Speaker 1 (32:36):
But let me ask you this, Since you can hear
the voices, since you are aware of the people around you,
since you're obviously aware of the enormity of the event,
even at this portion of your career, do you still
get butterflies? Do you still get a little bit nervous
given the size of the moment.
Speaker 6 (32:52):
I don't think there's a way to not have that happen.
I feel like anybody who does this, no matter how
long you've done it, you always get a little bit
of that, a little bit of those nerves just before
you go out the curtain. The weird thing about it, though,
is as soon as you cross that rubicon and you
go through that curtain, it's all gone announce it's time
(33:12):
to do the work.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
Coming up on April nineteenth and twentieth, be sure to
check out La Knight, who is the WWE United States Champion,
and more who will be out there as part of
the Cavalcade of Stars for WrestleMania forty one at Allegiance Stadium.
Tickets are now on sale at Ticketmaster. La Night this
is our first conversation. I've been a lifelong wrestling fan
WWFWWE fan. I wish you nothing but success and thank
(33:37):
you so much for coming on the show tonight.
Speaker 6 (33:39):
Thank you very much, man, I appreciate everybody. Go get
to WrestleMania tickets and I'll see that.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
It's Later with Moe Kelly KFI AM six forty We're
live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (33:49):
You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
KFI AM six forty
Later, with Mo'Kelly News
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