Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Tangent #5: Movie Night
1 Plays3 seconds ago
This is our first "movie talk" episode. We ask each other a few pointed questions about movies, what they mean to us, and share some pretty personal stuff in the process. The art we love helps expose who we are to both ourselves and to others, and we think that's pretty beautiful.
Our Discord: https://discord.gg/2skmrtYyZU
GoFundMe for our friend Aaron Acevedo: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-aaron-acevedos-double-transplant-journey
GoFundMe for Jodi Black's family: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-jodis-fight-against-pulmonary-fibrosis
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Overview
00:00:00
Speaker
What do you say? there's There's a scene in here where he fights guards with large eggs and pretends they're footballs? but It's a great scene and the music is frickin' awesome.
00:00:11
Speaker
It's so much fun.
00:00:16
Speaker
Hello, friends. Welcome to Tabletop Changents, a podcast about running tabletop RPGs, writing stories, and the sometimes meandering paths we take in pursuit of creativity and inspiration.
00:00:33
Speaker
Tangent number five, movie night.
Origins and Impact of Movie Nights
00:00:50
Speaker
When did movie night start? When did you start doing that? It's been a while. It's been a couple of years. Yeah, it's been a couple of years. Okay. I don't know.
00:01:02
Speaker
I think it was late 2023. So was post-COVID? Post-COVID, for sure. Okay. Mm-hmm. Because i had already moved up to Minnesota when we really dug deep into movie nights. Gotcha. Gotcha.
00:01:23
Speaker
And so for people who don't know, we do a movie night on ah Discord every Sunday. Most Sundays, actually. I mean, we are pretty consistent.
00:01:35
Speaker
Oh, it's amazingly consistent. On our Sunday movie nights. um So much so that there have been times where my dad... has like asked me to do something with him on a Sunday night and then he'll be like oh wait crap you've got movie night never mind and I'm like nice that's right I do have movie night Booth is scheduling her work around movie night now too so you betcha amen perfect she's like no I go to work on on that night it's because you have movie night I'm like yep that's right that's right
00:02:08
Speaker
perfect So, yeah, it started a while ago. we We did do a couple of one-off movies before that um because we've had the Savage Interloose Discord for a long time. And we did a couple of of ones and then somehow and then finally Dot joined and then it turned into
Impromptu vs. Planned Game Sessions
00:02:28
Speaker
to that. Finally. okay That's right.
00:02:33
Speaker
So yeah, that's that's that answer. And before we get into that, though, because we screwed this up last week, how did Eat the Reich go when you ran it?
00:02:45
Speaker
Oh, yeah, it went perfectly fine. um Perfectly fine. that's Yeah, perfectly fine. Well, ah so it was very impromptu. we were supposed to play Han Cluster, but somebody, Christopher, was unavailable that evening. so instead...
00:03:07
Speaker
Instead, we decided to... Or, well, I just threw it out there. Well, I've got a free evening. Let's run a game of ETHREC. Yes. And had... But I mean, that was kind of the goal, though, right? It was to make... To do an impromptu game.
00:03:24
Speaker
i mean, that was kind of part of a part of the assignment. Yeah. to be To be more open to just... First of all, it forced me to not prep like at all.
00:03:36
Speaker
yeah Um, so I definitely felt that there were parts where normally some of my like in between zone dialogue was a little bit more fleshed out and, um, like I gave more context. I gave more detail to going from one location to the next in previous sessions run. And I definitely felt like I didn't do that exceptionally well just because i was like, Oh, well, I guess we'll just go here next.
00:04:12
Speaker
Right. Out of practice. Right. Right. It was good. Yeah. Unrehearsed. Unrehearsed is the better way to put that because it was good practice. And truthfully, like,
00:04:25
Speaker
I felt completely comfortable. And, you know, um Dylan was one of the other ah one of the players that was able to join that night. And
Improving Game Sessions Through Rehearsal
00:04:34
Speaker
I've run it for him previously. So he kind of had an idea of what to expect. And.
00:04:40
Speaker
and I think some of the feedback that I was given was that I could be more gory, um which, you know, don't threaten me with a good time. Yeah. you know Watch out.
00:04:53
Speaker
Yeah. um Yeah. I think it went relatively well. I don't think that there were any major complaints, and at least not that were said to my face this time.
00:05:05
Speaker
e e Well, I find, as we've talked about before, that I i like to run... games over and over again because I get more familiar with them. I get used to how this goes and what to expect from players and I feel more comfortable and the more comfortable I feel, the more fun I have.
00:05:24
Speaker
Yeah. And there's definitely a rehearse Rehearsal stuff that I do when I haven't run a game that I've run for we many times in a long time.
00:05:37
Speaker
Like Figgin, for example, when we did Cluster, I rehearsed Figgin because it's been a while since I've played Figgin and Figgin is not me. So I have to really work at it.
00:05:50
Speaker
I really like that guy. I'm enjoying him. Good, good. But yeah, those in-between moments or those those transitions or the NPCs that you play, sometimes I need a refresher.
00:06:03
Speaker
Yeah, I get that. That I love doing the rehearsing like that. Yeah, I will. that As part of my regular prep, I'll yeah, I go through all of the scenes. I think about the transition dialogue between the two. I think about some of the what the end I shouldn't say, I think I actually do that. So I'll speak it. need to You know, I'll be sitting at my desk and reading through and yeah saying what I want to say at the table. yeah And I think it really helps. It does. Because a lot of times, I mean, you're never going to remember, at least I certainly don't, you know, everything that you...
00:06:41
Speaker
want to say at the table, you're always going to forget no matter how much you prep. But a lot of times you come up with additional things to say. And so like I will, or additional points to make. And so that'll usually cause me to um change my notes for the adventure as well.
00:06:58
Speaker
You know, leading into the, like I found something, um ooh, like this is this is a good point to bring up. This is a good thing to say. This is a good twist on this to do. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you do that, Doc? Do you rehearse?
00:07:11
Speaker
Or have you... du Would you... Um, ah I don't think I have necessarily because I don't know that there have been any instances that I would need to just yet. Like I haven't, I haven't built out enough block text opportunities to really like need to rehearse those moments or or practice those. And like, i think that's,
00:07:40
Speaker
Again, where I am lacking significantly at this point in my GM experience is running more than a one shot. i need I need to run something that is multiple sessions because i don't have NPCs that are like recurring.
00:08:00
Speaker
reoccurring characters that you know will continue to need dialogue with players or or anything like that like I haven't had that experience so I can't talk to the need for rehearsal Yeah, and it's not just rehearsing the block text. It's rehearsing the character. It's like saying— Right, like the vibe that they give vibe, the voice. Yes. Yeah, exactly. Their part their persona.
00:08:28
Speaker
Figgin is not easy. And and there was ah ah there's a lot of stuff that's not in block text that I did, like the the whole shopping thing and the whole hymn Him with a grandmother on Chase thing. like Those are things that I do regularly, but they're not in the text.
00:08:46
Speaker
Right. like it's it's not It's not in the book. I just do that, and I rehearse it before I i play it so that I remember how he sounds. Right. You know, it didn't um but it it didn't seem like it wasn't you, if that makes sense. Yeah. You know what i mean? it was it was It was very smooth ah when with with the way Figgin came out.
00:09:10
Speaker
Okay. For sure. For sure. well But that's what I do. That's what Chris does apparently. and I love to do it. Like when I find a voice, it's just, I can go, i can go. And then ah like Chris said, when I do go and I say this stuff out loud in my office or whatever, I discover cool things to say. and then I'll make a little note. Oh, I should, I should say that because that's great.
00:09:36
Speaker
Like, so I remember it. So I don't forget. Mm-hmm. I actually need to amend my prior statement. I think that my next Bite Size Tales story is actually my first example of that. This won't be a spoiler because this will come out after Bite Size Tales has already been released. So everybody's going to have already listened to it.
00:09:58
Speaker
Hopefully. Twice. please Um, but I, I wrote Cirque for Bite Size Tales this week and I'm going to make it a series and, so and basically have the world building, have the story, you know, fleshed out so that I can put it to tabletop at some point. Like that's always been the goal. That's always what I want it to eventually be.
00:10:22
Speaker
yeah, It is kind of like rehearsing the characters because Flip and Flop, who were the two characters that I came up with that kicked off the idea for Cirque, they like Flip makes an appearance in this story and being able to portray him through my writing like that.
00:10:46
Speaker
I'm going to I'm going to qualify that as rehearsing that character.
Emotional Impact of Movies on Creativity
00:10:51
Speaker
That works. man yeah I'd count it. And I do that when I write prose too, though. So when I when i write dialogue for a story, I say it out loud.
00:11:00
Speaker
Yes. Because it to make it sound natural. Yes. How would I say that? How would say that? gee say that right And then I go, okay, um blah, blah, blah, blah. I'm like, oh yeah, that's it. You do it that way and you format it in a certain way. So it's very conversational and informal and it feels right.
00:11:18
Speaker
Right. Because man, have I read a lot of dialogue block texts that are very stiff, very, very stiff. Right. Stiff or lifeless. Yeah. Yeah. okay Anywho, I'm glad it went well. I'm glad it went well.
00:11:33
Speaker
It did. That was a hell of a tangent. Wow. wow that's we've been We've been sitting on that one. Yeah, they're very true. yeah So movie night. Back to movie night. This is going to be sort of a we're going to figure out how we're going to do our movie discussion podcast as a starting point here.
00:11:53
Speaker
um because we want to do them. And I don't know. i don't know. I don't know yet. We have a series of, we have some questions that we can ask each other um just as a start. So for example, what kinds of movies most move you?
00:12:10
Speaker
And that can, that can, you can interpret that question any way you want. I'm not going for anything specific there. i accept ah the way I think about it. just move you in like a deeply emotional way, regardless of what that emotion might be. Is that kind of what what you're going for? Yeah. Move you or inspire you or yeah, whatever you feel and you can define it for us when you answer, you know, This feels like a cop-out answer of sorts for me anyway, but honestly, ah it goes across the spectrum for me. um there's I don't think that there is a genre of movie that I haven't found at least one film that would...
00:12:56
Speaker
Absolutely. You know, give me some deep, uh, give me, make me feel some deep emotions, you know? Yes. I think you could, you could line up 10 people and, you know, the, the charge of the Rohirrim will absolutely emotionally move them, um to them, ah myself included.
00:13:16
Speaker
Hell yeah. Yeah, it is. it For me, honestly, for me in that series, not to go get ah got off Lord of the Rings, that's the pinnacle scene in across the movies for me. That one right there.
00:13:29
Speaker
That absolute charge against hopelessness. um But yet still facing it bravely is just that hits me on such a deep fundamental level of existence and what it means to be an individual and things to stand up for and all of that. it just that's But I think that that's universally true for for a lot of people. I think that they would find that to be...
00:13:56
Speaker
But by the same token, I and i don't know why this is. i just don't. I've never been able to explain it. um the this There's a two scenes in Mystery Men.
00:14:12
Speaker
Okay. Which absolutely, they they they they just get me right here. um Their very first engagement against Casanova Frankenstein, um when they get him in the tunnel and his limo is pulled over. And it's, I mean, it's comedy. It's it's ridiculousness what's happening. Yeah. but at the same time on this fundamental level You have these absolute zeros who are trying to be heroes standing up against a legitimate bad guy and giving it their all.
00:14:43
Speaker
And they do it. they They do it. They cause some damage and then they get out of there. They flee. And it's their first real victory. And there's something so pure in that for me. Just emotionally, it it absolutely gets it gets me. And then there's a scene later on when they're actually saving and like going to destroy...
00:15:03
Speaker
ah the big machine that Kessel and Frankenstein, again, same thing. it's it's there's something There's something about it. I don't know. I don't know what it is. So, I mean, there's not, I don't think that there's a genre that I couldn't find a movie that wouldn't, that would make me feel something when it probably really shouldn't, you know what I mean? Like both, like that movie's designed to make you laugh and maybe make you feel good. Cause it's just, it is kind of a feel good movie in the end, but it hits me a little bit deeper in a couple of spots. Yeah. Yeah.
00:15:33
Speaker
dot You know, i have a very deep emotional connection, when like emotional reaction, I should say, when I'm watching a movie that I'm thoroughly enjoying. And it doesn't even have to be a movie that I've seen a bunch of times, right? So like...
00:15:50
Speaker
I can tell you exactly where in Moonstruck, which is me and my dad's favorite movie, right? I can tell you exactly where my dad and I will both tear up at the same time. And I can tell you the exact moment that he and I will both bust out laughing, like hysterical with each other.
00:16:11
Speaker
And that same emotional response carries over to movies that I'm seeing for the first time. Like I will still connect so deeply in that way just because like i I just I love that experience and I love the release that comes from that kind of expression. Right. Like.
00:16:32
Speaker
it It almost it almost feels like you are connecting to something that a part of you isn't able to like in reality experience, but you're able to have that same emotional response to those moments.
00:16:52
Speaker
yep Yeah. Yeah. Mm hmm. Yeah, speaking of Lord of the Rings, I think of—there's so many moments in Lord of the Rings. and it's why i It's one of my favorite series. It's why I watch it every year, the extended editions. I i love it, and it's why I read it every couple years, I suppose.
00:17:12
Speaker
There are so many, but what I think what comes to mind immediately—and this is a common refrain with me— is the moment when Aragorn says, you bow to no one.
00:17:26
Speaker
Because that demonstrates to me that the smallest person can change the world. And that's a moment where everybody finally, for once, recognizes it.
00:17:41
Speaker
And that really just hits me super hard. I love it so much. And they're looking like, geez, you know, I don't i just did my thing, you know. But
00:17:53
Speaker
It's an epic moment, and it's earned because of the story that preceded it, you know. And so that's that's a huge one, but there are so many of those in Lord of the Rings where you're just like, you know, like one after the other.
00:18:12
Speaker
Sometimes they're comic moments, you know, like between Gimli and Legolas, and it's so perfectly toned. I don't know. I'm just rambling, but but those are the those are the moments. And then ah one other I'll mention, and there's so many, is I just finished watching American Beauty for the umpteenth time.
00:18:34
Speaker
Have you ever seen that one? I have. I think I've only seen it. I think I've only seen it once. But yes, there's a lot of parts of that that ah have stuck with me, which is unusual because usually I end up forgetting half the stuff I watch in movies and people like, you don't remember this scene? no idea what you're talking about. Have you seen that one, Dot?
00:18:54
Speaker
Because that's going to change if you haven't. um It is remarkable. It is a remarkable movie. I have not seen this movie. I am familiar with this movie.
00:19:07
Speaker
Okay. I mean, maybe it's not one you would want to see, but i but it's, oh my God. and I remember one time watching it. So i I remember it came out about the same time as Eyes Wide Shut came out.
00:19:21
Speaker
And Eyes Wide Shut was a huge thing for me because I was like, anything Stanley Kubrick, I'm there for. And ah it was new. It was the first like, okay, Stanley Kubrick's doing a new movie. I'm going to be there on opening day, right?
00:19:36
Speaker
But American Beauty came out at about the same time, if I remember correctly, and I was just blown away by it. I still i still know who directed it. I still know who wrote it. And um I remember one time watching it at home after the movie theaters and all that, and i I finished it. And I don't know, people might be familiar with it. They might not. But at the end...
00:19:59
Speaker
Kevin Spacey, who I know has baggage anyway, but I still love the movie anyway. um He's saying like, i I know you don't understand what I'm talking about, but you will someday. And that ending is so perfect for what you've seen. And and it it brings home the so the title of the film in a way that they hint at earlier on, but it makes it Oh, so poignant.
00:20:27
Speaker
Like what what what that title means. And I was just bawling during the credits. And just to add insult to injury, they use the Beatles because in the credits.
00:20:40
Speaker
So because, the you know, the world is right. It's just, it's not not with the Beatles, but a cover. But oh my God, I was just, I was, it's the most out of control crying I've, I remember feeling.
00:20:56
Speaker
Other than when I was, you know, in horrible stress and super depressed in college when I was like, when I just broke down on the, on the basketball court one day, because I was just, had no idea what I was going to do with my life.
00:21:09
Speaker
So i just, those moments stick with me. There are so many more. There's so many more. And, and these are the, these are the things that influence me. And I think that's my point here that,
00:21:23
Speaker
there We'll get to a little bit of this, more more about this, but I think that but it's these moments that I want to recreate somehow in my own work, right? i ah Is that true for you guys?
00:21:36
Speaker
Yes, i think to I think to a certain extent. I think that there are... i think for me, yeah, it it comes down to certain feelings that I have felt wanting to try and create something something similar, some some sort of deep emotional response of some sort at the table. you know Not always, for sure, but buts but but but definitely at times.
00:22:02
Speaker
So I guess the best analogy that I can come up with is... there was this this series finale of Lost that i I found that to be absolutely just very beautiful, very poetic. It was extremely well done and there there was an emotion a feeling that I felt in there that I wanted to try and recreate with something I did. And that was with, and I ended up feeling like I hit the mark fairly close in in one of one of the con events that that i that I did.
00:22:31
Speaker
ah not long after that. um And it, you know, I don't want to talk about it because it's it gets a little convoluted in the plot, but it's it's my all good things event. And the nice part is, is that in the time many of the times that I've ran it, I was able to get that feeling. Now, I might have got it more just because I was personally invested in it, running it, but The players gave me enough of what I was looking for to make me feel like I had accomplished that accomplished that task that I had set up to do. Yeah. yeah
00:23:04
Speaker
God? Yes. I think on on the whole, you want your players to feel... invested as much as you are right like it it goes back to that same that same sensation or feeling that i have referred to before like you're putting yourself into running these games and you would hope that the players that come to your table are doing the same and
00:23:38
Speaker
I think the influence that comes from those emotional connections that we feel when we watch movies that, you know, we align with as strongly is one of the bigger ways that we can try and emulate that feeling, right? Like you experienced it from one creative outlet and you try to replicate it for other people in a completely separate outlet. Yeah.
00:24:06
Speaker
So it's like a transference of creative energy. Right. I actually had another question that I wanted to ask that that is a tangent, but relevant.
00:24:17
Speaker
What was the movie that you were lovesick over for the first time? Lovesick as in... I'll give I'll give my example. I'll I will I will tell my story so that you can share yours.
00:24:33
Speaker
When I was 11, watched the original Superman with Christopher Reeve for the first time. i fell head over heels in love with Christopher Reeve as Superman, specifically Clark Kent.
00:24:50
Speaker
Not my first exposure with Superman. Like that, that wasn't, that wasn't what I was going for, but it was specifically Christopher Reeves portrayal of Clark Kent. And I was infatuated, like obsessive almost. Yeah.
00:25:10
Speaker
That was the only thing that I asked for Christmas for that year was the original Superman movies. And it was because I wanted to be able to absorb those movies as often as possible.
00:25:21
Speaker
I found out that he had died prior to that and was devastated. i just, I i fell deep into this need to experience that movie over and over and over and over and over again, specifically in Superman two when Lois and Clark are at knight Niagara Falls, I cannot tell you how many times I watched that scene over and over again, because it gave me, that was what I built romance on when I thought of something romance, or if I wanted to experience like,
00:26:07
Speaker
This is how you're supposed to be romantic with someone. That was what I went to. And it's it's the knowing that Lois has when she finally catches Clark as Superman. And she's like, ha hu I got your number, buddy. and him still trying to keep up appearances, even though he's absolutely head over heels for her, too.
00:26:31
Speaker
And it just, it hits me in a spot so deep. All I think of is the animal rug in the fire. Okay, fair.
00:26:43
Speaker
Of that particular scene. But I mean, I know Superman 2 very well. I've seen it many, many times. That will have to be another one that we do on movie night. And you can watch me swoon. It's fine. Nice.
00:26:55
Speaker
It still happens. like Like, even just talking about it, like, i feel the butterfly flutters because I'm like, I... I love him. I love him in this movie that like it, it was such a deep rooted experience that I had at such a formative age that like going through life. That's what I was expecting. That's what I wanted. ah didn't get that, but that's a different story.
00:27:29
Speaker
Okay. So, um, I have a couple of, of, i've I know there are lots. I mean, you know, there's there's a lot that goes into that, um particularly because i am trans and um that it makes things different for me, I think.
00:27:51
Speaker
I think because there's ah there's a real weird hybrid that happens. Like, I'm still attracted to women, even though I'm trans. And a lot of people will get that mistake, will make that mistake. They'll say, well, because they're trans, they're attracted to the opposite gender. And that's not true all the time. It's it's not true of me. I'm still attracted to women. that's the there's it's It's exclusive. That's the way it works.
00:28:14
Speaker
But there is something else about that, because I also feel that yearning, of being a woman, right? So that contributes to this.
00:28:28
Speaker
And there's a couple of things that I can remember offhand. One is the V miniseries, which we talked ah briefly about in the Discord.
00:28:38
Speaker
The miniseries 1983 was an event on TV. It was this whole thing. They hyped it up like crazy and they were right to hype it up like crazy. It was actually as good as they said it would be.
00:28:53
Speaker
And it's still great. And it's available on Amazon now. It is really timely. And ah what i what i what what gets me about it, even to this day, and I was very young when I watched this, is the Faye Grant character, Juliet Parrish. She is one of my very favorite female characters ever.
00:29:15
Speaker
um As talking about that Frodo-type character, move that that she's a med student. she's She's just trying to do her thing. She turns into a local resistance leader. And by the end she's like a global resistance leader. she's like she's She's playing a huge part in saving the planet.
00:29:36
Speaker
And that's that's a cool arc. It's an amazing arc for somebody who's so beautiful and um so strong in how she portrays herself and that she also has this relationship with Mark Singer, who plays Mike Donovan, who is a very charismatic man himself.
00:30:00
Speaker
Right? And I was rooting for them then. I still root for them now. You know, Mike Donovan is a bit of a, he's he's traditionally masculine, but at the same time, like, I'm still rooting for them.
00:30:14
Speaker
You know, and so that was that was the first one. And it wasn't lovesick, really. it was just a It was just a connection at that point because I was so young.
00:30:26
Speaker
and But later, the lovesick thing happens. And one that I really remember strongly is Jerry Maguire, which is there's a moment where they come home from the date.
00:30:38
Speaker
And, ah you know, Tom Cruise, Jerry Maguire, and what's her name? Renee Zellweger. Renee Zellweger, who this is, I think, one of her first movies. so She was kind of discovered by Cameron Crowe.
Movies' Influence on Humor and Relationships
00:30:51
Speaker
And her dress breaks, like her strap breaks, and he's trying to tie it on and trying to be delicate with her because this is awkward and this is their first date. And they obviously like each other. And we have Paul McCartney's junkie.
00:31:06
Speaker
on playing on guitar in the background because Cameron Crowe was a genius with with background music. And that moment is so intimate.
00:31:17
Speaker
And i that was at a time when I had no prospects of having any kind of romantic relationship. i was There was nothing in my life. There was yearning is what there was. There was like I'd had a couple of – ah People give me, you know, sort it's not, I don't want to make this sound like it's bad. It's fine. It's it's good.
00:31:41
Speaker
The, the i I think we should be friends talk, right? I've had that happen already at this point. And and there's like, i have nothing. I have no prospects whatsoever. And I'm looking at these two have these intimate, remarkable, amazing moments, and I've never had it.
00:32:00
Speaker
And that sticks with me even now. And there are many movies that have those moments that still resonate with me, but that is that's one that I remember well and I still watch and I still just, it's I remember watching it in the theater by myself.
00:32:20
Speaker
And I'm in the dark, basically feeling completely alone and and and being privy and privileged to watch two actors who are very good at what they do be immersive and and show me this intimate story.
00:32:38
Speaker
ah that's That's one that really but really that stands out. Chris? yll Y'all looking at me here now? You know what? Honestly, ah the entire time that you were both going on with your very ah just absolutely sweet stories. um Very, very adorable and endearing. I...
00:33:02
Speaker
i can't think of I can't think of a single thing like that. I think that I came up in a generation where the ideas of relationship dynamics were not very healthily portrayed.
00:33:16
Speaker
ah For as much as I love John Hughes films and a lot of films,
00:33:23
Speaker
comedies and and this this and and this same is true for for sitcoms on TV. no yeah I think that it presented me at at an age where I was very impressionable what relationship dynamics were like. And they're not that way.
00:33:44
Speaker
um And I think... I very much wanted them to be that way or very much thought that that that they should be that way and then couldn't understand why they weren't that way. Like, wait a second. Why is this not working out? this is Why is this not happening the way that mean it was like this way in the movie? So give me an example of like what you expect what what you saw that's like, okay, I wish it was this way. That's the thing. it's like It's very hard for me to do that, to pick on a specific example.
00:34:13
Speaker
i see i That's the thing. is like i don't i don't want to I don't want to unintelligibly pigeonhole a particular movie. Because like I could pick on, say, Ferris Bueller's relationship with his girlfriend in the movie. Okay.
00:34:28
Speaker
Granted, he's not or he's hardly a realistic character. But they do they do but try to portray their relationship in some semblance of reality. But yet at the same time...
00:34:41
Speaker
It's not really, don't know. I don't know. There's just, it's not really real. I could, you know, and I could you could throw any John Hughes movie out there. None of those are really real. yeah They're fun to watch. Yeah.
00:34:54
Speaker
Yeah. But it's but it's not it's not an accurate representation. it's more performative. It is more performative. yeah um So, yeah, i don't I don't really have any the thing. And, you know, I'm thinking, okay, who did I see on screen that I was like, oh, my gosh, she's amazing.
00:35:11
Speaker
ah That's another thing, too, is that it's hard for me to think of someone who jumped out. Oh, man, I've had so many. Well, that's the thing, too, is that they're... Tracy are just girls like you gotta you gotta give us some grace there yeah no no okay let me let me amend my question then to to fit your experience okay what was the first movie experience that you had that impacted you in a way that like you still remember to this day
00:35:47
Speaker
I think the impact that you might be looking for is not necessarily the impact that had. There were movies that absolutely shaped the way I see the world shaped the way I approach the world. yeah in in truthfully, probably one of the most impactful ones if I really had to sit down and think about it.
00:36:11
Speaker
would be ah the movie Airplane, the Zucker film Airplane. The sense of humor and the jokes in that movie are so just outrageous and so...
00:36:25
Speaker
a different than other types of humor, for me anyway, that absolutely affected the way that I look at things in the world.
00:36:37
Speaker
ah yeah For sure. there're it just It just does. And and they And I exhibit that behavior all the time. um Even to this day, I think in a lot of the ways in which I conduct myself, a lot of the ways in which I post replies in various communication channels, um ah because I'll read somebody's response and it may be a legitimate, serious response to something. And i will find a joke in there somewhere that is completely unintended. And sometimes I just can't stop myself.
00:37:11
Speaker
Yeah. And and it it it just that may not be what you're looking for, but that's kind of really what what it is for me, you know, and that doesn't make me a shallow person. but That's just kind of the way things go.
00:37:27
Speaker
knowing you as well as I do and your sense of humor, what a perfect movie to use as your example, because like yeah I'm sitting, I'm sitting here thinking, okay, what's he going to answer? He's probably, well, you know, we've talked about star Wars and that's just, that feels like a cop-out answer, right? It's a hundred percent a cop-out answer, but airplane while classic, a classic,
00:37:54
Speaker
Absolutely. I mean, I cannot tell you that there there is an inside joke between Chris and I that is you don't always have to say the thing because he will make the joke at every opportunity available. And that's the kind of humor of that movie. Yeah, the the the the information desk scene in the beginning where people, the setup is perfect. they're They're asking legitimate questions about which gate to go to for this flight, which gate to go to for that flight, where is this service area, and whatever. And then...
00:38:26
Speaker
Then the last two questions, someone comes up and says, what's the fastest land animal? And the guy's like, cheetah. And okay, thank you. And then he walks away. And then then this woman comes up and she goes, should I fake my orgasms? he says, yes. And she says, thank you. And he walks away. And it's so out of the blue. yeah But at the same time, that it hit me in that spot that's very deep. And I'm like, that's...
00:38:48
Speaker
that's ah It just changed the way I looked at things yeah from that point forward.
Changing Perspectives on Movies Over Time
00:38:54
Speaker
That's All right. Yeah, exactly. So one thing I do want to circle back on about Jerry Maguire, and this is this is related to Dot's question, what what felt real, right, is is there's that moment after the date, which is intimate and amazing and this exciting. it's the It's the first date. It's meeting someone new. It's all that stuff.
00:39:16
Speaker
I know that there are limitations to that. I know that's not how romance works. I know that. But there that's how moments work. Right? And the movie, that particular movie, what I remember when I was younger is that at the end of it,
00:39:34
Speaker
There's that, you know, Tom Cruise, Jerry Maguire comes in and, you know, with the with the ladies talking, is says you know he he goes on and he goes on this little speech and she says, you had me at hello, right?
00:39:47
Speaker
Really beautiful, tender, amazing moment. And I'm sitting there as somebody in college and um and as who who and I'm pretty good at relationships. This is part of who I am, right? I'm like, I'm not sure they're going to last.
00:40:02
Speaker
I'm not sure they're going to last because of what's happened before and how this is going. Like who he is, who she is what she needs, what he needs. I'm not sure. I don't think it's going to last.
00:40:17
Speaker
And what's fascinating to me is partly that's what makes it real. That's what makes it so resonant to me is that, okay, they've covered both ends of this, but most people don't see that.
00:40:30
Speaker
Most people who are watching the movie are just like, oh, that's ah that's a you know tender way to say goodbye. And okay, they got back together. Isn't that so sweet? They're going to live happily ever after. And I'm like, no, not sure they are.
00:40:42
Speaker
But what's fascinating is when I watch it now as an older adult, who is, you know, 54 years old or whatever, who's been in a relationship for 26, seven years or whatever.
00:40:53
Speaker
um I go and I watch it. I'm like, you know, they might last. They might. It might be okay. This might actually work out for them.
00:41:04
Speaker
and And it's fascinating what my perspective is and why that, I don't know why I think that. But the movie has changed because I have changed.
00:41:15
Speaker
And I think that's common. But that that that was what brought me to mind about about, or what came to mind about Dot's question. It is interesting, the internal headcanon that you will build up around certain things about how stuff played out or how...
00:41:33
Speaker
um what the real meaning of ah of a movie might be or who the main character actually is. Um, you know, the, the, those are always kind of fun. I'm going to be started on that. I'll talk about Barry Lyndon, but go ahead.
00:41:46
Speaker
What Chris just said made me think of a conversation that he and I had forever ago. um when so i hadn't seen Max Fury Road. Fury Road, yeah. yeah yeah love i love its So good. It is. It's amazing. So So I love having the conversation with people who have seen Fury Road as to who's the main character of this movie. you know Who is this movie actually really about? And, you know, the obvious answer for most people, they do, they go towards Furiosa.
00:42:23
Speaker
um You will get some people who say, yeah, it's Max, but most people will say Furiosa. And then they will usually end up agreeing that Max, he's just there as a driving force. so you know He's a killer. Yeah, he's really not what movie's about. And for me, the the the the movie, the main character in the movie is actually Nux.
00:42:48
Speaker
Yes. ah the The war boy. And for a variety of reasons, but as as someone, he his character... has the largest arc and personifies everything that really is happening in the movie where he is he is a vehement disciple of Immortan Joe. there There is no one else. There is no other.
00:43:10
Speaker
um Everything revolves around his worship of that individual. And then, as in effect, his God turns his back on him. And then his eyes begin to get opened to something much larger than himself. And he begins to realize that there is more to life than what he had. And he goes through this this beautiful redemption arc and really personifies the hope that is trying to be established in the movie. Yeah.
00:43:39
Speaker
um And I love that fact. I love the fact that the main character is hidden like that. um that That's excellent storytelling. And that makes me extremely jealous because i I'm not that good of a storyteller. Yeah, we're going to cover that some some other time, I'm sure. it what what was your experience with Fury Road How do you fit into this story?
00:43:58
Speaker
So... Before I watched it, that was what Chris asked me. He was like, after you finish, I want you to tell me who you think the main character of the movie was. And like, you know, just saying, I got it right. um So, you know, I i it it was the experience of watching that character have a full transformation like throughout the movie. He has the character arc that carries over from beginning to end.
00:44:38
Speaker
And yes, there are influential characters that have big impact at various points throughout the movie, but like consistently there is character development for his character ye and watching that movie for the first time. Like I saw it immediately, which, you know, was cool.
00:45:01
Speaker
So again, like pointing to the excellent writing skills that I don't possess yet, but strive for someday. I know. Well, my hidden main character movie is Barry Lyndon.
00:45:15
Speaker
And I don't know if you guys are familiar with Barry Lyndon. It's a Stanley Kubrick movie. It's an amazing movie. It's a period piece about ah ah this Irish guy in ah colonial England And um he's trying to make a name for himself, Barry Lyndon. And so he ends up getting it. I mean, he doesn't really get a title. He's trying to get a title.
00:45:39
Speaker
And it's this whole really kind of subdued, Like what what did what did um quiet desperation kind of thing? Like the pink, what the way. Oh yeah. Hanging out in quiet desperation. Yes. Right. And, and he, he's just trying, he's trying to better his station and he marries this woman.
00:46:00
Speaker
Um, uh, Miss Linden, I forget i forget her name, the the actress's name, but she's gorgeous, just a gorgeous actress and an English actress besides. And the cool thing is she does a Muppet show later and it's awesome. But um she's the main character of the movie, even though she doesn't show up until halfway through.
00:46:23
Speaker
And ia think, and I don't think I'm alone. And when you look at the movie, With that lens, it changes, it transforms the entire movie.
00:46:35
Speaker
Because especially if you are have any kind of empathy or or experience being a woman. And ah so I won't go into too much more of it because we should just, you have to watch it to to see. Because it's there's more to it than just what happens. There's how it how the story is told. It's how it's framed. It's how it's i it's a
Challenges of Sharing Favorite Movies
00:46:59
Speaker
Stanley Kubrick movie. That's the way they think these things work. But that's my favorite that I that i think is is a different main character than you think it is. I mean, he's in the title, but...
00:47:10
Speaker
He is a main character, but I think that she is the main character. The main character, yeah. But, so, before we stop, yeah one of the ones that we were all interested in hearing the answer to is, what are the movies that you are afraid to show other people?
00:47:29
Speaker
And why? don't know if it's so much that I'm afraid to show it. It's just maybe because... I know it's a weird one.
00:47:40
Speaker
um But we've talked about Return to Oz. And I know the both of you. feel like I've seen I think you mentioned that you had seen it before. But Chris, I know you haven't because we've talked about that. It is.
00:47:58
Speaker
It's one of those movies that's like a fever dream. You remember certain parts of it and you're like, no, that couldn't have happened. And then you watch it again. You're like, hu no it happened, but it gets worse or better or just weirder.
00:48:15
Speaker
and That would be one of the movie night movies if we were to watch it that i i would be like making an uncomfy face the majority of the time. Just because it's not so much that it is a bad movie.
00:48:32
Speaker
It's that the world that that movie is built on. means so much to me that to see it done that way actually kind of trips me up a little bit because like I'm a huge Wizard of Oz fan I'm a huge Wicked fan like I ah my name is Dorothy for crying out loud if I wasn't just if I have to live up to the namesake right so To watch Return to Oz and have it be this alt horror-esque type of vibe when I'm expecting, yeah, the Wicked Witch of the West is a baddie. She's, you know, not great.
00:49:18
Speaker
um And neither was Wicked Witch of the East. But the portrayal of them in the original Wizard of Oz movie it it it's not weird horror or or or scary.
00:49:35
Speaker
It's you can tell that she is the villain, right? And she has good reason to be. bitch dropped a so ah house on her sister. Like, I mean, come on.
00:49:46
Speaker
Return to Oz, it goes a little too far into the weird for me. and it makes me feel like it's not actually part of that world. But there's so much about it that does so much to build the world that like, if you haven't watched it, you don't understand certain things that lead up to other things. And it's, it's a weird timey-wimey thing that happens in that universe.
00:50:16
Speaker
I have to accept it for what it is, but I don't like to have to accept it. So you only, you have your, it's not like you love it and you're afraid of what other people will think of it. It's that you're not sure about it and you're not sure what other people will think of it. Yeah. I'm afraid to share it with other people because I don't want I don't want to lose credibility on good movie choices because I don't feel like it is going, it's one of those ones that either you are like, okay, yeah, we watched a movie or you're like, the hell was that
00:50:58
Speaker
wheelies? What the hell are those? Exactly. know I've seen it. I remember it's, it it's a thing. Yeah. Mine tend to be ones that are ah that I'm afraid other people won't like that i deeply love. That's where I'm at That's mostly where where where it comes from. I think there's there's probably other criteria there too, but that's what – or it has, I guess, like movies that have actors that have have have baggage or whatever. oh yeah. That's another good one. where Where I'm just like, I love it and i I'm not going to stop loving it. Like, i you know, I just can't. i it It means too much to me and I i understand the problem, but –
00:51:49
Speaker
I can't take this movie out of my head or what's my experience because of that. and But I get afraid and i I get very reticent to say this is one of my favorite movies in front of other people because of that.
00:52:03
Speaker
I'll usually go the undersell route. um So if we talk about movies and like, like, oh my gosh, I love that movie. and then then I will immediately pull back and try and throw all these qualifiers out there. Well, if you like this kind of thing, or if you think this is neat, then you'll probably like you know, the movie in general, but you know, no I'm not saying we got to watch it. I'm just saying, you know, is that is that protection? Do you think for yourself? hundred percent. Yeah. do that too Yeah. Because, because if I'm, if I'm sitting down, you know, the the rare exceptions, but if I'm sitting down with someone to watch a movie,
00:52:43
Speaker
Not that that happens, but if but if that was to happen, that um and I knew that it was something that they were very skeptical about, I'm not going to enjoy the movie.
00:52:56
Speaker
oh I'm not going to do because I'm I am now far too nervous about how, you know, this other ah mysterious made up individual is going to appreciate the movie, you know, because they've already like, I'm not sure about this one, you know. And so, yeah. um yeah Yeah. So I'll always undersell.
00:53:17
Speaker
Mm hmm. ah So wait, so what are your examples? I love the 1980 Flash Gordon. I love that movie. I love that movie. I love that movie so much. um but And I love it on so many different levels. it's i love the I love the B movie quality of it.
00:53:35
Speaker
I love the overemphasized drama. The visuals are great. Brian Blessed is phenomenal in this movie because he's so over the top and it's just wonderful. The writing is terrible in places, but I love it.
00:53:50
Speaker
And but how do you sell that movie to somebody? You know, you can't just say, I mean, because they're going to recognize the name Flash Gordon. Mm hmm. But they were like, oh, yeah, Queen did the music for that. Okay, right. Well, let's so I've heard that song before or whatever.
00:54:05
Speaker
But it's like, how are you going to sell this movie, you know, to someone? Because it's, it's what do you say? There's there's a scene in here where he fights guards with large eggs and pretends they're footballs.
00:54:19
Speaker
but It's a great scene and the music is freaking awesome. Yeah. And it's and and you've got Dale Arden doing some bullshit cheerleading stuff on the side, which is just corny AF. But yet it's so much fun, you know, and it because it's just just it's it's it doesn't take itself too seriously, but then it does take itself seriously. And again,
00:54:45
Speaker
At the very end, the the emotional response, it gets me again. Flash is victorious, and you know he's he's bought in to saving the world.
00:54:55
Speaker
I don't know. I love that movie. But it's it's a hard one to convince people. Because even there's low-level erotica going on in this one. So it's not like the guy could necessarily have the kids come and watch it. Right. So...
00:55:08
Speaker
Yeah, that's one of the ones that's one of the reasons American Beauty is so hard for me. to like I've got to be careful because I love it so much. But it's an R-rated movie. It depicts underage kind of stuff going on. and but But there's reason. There's rhyme and reason for that. And and it has Kevin Spacey, right? So I'm like, yep I can't just...
00:55:32
Speaker
throw it to the world. And now I'm doing that. I'm doing it. I'm throwing it to the world. That it is one of my favorite. And it's one of the most impactful movies I've ever seen. um Because it, it has a theme that lands with me, know, in a crazy way. And I can't even really explicitly tell you what that theme is.
00:55:53
Speaker
That's why it's so powerful. Right. But I'm afraid to, i'm I'm very careful about showing that to other people. And there are others like that. There's ones that I just love, love, love that I'm afraid to show to other people because I'm afraid of what they'll say. You know, i know ah just to touch on it real quick. I know I thoroughly disappointed Chris um when we watched mystery men.
Conclusion and Community Invitation
00:56:20
Speaker
um That was, we watched that with a, with a separate group of friends, but yeah,
00:56:27
Speaker
I did not appreciate that movie for as much as as Chris does. Ben Stiller, man. He's just my favorite. He's my favorite. I need preamble before being introduced to a new movie sometimes because otherwise i don't go into it. I don't go into the watching of it with the right lens. So Chris tells me, oh it's this amazing superhero movie.
00:56:56
Speaker
oops I don't understand why you love this movie so much. This is dumb. Because he shovels very well.
00:57:09
Speaker
Thanks for hanging out with us. Whether you're behind the screen, at the table, or lost in your own story, we hope you found a little inspiration. If you enjoy our tangents, be sure to connect with us on Discord and follow us on the socials to keep the conversation going.
00:57:23
Speaker
Until next time.
00:57:35
Speaker
That reminds me, the screenplays that I wrote when I was in sixth grade couldn't get two genres further apart. One was sci-fi and one was actual romantic drama.