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Episode 3 - The Study Pipe Uncovers the Buzz on Upcoming Sequels
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Prepare for a blast from the past as we gear up for another exciting episode of The Study Pipe! This week, we're turning the spotlight onto some of the most anticipated sequels hitting the big screen. We'll delve into the whimsical world of Tim Burton's "Beetlejuice 2," discuss the return of the enigmatic arms dealer in "Lord of War 2" with the incomparable Nicolas Cage, and brace ourselves for the epic continuation of Ridley Scott's "Gladiator 2."
Join us, Zach and Andrew, as we unravel the secrets, expectations, and theories surrounding these thrilling sequels. Will they rise to the occasion or fall short of their predecessors? Tune in to Episode 3, light your metaphorical study pipe, and let's dive into the captivating world of cinematic sequels together!
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Transcript
Introduction to Study Pipe Podcast
00:00:13
Speaker
Hello, I'm Zach. And I'm Andrew. We welcome you to the study pipe and invite you to delve into our conversations about cinema and tune into a wide range of intellectually stimulating topics. So sit back, light up your metaphorical study pipe, and let's dive into today's discussion.
Exciting Sequel Announcements
00:00:31
Speaker
So what do we have on the menu this time, Andrew? Today we're going to be talking about sequels.
00:00:38
Speaker
There are a lot of good time for sequel news, right? Yeah, it's been a really busy week. So this week there's been the announcement of Beetlejuice 2, Lord of War 2, and Freaky Friday 2, along with some other big sequels that have been announced in the previous month.
00:00:58
Speaker
Ooh, I knew we were talking about Beetlejuice and Lord of War. I did not realize we were talking about Freaky Friday 2, okay? The curveball. I told you. Yeah, you said you were going to surprise me. That's a pretty good surprise. I mean, I'll save, I guess, my reaction for when you tell me more about the sequel. But before we dive into any of them,
00:01:27
Speaker
What just gut reaction are you looking forward to the most?
Anticipation for Beetlejuice 2
00:01:32
Speaker
What am I looking for? Definitely Beetlejuice 2. That's a movie that's been in development hell for decades. I think originally it was supposed to be Beetlejuice Ghost to Hawaii directed by Tim Burton. That was supposed to come out like 30 years ago. Really? Beetlejuice Ghost to Hawaii? Yeah, that was the original plan sequel by Tim Burton.
00:01:55
Speaker
Wow. I mean, he was going to have Nick Cage be Superman, so I guess it makes sense. Right? You know? Can you just imagine that pasty Betelgeuse skin on Hawaii Beach? No, I can't. That's right. I just wonder how the story was taken in there to Hawaii.
00:02:20
Speaker
I'm glad it's not. It doesn't sound like it's going to be in Hawaii. It's definitely what's released. I wonder if it's actually going to take place in the same house that the first movie takes place. The first movie, you have Winona Ryder. She's a teenager at that time, right? She
00:02:42
Speaker
is a moody teenager. She's in the home in there with two recently deceased ghosts who are trying to haunt people out of their home. But she befriends them. She meets Beetlejuice. They go on the adventure and all this and have to deal with his shenanigans and ultimately prevail.
00:03:04
Speaker
And I guess she lives in the home with them by the end of the movie is like the adopted daughter of these ghosts, right? I mean, that's where I left the story in my mind, at least. Yeah, exactly. And what's interesting is I don't see Alec Baldwin or Gina Davis in the casting. I do see Catherine O'Hara, yeah, who's a known writer's real mom in the movie.
00:03:32
Speaker
And then we also see some interesting casting choices. We got Monica Belushi, who's going to be playing Beetlejuice's wife, Willem Dafoe, an unnamed character. Justin Thoreau, for us leftover fans out there, he's going to be in this as well. And you forgot, did you say Jenna Ortega? No, it's going to leave the most important part to you. Oh, yeah, man. I mean Scream Queen herself, Jenna Ortega.
00:03:58
Speaker
as Lydia's daughter, which I think kind of gives you an idea of what the story may be about right there.
00:04:06
Speaker
And I'd be interested in seeing them, you know, do like a generational family kind of thing within that house. If, you know, she grew up in the house, it's hers. And, you know, she has her daughter being Jenna Ortega and then, you know, kind of raised her daughter to be, I don't know, comfortable with spirits or like that's the norm, you know.
00:04:31
Speaker
No, exactly. It could be looks like we have three generations in that family, at least coming in and out of the movie. I would love to see it in the same house. And I would love to see how Michael Keaton is going to reprise that role. Because that guy he's just gotten better with age. Well, what's interesting too is so you know, Tim Burton's coming back to direct this.
00:04:56
Speaker
Obviously, Michael Keaton did Batman with Tim Burton, and he's coming back as Batman in the Flash movie.
Tim Burton's Stylistic Comeback?
00:05:06
Speaker
So, you know, we're kind of in this time period where Michael Keaton is reprising roles from what, the 80s, the 90s timeframe, you know, and he's coming back as Batman. Now he's coming back as Betelgeuse. This can be pretty wild.
00:05:24
Speaker
Yeah, the first draft was written by Alfred Goff, who wrote all the episodes for the Wednesday show. And I love the Wednesday show. Oh, OK. I wonder if Jenna Ortega is in that show, of course. I wonder if that's how she got pulled into this. That would make sense. And she just seems perfectly made for Tim Burton, who's been in a dry spell for some time. But maybe this will bring him back into a late career Renaissance
00:05:54
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it's been, it's been what, in 2019? Dumbo? That was the last movie you did? Yeah. I'm going to be honest and I really saw Dumbo. I forgot that movie. Oh man, I saw Dumbo. I thought it was all right. I thought it was pretty decent. It wasn't,
00:06:13
Speaker
the best movie or anything, but out of Disney's live action remakes, which have been spotty to say the least, and we've just talked about the Little Mermaid coming up, but yeah, Dumbo I thought was one of the better live action remakes that they had done recently. Well, I'll have to check it out. I like to miss a pair of greens, Home for Peculiar Children as well.
00:06:45
Speaker
I'm a big sucker for that kind of movie. Anything with like the magic kids going off to like some magic school vibe, the Harry Potter stuff. I respect that. I think the last movie he did that knocked my socks off made me feel like
00:07:00
Speaker
Nice. This is great. I'm happy. I'm here watching a Tim Burton flick was Frankenweenie. I don't like dark shadows before that, but Frankenweenie was... I thought it was on point. I love Frankenweenie. Any Tim Burton stop motion is going to be on top of the food chain, you know? Yeah. I guess if we go back to live action, it's got to be Sweeney Todd, right?
00:07:25
Speaker
Yeah, Alice in Wonderland was just all right. I mean, in terms of like a really good flick that, you know, you go home, tell your friends about, go check it out. I'd agree, Sweeney Todd. That's 2007, man. We're almost 20 years up. I know it's time for him to return. Although I will say Big Ice was pretty good. That was more of a biopic. Yeah, I liked Big Ice.
00:07:52
Speaker
But it wasn't 100% Tim Burton, you know what I mean? Like this style that he has, this eccentric style, gothic, kind of darkest centric. I think the last one of those was Sweeney Todd. There's hints of that in Big Eyes. Go ahead, definitely. In Dark Shadows, for sure. But that movie, to me, it wasn't a good movie. I don't like it.
00:08:18
Speaker
No, in Miss Peregrine, I didn't even know that was a movie until after I saw it. Yeah. This could be, I guess, a potential return to form. It could be. There's no reason he can't have another good 20 years of directing. We've seen so many directors after they turned 60s just start to put out great work and become more sure of themselves. It's definitely been like a 15-year lull for this guy.
00:08:47
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, I'm sure some people who are listening may think this is like a deep black transgression saying such things.
00:08:56
Speaker
I'm sure there are people who have been shown up to every release and think they're great. But yeah, I don't know. I mean, I think to your point, the point I'm kind of dancing around, there's an aesthetic, there's a style that I attribute to Tim Burton, that's his own. And I think Beetlejuice too, maybe the first time we get that back in a long time. Oh yeah. I would say,
00:09:26
Speaker
at least 15 years. I mean, Frank and Weedy, 100%. So we'll go back to 10 years. Frank and Weedy was 2012. So that was 11 years ago now. Because I think everyone here that's listening would agree that Big Eyes, Miss Peregrine, and Dumbo did not have that traditional Tim Burton style. Yeah, not that they were all bad films or anything. They're just not that classical Tim Burton. No, definitely not.
00:09:56
Speaker
I mean, Beetlejuice too. He's married in this one. He has a wife. How the hell did that happen? I'm really curious. He's all domesticated now. Yeah, a domesticated Beetlejuice. What does that look like? What does that mean for the plot, you know?
00:10:18
Speaker
Does that mean we're going to meet like a Luke Skywalker version of Beetlejuice 2 from The Last Jedi? Hesitant, doesn't want to be involved. But Lydia or her daughter pulls them back into the mix of things. Maybe that's the thing. Maybe Lydia's daughter knows of this Beetlejuice.
00:10:42
Speaker
He's been hyped up and, you know, over many years or whatever. And then when there's this need in the story, she goes to, you know, recruit him and she finds out like, well, this guy who was like a sleazebag is now like a great husband who's like in love with, you know, his wife and is like the best husband. That'd be an interesting like twist on it. I feel like that's where they're going.
00:11:08
Speaker
I want 50 bucks if I called that. I want money if I called the plot of this movie correctly. Or the premise, I should say. If he gets it right, you're going to have to donate $50. Yeah. Right? No, let's make that bet. Let's do it. 50 bucks.
00:11:28
Speaker
50 bucks. That would be cool, man. That'd be interesting. You get to see the character in a completely different way. Obviously, as an audience member, you go into the movie thinking you know who Beetlejuice is. You saw the first one. You know what he's about. He's
00:11:45
Speaker
a rascal, if you want to put it, I think, lightly, up to no good, dirty, rotten scoundrel. And then in the first 30 minutes, maybe they flip the whole thing on your head and say, no, this isn't the one you left behind at the end of the last movie. This is a different Betelgeuse. This is a Betelgeuse that has gone soft, but maybe is ready to dust off
00:12:13
Speaker
Um, you know, his cleats and get back out on the field and get dirty with it, you know, call to action, get back out into the game. You know, what's interesting about this is, uh, you know, I was looking over the cast and crew and we kind of hit on this a little bit ago. It's just how much of.
00:12:33
Speaker
the people that were involved with the Wednesday TV show are involved with this.
Beetlejuice 2 Cast Insights
00:12:37
Speaker
Because it's not just the writer. The writer who wrote the Beetlejuice 2 script was the showrunner for Wednesday. And then obviously Tim Burton directed the first four episodes of that show. I got Monica Belushi, General Ortega, and bringing back Danny Elfman. That's a lot of people coming back out for round two in my opinion.
00:13:00
Speaker
Yeah, that must indicate some, like a show of faith in the story, you know, in what they're trying to do. Yeah. And I thought, I thought Wednesday was a great show. I really enjoyed it. Yeah, it was cool. I mean, I don't know that me being a 30 year old man was like the exact target audience for that, but I liked it for what it was, for what it is.
00:13:25
Speaker
I think what was fun about it was that I know my sister watched it. My parents watched it. It was like everyone I do watched it. And it was fun to just kind of shoot the shit and talk to everyone I know about the show. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it was in like, what was it? Her dance was like a huge thing. I forgot about that. It was on Instagram. So people, it was on everyone's radar. People were talking about it.
00:13:51
Speaker
Yeah, it was cool. And, you know, I like Janet Ortega. She's killed it in the two recent screen movies. Scream six. I liked a lot. I like them taking it to New York. I like what the characters were up to in it. A little repetitive, maybe with, you know, the screen five. But she's been great, man. She's been in a good amount of horror flicks. She's established herself. And I'm interested to see how she brings, you know, her spin to this.
00:14:21
Speaker
So, you know, I'm not like the biggest horror movie person. Yeah. I'm watching through my fingers. That's pretty much how it goes. For scream safe, was that, I mean, after watching the trailer, was that like it out in the open, like people being killed on the subway and stores? Yeah. It was more, it took, it took,
00:14:46
Speaker
from the classic, it's kind of crazy to say the original three, and it's kind of four, because Wes Craven was still involved, to say that they're classic films. But yeah, in the other films, they really are more low-key. The killings are, I don't want to say subtle, but they're out of sight, kind of out of mind from the general public for the most part.
00:15:15
Speaker
Yeah, scream six was like, you know, in a convenience store, attempted murder and like on a subway attempted murder. And so it was very much out and about it was it was a good shift. Which is almost scarier because if you if you aren't safe around to the people, it's like you lose that blanket.
00:15:34
Speaker
Well, I mean, I think personally, it was a little bit scarier because you can see that happening in the current world we live in with all these mass shootings and stuff like that. It made it more real to like what society is like right now. You know, that's obviously kind of dark to say, but is more representative of the times we live in, I think. I mean, that's really the power of movies.
00:16:04
Speaker
The ability to highlight the issues that are going on culturally at the time. Good or bad? Really put you in people's shoes. Maybe get a little empathy for the situation. Yeah, social commentary, man. I know people don't like feeling preached out when they go to the movies, but that's always been my favorite part.
00:16:27
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, you convey messages to an audience that you find are important or valuable that you want to impart to someone and they carry with themselves throughout their lives. And maybe it shapes them to be a better person or think about things differently, but that's the power of storytelling overall, right? I mean, in the evolution of our civilization and species, it's the ability to
00:16:57
Speaker
take essential pieces of information that are critical for your survival or for social cohesion and package it in something that's entertaining, engaging, easy to remember. It increases your ability to function in society and survive. So that's the core function of storytelling as I see it. And then you dress it up with superheroes or monsters or whatever.
00:17:26
Speaker
The underlying themes are the same, though. Oh, yeah, definitely. You just wrapped up exactly why I'm excited for Beetlejuice, too.
00:17:33
Speaker
Oh, man can change. A man can change. Beetlejuice too. He can change. We're here for the social commentary, Beetlejuice 2. Yeah. Do it to him. Bring it. And it has, you know who it has? I think you said it, but Willem Dafoe, man. What is he going to bring? Dude, what are the all-time greats? That guy. You know what I'd love to see?
00:18:01
Speaker
And if I get this right, take that $50 up to $75, all right? I would love to see him. I'm going to be in debt to you if he's going to be $2,000 by the end of the show. You're paying my car payment for six months, Andrew. Exactly. Thank you. Now, I would love if he, like come to find out, he's like a mentor of Beetlejuice, or like he taught him how to be Beetlejuice.
00:18:26
Speaker
So like maybe there's an initial pushback from Beetlejuice like, no, I don't want to get involved in whatever you're doing, you know, Jenna Ortega. And then she's like, well, I'll go to your like, I'll go to master Obi-Wan. You know what I mean? Like, I'll go and go to the source. And then it's like, he's even worse than Beetlejuice was. It would just get well-defoe from the lighthouse, but all sleazy.
00:18:52
Speaker
character in that accent too, in that accent. Oh man. Now that you got my brain juices flowing, I'm just thinking about how many things from that original movie that I'm excited to see with modern CGI, like the sandworms. Oh yeah, man. Remember the sandworms from that? Oh yeah. Talk about a trippy movie with current technology. I mean, it's probably going to blow our minds. I'm so excited.
00:19:22
Speaker
Damn, I knew that I'd be interested, but now as we talk about it, I feel like my hype is way greater. And now I'm building a story in my head. So I'm like, oh, it would be cool if they do this. Well.
00:19:39
Speaker
September 2024. So got to wait a little bit to see if I'm right. But that's not too far out. And I'm I see here, they said production started actually yesterday on the 11th. Nice. And the great thing about temperate movies is that they always leak set pictures. So we'll be we'll start have an idea about what's going on with the story pretty soon.
00:20:04
Speaker
I wonder if I should follow the spoilers or not. No. I will 100% be doing that because I have no patience. Yeah. All right. I think 20 minutes on Beetlejuice 2 might be a little enough. Yeah. I think we covered it sufficiently. Yeah.
00:20:29
Speaker
We went from Beetlejuice 2 to the entirety of Tim Burton's catalog, to Dumbo, to Scream, to talk about the social commentary of film. Rest in peace, Wes Craven. Rest in peace. Yeah, rest in peace, one of the greats. So let's talk about another sequel that's coming out that is going to be rife with some social commentary and that's going to be Lord of War 2. Yeah.
00:20:59
Speaker
Yeah, man, the first one. I like the first one a lot. Yeah. Let's do the recap of the first one. It's been a while. The first one came out in 2005. That's 18 years ago. It was directed by Andrew Nickel, who at the time was a top up and coming talent. He had written the Truman Show. He directed Gattaca.
00:21:20
Speaker
And Lord of War was a very divisive movie when it came out, at least with the critics and the general audience at the time. Since then, it's had a really big cult following. But at the time, it was a box office failure. It was not a hit. You know, but time heals all wounds. And 18 years later, it's one of the more beloved movies that's a cult following. And it's been lit up for a sequel with Bill Skarsgard. He's going to play Nicholas Cage's son, Anton. Nicholas Cage will be reprising his role.
00:21:49
Speaker
And Andrew Nichols can be returning to direct. So there's going to be a lot of eyes on this one, especially with Nicolas Cage's career renaissance, so to speak. Yeah, I think you're right on. You nailed it. I mean, Nick Cage, he's money right now, baby. And whether you like it or not, I'm all for Nick Cage and everything he's been doing lately. I dig it. And I'm excited to hear he's coming back.
00:22:17
Speaker
I didn't realize the first Lord of War was divisive amongst the critics. I had watched it.
00:22:27
Speaker
A couple years after it came out, I think I was about to graduate high school, so five years after the movie had dropped. I was like, man, this is cool. This is great. I don't know how long it took for that critical mass to hit for it to become cold. Maybe it was around that time. Maybe that's why I watched it.
00:22:49
Speaker
I was for it. I thought it was cool. I thought it was a good movie. You know, the camera shot on that bullet. Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah, that's the opening, right? Yeah, that was the opening that followed the bullet. Yeah. So if anyone's listening, they haven't seen it.
Bill Skarsgard in Lord of War 2: What to Expect?
00:23:08
Speaker
Go check it out. Get geared up and ready. Get hyped for Nick Cage. But yeah, it was cool. And
00:23:15
Speaker
Yeah, I like Bill Skarsgard too. I'm a huge horror fan. That's my Pennywise. I respect the TV movie and all that. But yeah, Bill Skarsgard, dude, he just killed it in Barbarian. He kills it in everything he does. So to see him here with opposite Nick Cage going at it, it sounds like
00:23:40
Speaker
They're in the same business, but there's some bad blood, some Daniel, uh, plain view and, you know, his son kind of like, you know, strife, right? Yes. Like these, these businessmen that now are opposing each other. There's a split. That's what it sounds like this movie may be going towards. Which I'm all for. And, you know, those scars guards, they, uh, they produce a lot of great talent, don't they?
00:24:09
Speaker
Dude, they're killing it. They're killing it. So you got Bill Skarsgard, you got Alexander Skarsgard, you got Father Skarsgard, who just killed it. An Andor. Oh, man. Oh, man. He killed it. He killed it. Stella is legit. Dude, Alexander, man.
00:24:33
Speaker
as a Norseman, right? Oh, butt naked fighting. Sorry, spoilers. I mean, that came out last year. You should see it. Should have seen it by now.
00:24:45
Speaker
Yeah. Go watch two jacked shredded men fight butt ass naked in a volcano in Iceland. That should have just been the whole trailer. The whole trailer should have been 30 seconds of them just in the fire and ash of that volcano grunting. A little bit intimate and all that. And it would have, I mean,
00:25:13
Speaker
I'm sure it did fine. What did it do at the box office? I don't, I don't think it did well at all. Really? No, no, no, no, it didn't 60. So almost 70 million box office, but budget was 70 to 90. Man. Yeah. They lost. Yeah. Big time. What a, oh man. There was such a good movie too. What a great director. Robert Eggers is one of the best like up and coming guys right now. Oh, when we do our next episode, which will be,
00:25:43
Speaker
our favorite directors of all time, but also working directors, you know, contemporary people who are in the mix. Robert's on the list for me, baby. He's doing it. Oh, yeah. He may or may not be. I'm not going to spoil it. You're going to have to tune in. Yeah, I guess I gave away one of mine. Get the Scars Gods. They are on it. Bill's going to kill it in this, I think. The only thing, though, the only thing
00:26:12
Speaker
is Andrew nickel man. I don't pulling up his resume. Okay, the last good movie he did was Lord of War. Oh, he he is a he's not been doing great for a long time. It's been a week, week list of films. I'm sure everyone remembers what he did in time with
00:26:41
Speaker
Trusted Timberlake. Going back before then, you can really say that the only two good movies that he's directed are Lord of War and Gattaca, which as we discussed, you haven't seen Gattaca. I don't know how that movie slips. I don't know how that slips through the cracks, Ben. It's like right up your alley.
00:27:02
Speaker
All right, let me give you like a little little bit of an office. Tell it to me. Maybe that's what I'll watch tonight. Let me let me pitch it. Pitch it like you need. You're asking for hold on. Hold on. What is the budget on that movie? Pitch it like you're asking for 36 million dollars. All right. All right. So you got Ethan Hawke, who lives in a future dystopian society where at birth they take your genetic information and they can tell when you're going to die if you have any type of genetic defects.
00:27:32
Speaker
And so he gets a shithead and he finds out he's going to die of some disease in his late 30s, early 40s. And his entire life growing up, all he's wanted to ever do is be an astronaut. But because he has this genetic disease, it's unnamed that he's going to die of in the future, he can't be an astronaut. His future options are limited. No one wants to hire someone and then give him a career to someone that's going to die of a disease later on.
00:27:56
Speaker
And so the movie's about, in the society where everything's DNA related, people are picking up skin cells or people are constantly testing to make sure you say who you are. It's about him pulling off this behind the scenes operation to try to get himself to go into space. All right, you get the green light and you get this.
00:28:20
Speaker
I see that Uma Thurman was in it. And so is that the genesis of their relationship both and maybe in the film, but outside, you know, they were together for, I think that is actually, well, Dan, for that reason alone, I should actually check it out. Yeah. Wow. It's a, it's a great movie. It's a, you know, in some circles that's considered one of the better sci-fi movies ever made.
00:28:49
Speaker
You know, what I'm saying here is that Rand Paul lifted near verbatim portions of the plot summary from the English Wikipedia entry on Gattaca in a speech at Liberty University on October 28th, 2013.
Gattaca: A Sci-Fi Classic
00:29:08
Speaker
So, huh, must be good.
00:29:16
Speaker
Damn, that actually makes me want to watch it less than we do. I've already seen it. We've ruined everything, Red Hall. What the hell's that guy know? No, that sounds interesting. What do you think about your Ayn Rand? Is that? I have no idea. I hope not. I have no idea what that guy's up to. I stopped listening to him and his father a long time ago. You watch this show and this game just sits out right now?
00:29:45
Speaker
No. I just read Paul made me think about this little side thing. The main character, she's trying to guess a book that her mom read to her when she was a kid. She can't remember. Her mom has read her and read. She's like, you read this to a child? She's like, you need to see how the world works. Oh, God. Oh, goodness.
00:30:11
Speaker
Wow. Okay. So that was his first movie. He wrote and directed that. That was great. It was a great, like this guy probably, you know, at the time of seven, I'm assuming that people thought this was the next up and coming guy. Well, I mean, he was on the money there for a minute. Truman show was excellent. Yeah, he wrote the Truman show after that. It was a great script. That's a great movie. It's one of my favorites for sure.
00:30:36
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. The terminal was awesome. I mean, it's kind of, you know, I mean, it's nothing crazy, but I think it's a good story. It's an interesting premise. Tom Hanks stuck in the airport. You know, I love the terminal. I thought it was good. I guess he did. It says story-wise, so the screenplay was actually done by a few others, but, you know, he had a good idea, a good premise.
00:31:02
Speaker
So the talent is there. I mean, he has the innate ability to deliver on Lord of War 2. If the creative juices are channeled and they are focused on it, it could happen. But with the last couple of entries on his resume, I don't know that I'm hopeful. I mean, I'm hyped, but just like,
00:31:27
Speaker
Baby hyped, you know? Yeah, it's- Pecanio, just a little tiny hype right now. It's weird, yeah. I'm on the fence. I'm afraid. Yeah, that was hard. Although, I will say that Good Kill that came out in 2014 that he made, I forgot I saw that one and I kind of liked it. I'm going to say that was underrated. Oh, great. I didn't see Good Kill. The last movie I saw that he did was The Host. Let's see what it got in Rotten Tomatoes here.
00:31:58
Speaker
Oh shit, it got 75%. That's not bad. Oh, Ethan Hawke came back for that. It had Zoe Kravitz. Okay. January Jones at the time. Yeah, it was, I liked it. I mean, it's your standard, you know, worst lock film, you know, but... Yeah. So what do you think? You think it's going to be good?
00:32:24
Speaker
give any initial indication. I think it's going to be one of those ones where it's going to be a classic again that Nicolas Cage will carry it with his performance. Guy's on fire right now. But I don't think it's going to be one of those critics like. Man, I hope he knocks it out of the park. I hope it's good. We'll see. I think you're probably going to be right.
00:32:49
Speaker
We will see. I think that's enough. It says here, and this is something I didn't realize it actually has me a little bit more excited, that Cage said he was excited to return to one of his favorite roles and that he was impressed by Scarsgard's performances Pennywise in the hit movies.
00:33:10
Speaker
So it'd be cool if they really have a good bromance and they riff off of each other and, you know. They could both go wild. They could go hard. Yeah, both of them. For sure. So this is filming. Production starts fall of this year, so probably going to hear more about it here in the next couple of months.
00:33:34
Speaker
with release in 2024. So, Beetlejuice and Lord of War II both drop in next year. We'll see how they shake out.
00:33:47
Speaker
I got Freaky Friday 2 next on the docket and then I got two more movies that I want to see a reaction to when I bring them up because I feel like they're... Oh gosh. We got a visceral reaction to. We'll keep these quick because these movies don't really have much information that are available right now. They've just kind of been announced. The first one is going to be Freaky Friday 2 which is being produced by Disney and it's returning Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis. Jamie Lee Curtis is a fresh offer Oscar win for everything everywhere all at once.
00:34:16
Speaker
So I don't know, man. This could be a case to me not being the target audience. And I respect that. But come on. Do we need this movie? Do we need any movie, though, I guess, is the counter argument. I don't know. I love Jamie Lee, man. You know, me, I'm horror. I love that she killed it in these new Halloween remakes. Last one did suck. But, you know, she killed it. She she did.
00:34:46
Speaker
a great job. She just got her Oscar, like you said. So I respect her. I want to check out what she's in. But man, Lindsay Lohan, what's she done? And it's been good.
00:35:01
Speaker
Anytime, like recently, she's been off the- She fell off the rails. I think she had some drug dependency issues. She had a lot of trauma before she was a child actor. And I think there's a lot of goodwill around her regarding people that know her, like Jamie Lee Curtis, that want to see her get her career back on the right track, which I can support, you know? Seeing someone lift themselves back up and get back on the saddle, you know?
00:35:29
Speaker
Yeah, I can dig that for sure. I'm curious for that because it'd be nice to see this movie do well, see Lindsay Lohan regain her career and be a good story for a lot of young women out there to see someone that kind of fell on her face and was able to pull herself back up. Oh man, now that you pull it just out of the story to like this redemption in real world, now you got tugging on my heartstrings a little bit. Yeah, I mean, I hope it helps you out.
00:35:58
Speaker
I don't know if she's a good person or what she's been up to, but everyone likes a comeback story, so I can appreciate that.
00:36:13
Speaker
It's been done. It's been done. Most recently, you know, Happy Death Day did it. Did it well, I thought, you know, horror. Yeah, they were good. I don't know that I have an appetite for it because those are so recent. But, you know, once again, I'm probably not the target audience. This is probably for
00:36:38
Speaker
maybe younger kids, teenagers, middle school, high school. I'll check it out though, I'll pay my respects. This is Jamie Lee, Lindsay Lohan, I hope it's good. I may wait for the buzz to get some of the buzz, figure out, you know.
00:36:59
Speaker
Is it worth my time? But if it's decent, if it's okay, I'll pay my respects. I'll check it out. What I want them to do is I want Lindsay Littlehead to be a mom, have her own kid, right? And then I want to see a triple body swap.
Freaky Friday 2: Plot Speculations
00:37:17
Speaker
I want to see grandma going to the youngest, mom going to grandma or some kind of order like that, you know? That would be kind of cool actually.
00:37:28
Speaker
That would be a good spin on it. That would be cool. Instead of just the double, throw it across all three generations. Exactly. You could get me in there with that. Yeah. Especially if they're building on Freaky Friday too, where Lindsay Lohan kind of killed it at the Battle of the Bands. I wonder if she's going to be like a famous rock star for the movie. That'd be kind of cool.
00:37:59
Speaker
Yeah, there's a lot to play on there, you know? Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay. You're kind of reassuring me. You're giving me a little more confidence, something to look forward to. What has she been up to? She recently just had a, she recently just had like a two movie Netflix deal. I forget the name of the last one that came out, but it was your standard like romantic comedy on Netflix. And I know my parents watched it and so I heard about it. That's a Christmas one.
00:38:27
Speaker
Yeah. They loved it. They're all excited about Lindsay Lohan. I respect their taste. Maybe I should go back and- I can't believe you got them to go to see the new Halloween movie. I did. That's right. That's probably one of my proudest achievements. My parents, for those who don't know, are like 72 years old and they like romantic comedies. This guy convinced them to go see the new Halloween movie.
00:38:57
Speaker
Yeah, and they're watching, they're watching him, you know, Michael Myers going hard in the paint.
00:39:09
Speaker
Alright. Maybe maybe out of respect, I should watch this Lindsay Lohan Christmas. You know, I I should. Yeah, I should, you know, get even with the house here. They went saw the the horror. I'll maybe cry over some Christmas rom-com with some eggnog in my left hand, you know. There you go. Alright, next to the docket. Gladiator two. Oh god.
Concerns About Gladiator Sequel
00:39:40
Speaker
Oh, God. All right. This is probably where people are going to be like, either I respect Zach in his take on things or like, I don't like this guy. He doesn't know what he's talking about. I'm not hyped for Gladiator 2. I think this is a tragedy. This should not occur. It should not go forward. Ridley's attached, right? Yeah, he's directing.
00:40:08
Speaker
I love Ridley Scott, but I hate Ridley Scott. Those are strong, strong statements. And what I mean by that is Ridley Scott, I think, believes in his own bullshit, which could be a very powerful thing when you're creative, but it could be a very detrimental, terrible thing that unravels your entire project.
00:40:34
Speaker
That gives me pause. It gives me worry. I mean, I like Ridley Scott, but I don't think he has it in him right now in this point in his career to drop Gladiator 2 in a way that pays respect to the first and builds on it and is just as good, if not better. I think it'll just be an inferior movie at this point.
00:40:56
Speaker
Now, why do I say that? Do I have any insider information about the movie or the plot or anything? No, I'm completely speculating. I'm talking out of my ass, but I don't know, man. No, I think that's a fair assessment. So, yeah, I read quite a bit about this. You know, for those of you wondering, no, Russell Crowe would not be in it. He's dead for the first one. This is, if you remember his,
00:41:24
Speaker
The Emperor's sister, her kid, it's going to be taking place around him coming into an age where he could come into power and his rivals. And there's a lot of interesting casting choices in it. So we're going to have Pedro Pascale, Denzel Washington, and I'm going to mess up this name, but Barry Keogan, is that how you say it? I thought it was Keegan. Barry Keegan, that makes sense. The Irishman. Yeah.
00:41:53
Speaker
And so it's got a really good cast. What's really interesting is, I don't know about you, but when I see, I always look at the writers for the movie. And this has been written by David Scarpa, who hasn't really had any credits in about three or four years. But I noticed that he's got three upcoming movies. And he's got Gladiator 2, the Ridley Scott movie. Then he's got Napoleon, same director.
00:42:20
Speaker
And he's also got Cleopatra, which is, uh, does fill it away. I saw a new movie coming out. It's, excuse me. It's Denny villain. You. All right. I got the, you look at, I got even like 75% of it. 40% at best.
00:42:44
Speaker
Not only no, because I had to look him up on a... No, he got on Colbert, I think it was, and he gave a tutorial on how to say his name. It's Denny, so no S on the end, Denny. Like Denny, Denny's Pancakes, Grand Slam, so Denny, and then Villeneuve. Villeneuve, Denny Villeneuve.
00:43:09
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, that's what I remember of the tutorial he gave me messing it up. So all right. Well, it works. Keep them in the shed, please. David Scarpa is writing the new script Cleopatra for Denny Villeneuve. Is that what he's doing? He's doing Cleopatra? Yeah. Oh, man, that's gonna be awesome. I'm hyped for that. So this writer, he hasn't done anything in a long time, but he's just been working on these three scripts for years now. And they're all kind of
00:43:39
Speaker
There are historical biopics and epic films. Maybe the story will be good. Maybe this guy has just been so deep in this era or this style of writing that we're going to get some really good stories here. Yeah. Well, I mean, okay. Let's pull up Ridley Scott. Okay. Like I said earlier, I love him, but I hate him. I think what I mean by that is
00:44:06
Speaker
He'll release a banger, and then he'll release a movie where I'm just like, dude, what's going on? Like, why? Why am I watching this? So last movie, House Gucci, that kind of falls in that category for me of just like, nah. Yeah, I mean, is it like a technically bad film? No. But is it a story that really moved me and had me interested? No. I mean, I wasn't about it. Last Duel, I liked The Last Duel.
00:44:35
Speaker
I thought it was very well done. All the money in the world, I thought it was saying. Same writer's gladiator too, by the way. Oh, okay. Interesting. Alien Covenant, I loved. I was about it. The Martian. I loved Martian. I liked it, but I was pissed because I read the book and they made some changes that politically I was not okay with. I'll just maybe save that for another episode.
00:45:04
Speaker
It was, I was pissed. So we have this alternate that's happening, right? We got house Gucci, no. Last stool, yes. All the money of the world, no. Alien covenant, yes. The Martian, no. Exodus, gods and kings, yes. I liked Exodus. I didn't like it, but it keeps the alternate in the same stuff. You know, the counselor, no. Promethus. It's hard, no. It's hard, no. Yeah, hard, no. Promethus. Where's the trash can? I will throw that in there. Yeah, exactly.
00:45:33
Speaker
Prometheus was great. Robin Hood, no. Body lies, no. So now we're... Wait, what? I thought you were a Leo fan here. I'm a Leo fan. I'm not a shitty movie fan. Come on, man. Even Leo can pick some stories. It was me, dude. Body lies was me.
00:45:58
Speaker
I wasn't bad. Then American Gangster, fantastic. Yeah. And now we're already back. We're already back. What was that? 2007, almost 20 years. All right. I think you make a good case. All right. So Gladiator 2 might be shit, especially if the play comes out first, if we're keeping the alternate.
00:46:17
Speaker
Yeah, Napoleon, I think it's going to be great, man. I think, okay, we got Joaquin Phoenix in there. He just does good work. That's all he does. We're going to talk about Napoleon on part two of 2023. That's a spoiler. Yeah, right there, part two. Yeah, so part two is coming. Napoleon, yeah. If he follows the rhythm here, Napoleon's going to be great. And if gladiator two's next, it's going to be dog shit. I'm going to piss you off of this last movie I chose.
00:46:49
Speaker
I'm waiting. I'm waiting. I almost don't want to say it. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. All the emotions that are flowing through me. All right.
Praise for Planet of the Apes Trilogy
00:47:03
Speaker
For all those, look, listen here, folks. Take a seat. I'm going to tell you something important. I feel like, you know, those memes with the old grant comes down. Let me tell you something. Yeah.
00:47:18
Speaker
The Planet of the Apes trilogy, the new one, with Matt Reeves helming the second and the third is, and I'm going to say it,
00:47:29
Speaker
one of the greatest trilogies in the history of film. I put it right up there with Lord of the Rings, the third movie sucked, but the first two are so good that it elevates the trilogy as a whole. The original Star Wars, Indiana Jones, The Matrix, and maybe on the second half of that list. But
00:47:57
Speaker
Planet of the Apes, man, modern contemporary Planet of the Apes, they are up there as some of the best films, trilogy out there. I mean, I loved Dawn, I loved War. You know, it did such a good job of making me root against my species, against these people who have run, you know, Civilization, who I'm a product of, we, us.
00:48:26
Speaker
And instead of rooting for us, I'm rooting for them, the apes. They are expressing emotions and complex thoughts and feelings and dealing with issues in those films that they, by the end of it, become more human than humans are. They are taking up the mantle of what we think the best parts of humanity are.
00:48:49
Speaker
they are embodying by the end of that trilogy. So I love those films. I have no idea what the hell to think about Kingdom. Who's involved? I don't know. I got two thoughts real quick about what you said. It's no longer a trilogy. This is a Trek sequel.
00:49:09
Speaker
Well, hold on. The original Star Wars trilogy. No, this is, um, this is directed by, what was his name? I think it's West Ball, who his claim to fame is the beige runner trilogy. Oh, whoa.
00:49:38
Speaker
Not ideal. Not ideal at all. Maze Runner? What? Yeah. You're terrible. Yeah, he did the Maze Runner trilogy. Those were only three films. Oh, God. Why'd you have to tell me this? I figured we'd end with a lie. Matt occurred, my boy. Come on, man. My boy. Gosh. All right. I'm going to hold out hope.
00:50:08
Speaker
But West Ball better come correct. I'm going to send him a strongly worded letter if he does not. He'll read it because he's only made shitty Maze Runner movies. Yeah, so he has no Facebook. I'm sorry, West Ball, if you're listening. I'm sorry. Someone talked about me. Right? I think that's a
00:50:36
Speaker
I know. I do know that they'll get the rally up a bit. You got me worked up. There's emotion in that. There's a lot of emotion in that. So what is that it? Is that the last surprise sequel? That's the last surprise sequel for this time. Damn. We covered some good ground, I think. Yeah, I think so too.
00:50:57
Speaker
Oh, OK. So out of all of those are parting words. So, you know, we got Freaky Friday 2, Gladiator 2, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. And I think my parting word is that. That we're getting a lot of sequels for old movies like these, like these aren't like. You're saying for Planet of the Apes, which that trilogy just recently ended.
Hollywood's Sequel Trend: Creative or Stagnant?
00:51:24
Speaker
Gladiator II. Gladiator came out what, 1999? Freaky Friday came out in the 2000s. Lord of War II came out in 2005. Beetlejuice II came out like 30 years ago. They're playing to that Gen X audience. Oh man, when you say it like that, it makes me depressed, makes me feel like Hollywood has nothing left in the tank. Going back and they're tapping into these properties, which they've been doing with all kinds of stuff, of course.
00:51:56
Speaker
But me, my parting thoughts after this discussion, I mean, I'm optimistic, but when you put it that way, maybe I shouldn't be. Maybe I'm a fool to be optimistic. I think we could expect like a 50% right here. I think half of these were going to be happy they're made. All right, so which ones do you think are going to be good?
Which Sequels Will Triumph?
00:52:16
Speaker
I think Beetlejuice 2 and Lord of War 2 will be good.
00:52:23
Speaker
Uh, I agree. I think Freaky Friday too. I don't think I'll like it. Um, Gladiator 2, Napoleon's going to take the alternate. So Napoleon's be good. Gladiator 2 is going to be terrible. Um, yeah, I don't know Kingdom and I'll see it cause I love, you know, I'm preaching about the, the three recent films, but West Ball, Maze Runner, probably not. Probably not could be good.
00:52:53
Speaker
Probably like you're saying I think it's being milked there. Yeah, there's so many directors that they could have gone, you know Yeah, for sure. Yeah, that's a great idea. I don't know it. Maybe he does He does differently that's who he is Alright man with that being said I
00:53:17
Speaker
Thank you all for tuning in, listening to our shenanigans and hopefully I'm getting 50 to 75 bucks here on Beetlejuice too. I will tell only 18 months. Only 18 months and a lot of episodes in between, right? You're going to be reminded to be hardcore with something you get closer. All right. I think that's it. All right. Thanks everyone.