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TSP EP 148 Part 1: Discussion with Content Creator & Filmmaker Josh Ampuero Featuring Special Guest Alex Duarte
17 Plays5 days ago
In this episode, Tom and Steve are joined by filmmakers Josh Ampuero and Alex Duarte. They discuss must see documentaries and The Thing in this first part of their conversation.
So come along with us as we learn a thing or two!
If you'd like to discover more from Josh you can find his Youtube channel here:
https://www.youtube.com/@JoshMakesMovies1/feature
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Transcript
Introduction and Casual Banter
00:00:00
Speaker
ah No, not a beer. Just sh regular soda. I mean, it's like... That's the flavor, but they have a beer. Hey, you can you two be quiet for second? I'm
00:00:09
Speaker
Steven, go ahead. I sound good? You sound good? You always sound good. All right. hey you ah Left or right, Steven? um I'll take left.
00:00:22
Speaker
You know me. I like mine. He's a left nut kind of guy. All right, everybody. And... ah Fuck, already lost my pen. There it is. Sorry, I actually do take notes ah sometimes.
00:00:35
Speaker
Let me put my phone on silent. Well, thank you, Tom, for figuring out how to make our headphones work. um It sounds so much better. Remember Alex we had that huge issue with you.
00:00:46
Speaker
It's nice being able order to hear myself. Yeah. or Actually i I don't know. I kind of don't like hearing myself. but You really don't? You don't really hear yourself though right? No. yeah I hear oh you. You're just kind of boosted.
00:00:58
Speaker
but You have a good voice man. You got like that ah Barry White before he went into puberty. But it like but still got like, hey, lady.
00:01:10
Speaker
Huge compliment. Alex is in the house. No, I'm blushing. All right, everyone. Welcome to Twin Shadows Podcast, podcast about film, filmmaking, and filmmakers. Brought to you, as always, by the two dudes who used to work at Stater Brothers, Tom and Steve. Yeah, the same one, too, huh? The
Guest Introductions and Backgrounds
00:01:25
Speaker
same one. Just, you know, Stephen's like 10 years older than me, so... he worked there a little ah He worked there at different times. I left my mark.
00:01:34
Speaker
But today we have two special guests. well I don't know if we can call all Alex a guest anymore. He's on the show so much. Well, like you said, Tom, Steve, and sometimes Alex. Yeah, Tom, Steve, and sometimes Alex. um But other than that, we also have ah an actual special guest.
00:01:49
Speaker
Returning to the show, we have Josh here. um i was going to say your last name, but I always butcher it. So Josh, can you? ah Josh Ambuero. Thank you. You're far too kind. Yes. We have Josh back on the show. If you guys remember, Josh is a filmmaker that lives up in the high desert and has made some cool, funny stuff. uh, Oscars apology video that Steven and I helped them on, uh, was released a year ago. Um, and Oscars is
Remembering Catherine O'Hara & Schitt's Creek
00:02:12
Speaker
coming up again. So make sure two years ago, right. yeah Um, it would be two years. This Oscars. Yep. Um,
00:02:20
Speaker
So starting things off, I guess we're going to start off on a downer. Catherine O'Hara. Hara? I think it's O'Hara. Catherine O'Hara. She passed away yesterday. Yeah, at 71 too, man. Yeah. Dang. My mom's three years older than her. That news kind of hit me because she's she was ah like ah she's definitely like a ninety s mom yeah like Steve Guttenberg is like the 90's dad Catherine O'Hara is definitely like that's a name if you only you would only know if you were from the right if you were alive during the 90's but she kind of had a resurgence recently with her turn in Schitt's Creek which I didn't watch because it was shit
00:03:03
Speaker
S-H-I-T did Jake watch it? I imagine Jake watched it Katie loved it like the you didn't like it? i just ah comedy for me is it's tough You got to be really good to for a comedy me for me to like it.
00:03:16
Speaker
I watched the first two episodes and I laughed a couple times, but I also, I didn't really see the, too much of the appeal, but then again, it didn't win the Emmy until it like its second or third season.
00:03:27
Speaker
Like I think season two or season three is when it, when it won all the, like all the Emmys that it was nominated for. Well, also a lot of funny TV shows kind of take like a season or two to really get going. Like Always Sunny kind of took the second or third season. Well, when Danny DeVito. The second season when Danny came on. I think Seinfeld took like a season, right? To really get going. Yeah.
00:03:49
Speaker
yeah It's also interesting because a lot of those shows, Seinfeld, It's Always Sunny, they have short ah first seasons. and then you can kind of they cut If you get they renewed, right that's when it's they it's like they really are hitting their stride. yeah because ah Especially for those two ah instances, Seinfeld and It's Always Sunny, like those guys...
00:04:08
Speaker
ah really like it was like if this is make it or break it like Jerry had a he was he had a career but he wasn't the Seinfeld we know today yeah when in 1980 in 1988 when they were making the deal for that show and it was released in 1989 for the first season and then really it's that old I was born in 1989
Documentary Preferences and Suggestions
00:04:28
Speaker
holy god yeah me too oh Alex is the baby in this episode yep being born in 2013 yeah nice He was also on Epstein Island, yeah coincidentally. Just for vacation. grew It grew him up real fast. He became a man when he came back. yeah ill speaking I had no gray hairs before. Speaking of speaking of Epstein Island, the Melania documentary oh yeah was released, and it's been critically... ah
00:04:57
Speaker
ah I was going to say, very... Critically reviewed? No, I going to say, like... ah I don't know if anyone's reviewing They're just bombing it, right? Yeah, I was going to say it's review-bombed pretty hard. ah Some of the reviews are pretty funny of ah comparing Melania to Ava Braun.
00:05:14
Speaker
Oh, really? Things like that. It's like, okay, like, the... um But the other side of things, right? Trump is like, oh i'm going to get this into the Library of Congress and we're going to get this going to be a film that we have to watch. Kids are going to have to watch in school and shit.
00:05:27
Speaker
ah What I wanted to bring up about this topic, though, is one, does anyone even care? do you care about the Millennium Document at all you guys? And then um what is a documentary where you would want people to watch instead of Millennium? Oh, shit.
00:05:40
Speaker
Well, let our guests go first. Hey, nice one, buddy. I don't watch too many documentaries, but I would say ah one, i think it's on Netflix. It's called ah Icarus.
00:05:52
Speaker
Hmm. I think I've seen that. That's very familiar. the Russian one with the the doping of the athletes in the Olympics. Yeah. and That one was really good. Yeah, that was really good. Well, Netflix actually has a lot of good documentaries. I've been watching the P. Diddy one from 57. Oh, wow.
00:06:11
Speaker
But I can't watch it that often because I'm always with the kids and it's like... ah Yeah. How is that? I haven't tuned into any of... It's interesting because you know you have Epstein coming out with all the shit he's doing and it's like P. Diddy runs very parallel to the crazy shit yeah that Epstein was doing. So it's just kind of interesting to have those two together it's pretty good it's entertaining yeah yeah and i think 50 cent did a really good job it's it's he bashes him but it's not like outright bashing him in a sense it's like here's the person and i don't even gotta bash because he's just a piece of shit you can also just see 50 cent smile when he was dropping this right he's just like yeah i guess he also put it on a tv channel where that they watch in the prison that puff daddy's in oh
00:07:00
Speaker
No way. He would have to see it, yeah. It's on repeat. That's his fucking... That's his sentence. He has to watch that on repeat for 18 months or whatever. He's getting smashed up by some 300-pound dude. Well, he's probably doing the smashing on us. Anyway, it works. might be a little He might like the smashing. think he might, yeah. I mean, how much baby oil did he smuggle into prison? How much baby oil do you need?
00:07:23
Speaker
But Alex, how about you? Do you watch documentaries? No, Josh. Josh. Me? The whiskeys are in guys. He's looking at all three of us. He's like, we're the same person. I was looking at Alex and I meant to say, Josh, because Alex is sitting in my natural across from me because we're having like a cross pattern kind of going. Yeah, you're in such a weird spot for me. I'm just looking through my arm at your eyes. For me, it's like looking at ah Wilson from fucking Home Improvement when I'm looking at Steven because I can only see all over his...
00:07:56
Speaker
yeah and it Layers and layers, you guys. Welcome to Twin Shadows Podcast. ah But yes, Alex and I mean Josh. ah What documentaries do you watch? Do you watch documentaries? Not as much as i i wish i I really do think it's something that I'm missing out on. I have seen a few that i really enjoyed. The Melania one, um i'm i'm I think I'm only intrigued to see like what they would do a documentary on the First Lady about. Like, I don't know anything about the First Lady. Oh, you don't know what it's about? You want me tell you? i Well, I think, I believe it's about like the 20 or so days leading up to inauguration or the the election. I don't know. Yeah. But what did Melania do in those 20 days that deserves a documentary about, I don't, you know, I, And maybe I'm just saying, maybe she did a lot, you know? So, okay. Dude, she picked out her dress. Okay. She picked out the candles for the gala that happened afterwards. So that's that's what I mean. Like, it intrigues me a little bit to know, like, if there was something important that she did in those 20 days. But I don't know. She got supported by ice? Yeah. But if it's about like, you know, Trump's trying to get it into all that. I mean, that sounds very Trumpian, but no, I'm not i'm not too ah super interested. I did see the ah the Michael Jordan documentary that came out a few years ago, The Last Dance. I thought that was really good. I don't know you saw that. Didn't that get nominated for an Oscar?
00:09:19
Speaker
Probably. I don't know. It was an eight part documentary. So I don't know if that would, if that would maybe an Emmy or something. I think it was a, it was a Netflix or I don't actually, don't, I don't even know, but I thought it was really good. I remember watching a bowling for Columbine long time ago, but Michael Moore documentary. I thought that was really good. Trump gets in the office and he stops making documentaries. Yeah. That's really good. Maybe he ran off. Cause he's got him. Yeah. Yeah. But I also, you know, then there was also a documentary about Michael Moore, like in his like documentary tactics and stuff that kind
Documentary Ethics and Filmmaking Impact
00:09:52
Speaker
of put a sour taste in. it was like a smear? Yeah. Well, not, not, well, yeah, I guess you could call it a smear, but it was, it was like the lady who did it. She actually, she actually got Michael Moore on camera once or twice. And, and she like exposed. I mean, that's hard. You just get a wide angle lens. Point it west. Yeah.
00:10:12
Speaker
And she excuses comes over the hill she exposed like a lot of the stuff that he like kind of fabricated for the documentary. So that kind of lowered him a little bit in my perspective. Obviously it could have also been not fully accurate or or what have you. But, um but I did, I do remember liking Bowling for Columbine. There was another one that came out a few years ago on Disney. Big Columbine fan, huh?
00:10:34
Speaker
No, not really. There was one about ah howard um Howard Ashman, I think, he the guy that wrote um Little Shop of Horrors, the the music for Little Shop of Horrors.
00:10:45
Speaker
um And he also did ah he did the he did the music for ah Beauty and the Beast, a Little Mermaid, and one other one, I don't remember. But they did it's it's on Disney Plus right now. it's it's a really I really enjoyed that one.
00:10:56
Speaker
Okay, cool. Steven, it's your turn. ah Well, I think it is important and it's interesting because um you know who directed it was Brett Ratner. I know. i was like So that's a little that's right coincidental. I did hear about that. Yeah, that's funny. Because, you know, Brett Ratner, he got busted for like banging a lot of little boys, young age guys. boys Like 16 to 18 year olds. i yeah He's involved with Epstein?
00:11:21
Speaker
Yes. no Yeah, you don't remember seeing him on the island? I was in part of the second release. And the other thing, too, is ah Brett Ratner, not only does he have the little boy accusations, but also against actresses that in his films. Olivia Munn came out and said that he tried to all was that get a role. She offered a role for sex, essentially. Yeah.
00:11:43
Speaker
And so, yeah, Brett Ratner, huge fucking creep. Yeah, he's like a gay Weinstein. Oh, okay. But i i know I didn't know he went for girls, too. was the gay Weinstein is, what's his name? Brian Adams. Kevin Spacey? No, the X-Men.
00:11:58
Speaker
Yeah, Brett Ratner, isn't it? No. Brian Singer. Brian Singer. Oh, I that was the same guy. Yeah, yeah. I thought that Brett Ratner and Bryan Singer were the same person. No, their names just sound similar. Oh shit, well, sorry Brett Ratner, maybe you're a good guy, I don't know. No, Brett Ratner is a piece of shit. Oh, okay, okay. No, Brett Ratner is huge piece of shit. Objectively, objectively. Okay, any one named Brett is a piece of shit. Maybe he doesn't fuck little boys. Oh shit, that's Bryan Singer. Bryan Singer definitely fucks little boys.
00:12:24
Speaker
ah Okay, sorry, Bryan Singer is the little boy fucker. Okay. ah What was this? How documentaries are important because Brett Ratner fucks little little boys? Well, I mean, that's just interesting. which But also it's interesting because I think ah Jeff Bezos paid like 70, 75 million for the documentary.
00:12:42
Speaker
Yeah. And so this is just an out in the open money laundering scheme or bribe, right? Like this is Jeff Bezos buying favor with Trump out of the open. So for that,
00:12:55
Speaker
for that perspective alone, it's interesting, you know, regardless what the content is within the documentary. um I don't know. Maybe it's good. i Who knows? I'm not going to watch it. So what documentary should people watch instead?
00:13:09
Speaker
You know, I've always heard of like one of the great documentaries being Restrepo? Restrepo? Oh, yeah. The one and ah over in Afghanistan. the I haven't seen that one in a long time. that's supposed to be considered one of the great documentaries to see. Baraka was a really cool one that I saw, you guys are interested. Yeah, Baraka. Did you ever see that one? No. Well, it's like nine hours long. I think I haven't finished it. Yeah, I fell asleep, but I woke up and it was still up. It's absolutely gorgeous, almost like a nature documentary. Yeah.
00:13:41
Speaker
ah But there's no there's no narration or dialogue. It's just music. And then you're just watching like these- yeah ah There's no narration? No narration. You're just watching. like it's It will like shoot to like a village in Panama or something. And then it will go to a volcano in Iceland. I'm glad you mentioned the nature because I was going to say it's like planet Earth but focused on humans. Yeah. um Very beautiful, wonderful-looking documentary. And then another one that I saw-
Storytelling and Cultural Narratives in Documentaries
00:14:08
Speaker
I've seen a few. I'm not a big documentary fan, but I feel like I should be more. Um,
00:14:15
Speaker
But one I saw was like based on street art with Banksy. Oh, I seen that one. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Exit Through the Gift Shop. Yes, Exit Through the Gift Shop. a great one. That's a really good one. one yeah That was a really good one if you're interested about Banksy and street street art.
00:14:29
Speaker
And then I saw it. I think it was on HBO Max. It was a Bob Dylan documentary. And basically, they just follow Bob Dylan around.
00:14:40
Speaker
ah for the day as he's going to do a performance. And it's just following him day in his life. Is it Don't Look Back? and It might be. Don't Look Back is really good. I'm surprised. When he's real young, right?
00:14:51
Speaker
Yes. Yeah. And it's in black and white? It's in black and white. And it's just like they're following him around all the time. And then he just does a performance, right? And then it ends with him leaving? Yeah, but you kind of see a lot of the behind the scenes stuff. Yeah, exactly. That's a great one. That might be it. Yeah, it was so good. And there was the Timothee Chalamet one that...
00:15:08
Speaker
movie he came out with that he got but got nominated. Sorry, I only got three hours of sleep, so it's really hard for me to form thoughts right now. But it was like, dude, they should have done that Timothee Chalamet, Bob Dylan film and just done it on the documentary and then make it a film of the documentary. That would have been cool. Yeah. ah yeah but that But that was a really good documentary. I think that one's...
00:15:33
Speaker
One of them is directed by Martin Scorsese. i think Not this one though. Because this one was definitely done like in the 60s. Martin Scorsese was making stuff. but yeah, I've seen that Scorsese one. That was the one I'm talking about. Don't look back.
00:15:48
Speaker
is Because that Scorsese one really good too. Directed by D.A. Pennebaker. It's probably Don't Look Back. It probably is. Yeah. Sorry, so Alex. you You're saying words, but I don't know what they mean. D.A. Pennebaker. Honestly, you should check these out because they're pretty damn good. um But so, Tom, let me obviously throw this back at you, your own question. But on top of that, do you think that documentaries are important for filmmakers who do fictional work to watch?
00:16:20
Speaker
On top of all your questions. Yeah, I guess so. I think it's good to just watch ah things in general. ah But I don't know if I would say watching documentaries is going to make you a better at telling stories. But maybe will. I probably will. Just knowing what happens in real life sometimes. you know They always say life is stranger than fiction. agree with that. We're living it. When you watch...
00:16:45
Speaker
And see the ah extraordinary things that happen. Maybe that can also kind of inform you that like, okay, the story that you're writing about, you know, hobos like a bump fighting for, you know, milk on the side of the street could be real, you know, that's probably a thing.
00:16:58
Speaker
Um... So just keep that an open mind. And ah yes, I do think documentaries are important. ah is it So then is it kind of from the perspective of like any film is worth watching and learning from just because it's a film?
00:17:18
Speaker
Yes, that's definitely... ah I think that's there's truth to that. But also... documentaries for the most part always are telling a story. Oh yeah. Um, they all, you always hear like, Oh, we started the documentary about, um, you know, youth basketball, but we found that this one kid was like, you know, Michael Jordan. And we made a movie about an eight part series called racing hopes or whatever it was called. Um, uh, one last shoe. can't remember what was called. What was it called? Josh, the last dance, last dance. There you go. Um, one last shoe. Have you guys seen or heard of Hearts of Darkness? Oh, course. The documentary of- The making of Apocalypse Now. I've never seen it, but that's like my list. Yes, mine too. I've seen- That one and the Dr. Monroe? Yes. Oh, I heard- Yeah, I've heard of that one too. Yeah, yeah. I want see that one too. got to see that. The one where they drove through the ball crazy, that movie. She went crazy?
00:18:17
Speaker
Well, I don't know. She like- that I guess the whole set, everyone went crazy and they replaced the director like three times and- Yeah. Insane. Marlon Brando is like 900 pounds. to fucking walk. He's just jumping. But have you seen Hearts of Darkness, Tom? Mm-hmm. You have? Okay. Yeah. Okay, yeah. There was a while where I was i was completely obsessed with Apocalypse Now. Okay, interesting. I think I've seen it too. And yeah, that has the the that has the clips of Martin Sheen like having his heart attack during that scene where he's smashing up the mirror in his apartment. because he had a heart attack. He had a heart attack. Was it? wasn't
00:18:51
Speaker
dirt It wasn't during, it was after. Right after, yeah yeah. That scene put him into, like, the stress. And, I mean, I'm sure. And, I mean, how old is he? like In his 30s? 30s? Jesus Christ, dude. Well, there's this filmmaker that I follow on YouTube who talks about... um how he watched um Apocalypse Now and he thought it was okay. It was an okay movie. And then he watched hearts of Hearts of Darkness and was just amazed by this incredible odyssey that they took to make the movie. And then when he watched...
00:19:23
Speaker
Apocalypse Now again, he loved it so much more because he knew all of the shit and the hell that they had to go through just to make the movie. And to him, it just became a much more ah deeper, better viewing experience for him. So I thought that was really cool. I definitely, I've only seen ah the movie once. I've only seen Apocalypse Now once, but I really want to watch it again and then watch the documentary right after. Well, I think that also is true for just about any movie. Like if I watched a documentary on it or a review on it that's in depth,
00:19:53
Speaker
and And then then i go back watch it again. I just have a newfound appreciation. Because you just learn aspects of it that you didn't know about. Look at Clerks, right? Clerks as a movie is is good. But once you like like hear the Kevin Smith behind-the-scenes story, him selling his comic collection to end up and maxing all his credit cards, how they ah took that he ah premiered the movie in in New York, and like a one critic saw it and was like, hey, you should...
00:20:20
Speaker
Yeah, there was like, that there he says there was like four people in the audience, right? And just one of them happened to be a guy that had connections and got and was like, hey, you should go Harvey Weinstein in Sundance. And then, you know. Who's Weinstein guy? The rest is history. got I got another one I completely forgot about was A Film Worker.
00:20:40
Speaker
Oh, yes. That's the Stanley Kubrick one about Leon Vitelli. Yeah. Yeah. Um, Leon Vitelli, he was an actor that was in Barry Lyndon. He played the kid, right? His adopted son. Yeah. He played, um, oh God, I know his name. Lord Bullington. Lord Bullington.
00:20:57
Speaker
Yeah. He's Lord Bullington. He, uh, he's the one that, uh, causes, uh, Barry Lyndon to lose his leg. Right. They have a duel. Which is so funny. Or his foot. I can't remember if it's his whole leg or his foot. I think it's like from the knee down, I believe. yeah.
00:21:13
Speaker
Yeah, and he was on the set of this film and worked on it and essentially was like, I want to dedicate my life to Kubrick. He became just warship guy. became his muse. Yeah.
00:21:23
Speaker
His fucking slave. Yeah, and he pretty much just was his... And he knew Kubrick? Yeah. He was his AD, his personal assistant. He essentially dropped his his life from being an actor to be Kubrick's right-hand guy.
00:21:37
Speaker
Yeah. Sacrificed his career. If anything, he probably have better career because I think towards the end of all this, like he was broke asking his kids for money and wasn't getting credibility. Like they had like the museum of like all of Kubrick's films or something. And like ah they didn't give him any credit for like a lot of the stuff that he...
00:21:57
Speaker
He pushed for and stuff. Yeah. That's the documentary was about? Does it cover like how crushed he was when Kubrick died then? ah I don't think it's so much about him being crushed when Kubrick died, but him like just the sacrifice that he made, like his mental and physical health to get these films made and doing everything Kubrick asked.
00:22:18
Speaker
yeah like He literally is, i mean, a film worker, like you know there's a reason why that's the title. Because he fucking did anything and everything for Kubrick. Nice. i i I have heard of that. I do want to check it out. Okay, that sounds yeah creepy. He's a real, yeah. was He was like the first apostle of Kubrick. In a weird way, yeah. and it's And it's like when you tie yourself to um someone else's success and legacy and then that person dies...
00:22:47
Speaker
You're fucked. You got nothing for yourself. I mean, yeah i think he wait I think that he he tried to make some films, but you ah he couldn't. Kubrick didn't even fix his teeth. But I will say, ah yeah, go ahead, Alex. ah No, the one of the crazy parts that thought was like, I don't know pretty interesting where somebody said that he would purposely sleep on like just the doormats instead of actually sleeping on a bed.
00:23:16
Speaker
So he would be uncomfortable. So he would like, he wouldn't have like, you know, he wouldn't be so comfortable that he would sleep for a long ass time. He would sleep on the floor mat so he could just sleep for a little bit and get up and go back to work.
00:23:27
Speaker
Like, wow like he really like killed himself for a lot of those projects. Dang. Yeah. yep And he was like, well, someone will make a documentary about me, right? Someday.
00:23:39
Speaker
And they'll still will be like, were you the monkey in 2001? No, i was Lord Bulletin. That reminds me too. Have you guys seen Batman and Bill? That's a phenomenal documentary. I've never seen Batman. I've never even heard that. Never heard of it?
00:23:53
Speaker
Oh my God. that That was on Hulu for a bit. I'm sure it's probably on Disney now. That's a fantastic documentary. It's about ah this guy who dedicates his life up ah in case in case you guys didn't know. Bob Kane wasn't the original creator of Batman.
00:24:07
Speaker
Like that's, that's whose name is on everything up until a certain point. But apparently there was this other guy named Bill Finger who also, that's his real name. That's Bill Finger. Yeah. That's his real Get away from the finger. Yeah. He's coming. who actually created most of, like, I think he created the Joker. He created a lot of the Batman villains. He was more, in other words, he was more responsible for the overall story and mythology of Batman than Bob Kane was, but he was forgotten because Bob Kane took credit for all this stuff. And because of this documentary, this guy went, he found the, the, uh,
00:24:43
Speaker
The granddaughter of Bill Finger. And because ah of all the work that this guy put in over like 20 years ah now on every Batman project since I believe ah Batman v Superman or one of the one of the 2010 ones. Now, whenever it's ah you see, you can watch the credits. It says Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger.
00:25:02
Speaker
every every With Bill Finger. Every project before that, it was just said but ah created by Bob Kane. So they they had to they had to pay this this granddaughter. they They had to strike a deal so they could pay her ah because her grandfather had basically created Batman. They they didn't want that. The DC was trying did everything they could to bury this thing. But because of this guy's documentary, and it's just it's just such a powerful story. like You guys have to check it out. Batman and Bill. Definitely check it out. Batman and Bill. yeah Okay. I think we gave some good suggestions for people who don't know.
Modern Media Consumption and Audience Engagement
00:25:35
Speaker
I will say I'll give a suggestion or two for documentaries that people should watch. if For filmmakers out there, there's ah there's a legendary documentary called American Movie. um which is about, I think it's Minnesota, somewhere in the Midwest. It's about a filmmaker. So we're those people who make dickhead. It's about these filmmaker, this guy who's trying to get a movie made. Yeah, we watched it. Yeah.
00:25:59
Speaker
And like, he is this, he's, say he is like a consummate loser. Like he just cannot win. um it But in a sense, it's like his white trashiness is a little endearing. Like his he has like ah he enlists the aid of everyone that will ever do a favor for him. he can't hold down a job. He's a deadbeat dad.
00:26:22
Speaker
ah He's like, ah don like I said, he's a fucking loser. But you kind of you're still kind of rooting for him because he's so passionate about filmmaking. But he's he sucks. Like he's legitimately will never make a good movie. Yeah.
00:26:35
Speaker
But, you know, ah someone made a good movie about him. So check that out. American movie. Yes, that's the one. We have to check out these docs. you guys And then if you guys want to watch a documentary that will rip your heart out, you'll never want to watch another documentary again.
00:26:54
Speaker
I don't even necessarily want to recommend it, but it's a film called Dear Zachary. which i oh that was always on my list, but I never watched because I would read the synopsis like... Why do I want to watch this shit? This is so stupid. It's essentially if you want to just like have your heart ripped out over and over again. And also just, I don't know. Like if you want to know how cruel humans can be and to their own family and to each other, just watch that movie.
00:27:25
Speaker
And also how fucked up our our justice system is and the Canadian justice system. Wow. yeah i won't i won't tell you what it's about because there's like twists upon twists in the movie. okay Yeah, because that was always on my list, but I just never. It was like, yeah, I'll watch that later. You know, was one of those movies.
00:27:43
Speaker
Yeah, because when you always when you hear about it, it's ah this is the saddest documentary ever made. And when you watch it you're like, oh. Is that what people say about it? can see why when you watch it. It's it's a rough one. It's a really it's ah it's a real rough rough one I got one more. And that's coming from Tom, so that says a lot.
00:28:03
Speaker
yeah I got one more, and it's ah called Everybody's Tree. I documentaries. My name's Alex. I ain't ever seen a documentary. Let me start with my favorite documentaries. Category A to Z. a ah All the Frenchmen. B, film worker.
00:28:25
Speaker
So go ahead, Alex. What documentary now should we watch? ah feel i
00:28:35
Speaker
ah Everybody Street. Everybody Street. Everybody Street. Really good. Street photography ah documentary. Super good. Oh, yeah, I think you mentioned that to me before. Actually, it was cool that I mentioned it to one of our instructors at UVC, and and she chose to like play the movie for the class.
00:28:56
Speaker
Oh, really? Yeah. Who? Sarah Alvarado. Shout out to Sarah Alvarado. All right, so let's jump into the next topic. We're done on talking about documentaries.
00:29:07
Speaker
Okay. Unless you got five more, Alex. I'm maxed out. i ma there wast There was an article that I read this morning, and I knew you guys weren't going to read it, so I essentially wrote a little— Thank God, because I did not. So I essentially just wrote a ah a little blurb to ask you guys a question. So here's the setup. so But I did see that Reddit post. Film students have been having trouble sitting through movies. That's the the blurb of the article or the title of the article.
00:29:32
Speaker
I wanted to focus on what it is about film that engages us. I mean, i know for a fact Alex has watched Hellraiser at least 666 times. And it's not because he has such wonderful things to show. It's because it's engaging and enthralling.
00:29:46
Speaker
All of us are here because we love film. What do we think keeps us engaged, focused, wanting to know more? Or are we just old fucks? Alex, you want to kick that off? What is it about film that engages you?
00:29:59
Speaker
ah so I mean, good story to begin with. ah And… I mean, that's I think that's the main thing. A good story. Are we talking about it like as an audience, too? like like As an audience member. So essentially, let me just say this real quick. So like to the setup is these kids that are going into film school should be all about film. They should be able to sit through a feature film without problems. But what they're finding is these new kids, the professors are saying these new kids, essentially, they would give out a homework assignment, like, hey, go watch Casablanca, and like half the kids just couldn't sit through it.
00:30:34
Speaker
So I think what, like, and, you know, not to sound like a purist, but um whatever. Uh, I think one of the main problems is probably most of those kids are watching those films at home, you know, like using, like, ah I mean, that's depending on what kind of films they pick. It's, you kind of have to write, uh, using streaming services or whatever.
00:30:56
Speaker
And I think the problem is there's just so much distractions, you know, like phone is the biggest one. Um, I mean, there's probably things they could do. Like, if anything, like, you know, put their phone away, put some headphones on and watch the movie. You know, like I, I, I kind of struggle with it too. Sometimes if I'm trying to watch a movie at home. But you are the youngest one here. Am I really?
00:31:22
Speaker
I'm not the youngest one. How old are you? I'm 36. Yeah. When you, when you turn 37. uh december 3rd yeah you're the youngest oh okay all right anyway still yeah bitch that is how i just stayed silent he was like i turned 36 in 1990 i remember those days no but i remember a casablanca on the big screen i think that's the problem is like you know ah Imagine, you know, like, it's so hard not to pick up your phone for any reason because you rely on it for so much, right? I always have to think, check my phones, I do not disturb because I got no notifications.
00:32:06
Speaker
What are you talking about, man? I look at it just to make sure the do not disturb is on. Like, hey guys, I should come in. And then I open up all the apps and I refresh them. Are you working?
00:32:25
Speaker
Oh, you're working. You're working. Okay. Anybody there? Oh, man. Said, Stephen read this seven hours ago. All I did was ask him, would you like to be at my will?
00:32:43
Speaker
On read. I am going to blame the phone. And and I will say that I'm a victim of that, too. Like, I feel like...
00:32:54
Speaker
That's why I've actually, i kind of want to start, like, just get, like, a nice set of, like, headphones that I can, like, connect to my TV. And I want to, like, all right, if I'm going watch a movie, let me put my phone away. Let me just sit down, put the headphones on, and and focus, you know, because, like, it's easy to get distracted nowadays. I feel like it's everywhere. I'm kind of curious to see what Stephen says about that. but And just, like, from, like, an audio quality, like, watching movies with headphones on is, like, like not ideal, right? right it um It depends on the headphones, I think.
00:33:25
Speaker
obviously, but, Yeah, I think headphones actually might kind of help you focus on it a little bit more because it kind of drowns out the your sensory going on, kind of gets you hyper focus.
00:33:40
Speaker
But I think Alex is right with us the phones and it just being TikTok, you know, just a TikTok generation. um you know, YouTube shorts wasn't a thing. And now it's a thing where even YouTube ah youtube has these shorts. Facebook has these shorts.
00:33:54
Speaker
And even for myself, I sometimes will click on a YouTube video. I'm like, ah, this is 15 minutes. That's too long. I just want five. I do the same thing, too. I'm like, let me save this. that Like, when I search something for, like, research, sometimes I'm like, oh, let me go to the shorts because it'll get me, like, straight to the point what I need. I just want that immediate. I don't want to. I don't want to.
00:34:17
Speaker
gets so go so The problem with that is, and this is not filmmaking, this is we're talking about YouTube, but the problem with that is, is some of those guys will literally like stretch out something for such a simple subject. You know what I mean? like Yes, I'm aware. if If you're just like, oh, like ah what you know what is this keyboard shortcut? just Just for an example. And it'll be a five minute video of them going through every little thing. and then The keyboard was invented in... If you wait just ah five more minutes, you're going to get the real secret at the end.
00:34:55
Speaker
I'm going to tangent this off to Josh real quick. Josh, do you think that, because you guys kind of went on this tangent on YouTube videos and YouTube shorts, is do you have a distinction between content and film? And is that what their line is kind of being blurred with the new generation is they don't have a distinction? Because you guys are talking about essentially YouTube content. You're not going down, sitting down to watch like a serialized show on YouTube. It's like, oh, how do I replace the lawnmower blade? Or, you know, like, how do I control P to print? Well, if I may interject real quick. I think it's- I was trying ask Josh something. Yeah, I know, but I just want to say- Please, fuck Josh. Because I didn't finish what I was trying to get at. Oh, oh, oh, yeah. You sounded pretty quiet there. It's the issue of just doom scrolling, you know, just-
00:35:39
Speaker
going on to the next thing are like people on, ah what is that, Tinder or whatever, you know, constantly swiping left or right. i don't know which way they swipe. I wouldn't know. I never used that. I never used it either. But you know how like you see. My generation used Tinder to light fires. I don't know what these kids are doing, using it for.
00:35:57
Speaker
so i When you were cold, you lit a fire. Then we're still heater. Cell phones give kids everyone ADHD. All right. That's what it is. That's what, like, ah my sister was talking about how she went to doctors and they, like, diagnosed her with that.
00:36:12
Speaker
And she was all freaked out. She was like, now like you know my whole life makes sense of like how i've been and like the way i pay attention things and like almost like somebody just told her like hey you have cancer and i'm like no dude i'm like everybody get it has a little bit of adhd nowadays it's like you're not you know what i mean you're not special yeah you're not special you ain't special with that adhd right everyone's like i'm special i got adhd just for the record for my sister i love you it's all good i'm not talking crap No, no, but you make a good point about how people really kind of are. I had this thing where I was watching the video where people were talking about if those cameras work that they put in your ear to clean your ear out. And everyone was like, I bought the camera, but my ears were clean. It's so shitty. I wanted to actually scrape shit out. I'm like, you wanted shit to be wrong with your ears?
00:37:02
Speaker
So that you can have the satisfaction of cleaning it? Like, shouldn't like, oh, thank God, I'm clean. I'm not some dirty fuck. Yeah, nothing came out of my ear. It's like, dude, that's this generation. They want something to be wrong with them so they have the satisfaction of, like, telling people about it. This is what's wrong with me. That's why shit's fucking up. I didn't hear you because my earwax. And they're like, oh, shit. I'm just a shitty listener. I just thought.
00:37:29
Speaker
But it's not me. you You didn't know how to communicate well.
00:37:36
Speaker
That's what my dad said, and he was on Epstein's Island. Now, Josh, content and film, do you see a distinction? Is there a distinction between content and not even necessarily feature-length film, but short films?
Humor and Storytelling in Filmmaking
00:37:51
Speaker
Oh, yeah. would say there is. Can talk about that little bit? Well, yeah. I mean, that's been one of my biggest problems because of my YouTube channel. I've attempted to only – especially in the last five, six years, only upload stuff that is film or some type of narrative story.
00:38:11
Speaker
um you know i don't i i have stayed away from behind the scenes stuff, which I would say is probably content or like update videos or like these are my goals for 2026. I'd say all of those are content because that's literally what they're doing. They're taking up space. That's what content is, right? It takes up space. And not that there's anything wrong with that. If like if you're a YouTuber and that's what you focus on, that's that's you're a content creator. That's the whole job description. you know um But I think i I've tried to make i've tried to sort of make myself stand out a little bit in the in the YouTube film world.
00:38:45
Speaker
community by only trying to focus on these narrative stories, these narrative films, whether they're short or long. um But yeah, I do, I do, so I do say, I would say that it's, it's the intention behind, if you're trying to tell a story,
00:39:01
Speaker
ah in a in a narrative sense, I would say that's when it becomes a film. I would i guess you could also consider documentaries that like you're if you're making documentaries for YouTube, you're still technically telling a story. You're not just uploading a video to you know, like, hey guys, this is what my day is today. You know, like if you're if you're trying to tell a compelling story and in a documentary form, I still would say that's a film. And and I guess that's what separates you from the the content creators. At least that's how I look at it.
00:39:29
Speaker
So like the video essay series that you did that we're going to talk about later. So stay tuned for that. Yeah. um Would you consider that content or film? Because it's definitely not.
00:39:40
Speaker
yeah um Well, I'll dig himself out of this. I was going to say, there's definitely not like a clear distinction is what I was trying to say. Yes. Yeah. I mean, would. I would. i'd i would Bastards. Australian for beer. I would consider it i would consider it film, but for for different reasons, which we can get into when we actually talk about that. But it's like I was making it intentionally as a parody. I was making it intentionally as a joke, you know, and that's what most of my stuff is. It's kind of funny. You're saying most of your stuff's a joke? It is. It really is. I've, I've made, I have made update videos before on my channel. They're still up there. There's, I have like two or three of them and they always end with some type of punchline. You know, it's like, it starts off looking like it's going to be serious, but then I, you know, I just do so my stupid shit. And that, that's kind of what I, what I was going for is like, I remember I was, I was, um,
00:40:36
Speaker
i got I got hired actually to be an actor in this film that was shooting here locally in the high desert. I met this guy, Sebastian, in line, or not in line, while we were waiting to to be in the scene together. We were playing brothers. Is that where you were the tech guy? No, no. that was That's a different one. Dang, dude, you're in everything, bro. No, this is a feature film that, as far as I know, has not been released yet. I don't i hope hope it will be released sometime soon. But um I actually got hired. It was actually a paid gig. And I don't know why. i'm not I don't think I'm the greatest actor. But I met this guy, Sebastian. We were playing brothers in the scene.
00:41:06
Speaker
And he actually knows Wesley. he i don't know I don't know how I get there. Everyone in the desert knows Wesley. I guess so, right? But we're talking a little bit and and he's like, I tell him that I'm also a filmmaker. He he goes, what kind of films do you make? And I never i never really like sat down and thought about it, but it's so funny how like in ah in ah in a lightning fast instant, these two wires in my brain connected. And and I was like, I like making stupid shit. like that's That's how I describe like my stuff.
00:41:32
Speaker
I just think it's funny to think of or make something that's like kind of stupid. It's like the the stupidity of the subject is what makes it funny to me. And it's just a lot of low hanging fruit for stuff that people were like, Oh my, like no one would ever make a film about that. I would, I would make a film about that. Cause it's, I think it's a funny idea and just take it out to its natural conclusion. Like the Oscar short,
00:41:57
Speaker
for the first minute and a half, it seems like it's a real thing. It seems like it's gonna be something serious that there they're apologizing for. And then when he when he says what he's apologizing for, everyone's like, oh my God, this is the stupidest thing in the world. But to me, that's what's funny. To me, it's it's hilarious. Yeah, but Josh, don't talk about yourself down like that. I would say you should say you like satire and parody because it's that's what it is. It's making fun of the established ah you know norms and stories and things that we have. Correct.
00:42:28
Speaker
Taking a jab at it. and yes It's not stupid shit. Don't talk down about yourself. You're the most optimistic guy we know. you if you're If Josh falls to pessimism. Well, I'm saying. Let's just say it's over. We're all done for We're already swinging. You can see our shoes like in that fucking movie about the imaginary Hitler friend, ah Billy Joe Rabbit or whatever it was called. Joe Joe Rabbit. Joe Joe Rabbit. I love that movie. But I say that. You would, you fucking Nazi. Okay.
00:42:55
Speaker
But I say that, I know it sounds it sounds bad, but I honestly, I say that as ah as a form of as a term of endearment. i I love all of the stuff that I make. I'm very proud of my movies and I call it stupid shit in the most generous, in the most loving, in the most sincere way possible, if if that even makes any sense. But no, I agree. It is parody. It is it is is all that, but it's also kind of stupid.
00:43:18
Speaker
and And I think that's what makes it kind of genuine. and Oh, well, damn, dude, you know, parody's hard. Yeah. um I would always say, like, because at parody would be like a shobs sub-genre of comedy. Yes. And parody is very tough, especially, and and then satire is different from parody. Is it? Yeah. Stephen, what's the difference? Yeah. I love Webster's Dictionary.
00:43:44
Speaker
Let me ah direct you to Alex who is making a parody of seventy s spoof so genre films. Is it a parody? i wouldn't say it's a parody.
00:43:57
Speaker
It's its own story. You're right. It's a commentary, and that's why I need you to clarify. Commentary, parody, satire, and where do all of these distinctly fall and the differences? We should probably do some research and come back to you on this one. like to me, parody...
00:44:13
Speaker
Or Josh, do you have a do you have a distinction between parody and satire? ah ah ah No. I mean, I guess maybe. We all have smartphones in front of us, by the way, where we could look up the answer, but I think we should. See, this is why the kids can't finish a full film. They got to go Google. What is Washington Boulevard? Yeah. Just put. the phone just chat gbt uh film synopsis i mean on this one wouldn't wouldn't like satire be like uh dr strangelove like it's like a kind of a serious film even though it's kind of ridiculous but it's like shot seriously shot well and then maybe like the naked gun would be like parody right those would be the two i guess the two things that i would look at you know It's Naked Gun is being ridiculous on purpose. They're making so visual gags. And, you know, it's not like about like the cinema like cinematography and in in ah Dr. Strangelove is is done really well. Like it's done with intention. That's Leon Vitale. Yeah. He wasn't around then. as yeah He was later. Yeah. I would say satire maybe might not necessarily be comedy.
00:45:15
Speaker
I think Doctor Strange looks pretty funny. No, I'm not saying that. But I'm just saying satire isn't necessarily comedy where parody probably is and ah with the scope of trying to be Well, yeah, because American History X is satire. Is it? No, not some American History X. Yeah, baby, for you, huh? I'm an psycho. Yeah. American. Well, that's funny too, right? Yeah.
00:45:39
Speaker
Yeah. Chainsawing women is hilarious. But yeah that right that's cut that maybe could be a good way of distinguishing it. because if you were to read it literal, it's not funny at all, right? It's very disturbing. But in in in the context of like, oh, right, this is what these people think they can get away with, and this is how they literally value women. and So maybe satire is a little more abstract then, and parody a little more literal. Parody is also probably – And it's probably more rooted in comedy.
00:46:07
Speaker
yeah Exactly. And by the way, we're just four idiots. We're coming up with it as we go right now. I would love if any of our listeners could correct us. um if If there's any, well, actually, guys out there. You got to at least have one film critic that's just going to write a full essay in the comment section. and Well, actually, parody is that. It's quite simple. Oh, Yeah. Well, because you you know you always hear Robocop and Verhoeven is the king satire. Oh, yes. Very satire. Yes. Uh-huh. And it's like, Starship Troopers. Yeah. Yeah. It's satire. Yeah. It's like satire on fascism. and Yeah.
00:46:44
Speaker
And it's not presented in a funny way for the most part. To me, satire is always like, oh, it's smart because the dumb people don't get it. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Where like parody is- Yeah. It's for dumb people. Yeah. Scary Look, dumb people. This guy slipped on a banana Scary movies are parody. It's like, you remember when the girl came out of the TV in the ring? Well, what if she tripped? Remember when Carmen Electra's boobs got stabbed and Silicon Co came out?
00:47:08
Speaker
Yeah. That's parody. Yeah. That's stupid shit, right, Josh? Yes, that's correct. um Alex... Hellraiser. Hellraiser. What is it about Hellraiser?
00:47:19
Speaker
Because to me, always associate movie with... don't even think Alex likes Hellraiser. I don't hang it up that often. But no, I always associate that movie with you because when you lived here, I swear that movie, every time it came over, it was on repeat. Oh.
00:47:32
Speaker
And it would be some scene of Hellraiser, just like you would just hear it in the background. Would I be sleeping? I don't know. i don't know. i feel I feel like, a I mean, I was a big fan of the first one. Second one's cool. I'm talking about the
Cinema Experiences and Storytelling Challenges
00:47:44
Speaker
first one. Am I wrong? it do you just so Am I just i completely wrong for associating that film with you? Yeah, you should definitely associate like the thing with me more than Hellraiser. No, but come on. Hellraiser's pretty fucking good. Hellraiser is very good. That's how you tell the girls, hey, you want to see my thing? I don't know. want to see my Hellraiser? Yeah. I don't know. I think that's like Josh's. I don't know which one is better. Not Josh's. That's Alex's Dido, you know, ah from ah King of the Hill, if you guys aren't aware. Whenever Boomhauer gets a woman and he brings her over the house, he puts on the tears don't come, I wonder why. And that's what he uses to play to have sex. So, like, there's this girl that Bill's in love with in the show. Bill's like this fat loser. ah Kind of like that guy from American Movie. Yeah.
00:48:26
Speaker
And he's like in love with the male girl and boom, our advice are over And he's like, please not date. And then the song comes on and he's like, no. And that's like Alex is with Hellraiser. It's like you you hear like Hellraiser playing. It's like, oh, Alex got a girl in there. It's got to be the thing. Say it, if that's the If that's the case, it would be definitely the thing that I'd be playing for date situation over Hellraiser. telling me you've never begged a Hellraiser?
00:48:54
Speaker
I don't think so. Plenty plenty that's a running of times to the to the thing. Absolutely to the thing for sure, but not to Hellraiser. It's like, put your blood in the vial. Yeah, baby, you like the blood? Sorry. ah i Damn, I'm sorry I wrote that then. I fucked up.
00:49:12
Speaker
I was kind of confused when I was reading it but you know now it makes sense. yeah Now makes sense. I'm glad I explained myself. I would say ah The Thing or I also i mean Alien. no Alien I you know those are of the best horror films ever. Yeah, we talked about that last time. all right. Are we still on the topic of the kids and the a low attention span? Are still talking about that? You want to bring that back? Yeah. I mean, if if i mean i do I do have a little bit ah of an idea. I mean, I agree with basically everything Alex said.
00:49:42
Speaker
um But i've I've actually taken film classes in college. And we had we would have um our regular classes. And then once a week or – Once every other week, we would have one evening class where we would all get together as a classroom and watch a movie together. We'd watch a two-hour movie sometimes. And I mean, I think Casablanca is like 90 minutes, right?
00:50:04
Speaker
It's like a really fast. Yeah, Casablanca is pretty tight. Yeah, it's not a long movie. So the fact that someone someone can't sit still for 90 minutes is pretty is pretty crazy. But um but yeah, I remember um i remember i watch the first time ever watched City of God was in a film class, was in in college. And I'd heard of it and stuff. I don't know. Have you guys seen yeah City of God? I've seen it, but I don't remember that shit. It's fucking boring. About the boy named Rocket. and He's getting into journalism in Brazil. Yes, correct. And I and i remember- where my I love that movie.
00:50:36
Speaker
It's a phenomenal movie. I remember watching it and being completely, completely transfixed by what was happening on the screen. And I remember the people like going into it also, I was like, oh man, this is in Brazily. Like I still wasn't into like foreign films too much, you know? And, and I felt it in the classroom. The classroom was like, man, we're going to sit for a two hour Brazily, a portrait. Well, it's in Portuguese. Yeah. Yeah. It's Portuguese. Yeah. I know. Brazil's like my next, it's, You're the one that went to school here. And I'm Peruvian. We went to the school of is the next guy's the neighbor. But yeah, so the whole movie's in Portuguese and everything. But I remember the whole class was just so into the movie. It was such a great first-time experience watching that movie. And I agree. I think now it's one of my favorite movies of all time. I think it's a great movie. you think it's one of your favorite movies too because of just the viewing experience? that you had going into it perhaps yeah like i haven't forgotten that obviously if i'm talking about it now but it's just such a great story too the the screenplay is so freaking fantastic the filmmaking is so is done so well uh if you haven't seen it a long time i i guarantee you watch it again you'll you'll you'll appreciate the hell out of it i haven't seen it like 10 15 years super good yeah no enough i have it on dvd for all the for all the kids yeah yeah me too
00:51:57
Speaker
I do. and You have the actual DVD of it. Yeah, I That's how you know when you like something, right? Yeah. Although sometimes I look at my DVD collection, I'm like, damn, I got that movie. Like, what the fuck? I remember a girl got it for me in high school. Oh, shit. Oh, shit.
00:52:11
Speaker
This is a censored podcast. Good memories of that one, huh? Shit, high school was like 25 years ago, buddy. But- but Hey, Tom, I think you've been like, you remember? oh oh I remember. um The 21st night of September. Let me see what we were talking about. Oh, yes. I wanted to see there was that, that you got and brought up an interesting point because you said that when you were in film school, you watched it together as a class. Do think that,
00:52:38
Speaker
Maybe what is – I don't want – to be fair, I didn't – the article didn't say whether or not those kids were watching this all together in a class or if it was – I think they were more implying that kids aren't doing the homework. Yeah. Because the professor in the article is like, well, dude – you're Having a homework as just watch a movie yeah and then come in and talk about it. It really doesn't get easier. it Don't get easier than that. That's probably the best assignment you could ever have. Yeah. ah I got to watch a movie in a night. It's like, dude, you could sit there and like.
00:53:06
Speaker
do You mean I got to hit play? Yeah. i in I know like I would try to probably fake it still. Like I'd be like, ah you know, I read IMDb. But yeah. but ah Josh, to your point, do you think that there is like a difference when you're watching a film like with a group versus watching it alone?
00:53:25
Speaker
Oh yeah, absolutely. I definitely think so. i've I've been forever chasing that, that first time experience watching a baby driver that that was such a great movie to watch ah as ah in a movie theater with a bunch of strangers. I loved, I loved that. That's one of my favorite movie experiences ever. yeah,
00:53:42
Speaker
um i think I think I was just coming to the point that – I think a lot of these kids, like if they really just sat down and gave a movie like City of God a chance, they'd realize how just how compelling it is even – Even older movies, you know, I just, I just sat my kids down and we watched Mary Poppins a few days ago and they were actually able to watch almost the entire thing without, you know, that's a two hour long movie. it's I've never seen it.
00:54:12
Speaker
You've never seen Mary Poppins? Never seen Mary Poppins. Oh my God. I have to watch it again. I sat down and watched Killer Clowns from Outer Space with my four-year-old and she absolutely loved it. You know, I'll say this. Like, i I think part of the issue with a lot of these movies is a lot of them are just slower. Like, the language of filmmaking back in the day was just slower yeah and more boring. Yeah.
00:54:34
Speaker
Like I just recently watched 400 Blows by Truffaut. Oh my God. Boring. No, no, no. I mean, I just watched it in it it's like, I loved it. I was like, okay, I'm kind of falling into the French new wave.
00:54:49
Speaker
But I could see like a younger generation watching that film and just kind of getting a little bored with it. Yeah. Especially like, for instance, I saw my, I watched Minecraft with the kids.
00:55:00
Speaker
And I mean, you watch Minecraft, it's like boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom, boom, boom, boom. And, And so many movies are like that, and even TV shows. TV driver. Like, even even when we just put on ah YouTube or our Amazon Prime, it's just, like, one boom one episode after the next, and it's, like, not only are you dealing with fat fast cuts, but then you're dealing with, like, the next episode, the next episode, the next episode. Mm-hmm.
00:55:27
Speaker
and And I think that just it's too much overstimulation for people. And, you know, older movies are hard to watch. Like Tokyo Story, I think that might be the greatest film ever made.
Pacing in Cinema and Audience Patience
00:55:40
Speaker
Personally. But goddamn, is that not a fucking slow, boring ass movie? It's a struggle. ah Is it a boring movie or is it a slow burn? It's slow and I think it's boring. Hmm. Because I think there's a difference between having something that, like you know what mean? like No, no, no. It's kind of boring. But but within with but within respect to that. i like say To be fair to Tokyo Story, it's not boring. I think it kind of is. But within respect to that, once you get to that conclusion and the story's all wrapped up. coming virtuosity guy over here. Jesus Christ, Tokyo Story.
00:56:15
Speaker
the Slow it doesn't equate boring Can we at least agree? I agree with that 100% Slow usually is boring It's very rare when you can deliver something slow And not be boring And that's hubris of the filmmaker But with that said You know once you see it from an outside perspective in like all coalesced into one thing, then it really, coalesced into this magnificent piece. You know, like watching Tarkovsky, if you just watch a random scene outside of whatever, because I've only seen Solaris,
00:56:50
Speaker
It's kind of fucking boring if I just watch a random scene. But if I watch it together as an entire piece, then it's like, holy shit, this... just Yeah, okay, he's a master.
00:57:02
Speaker
Or Kubrick. Like, there's a lot of Kubrick films where it's kind of Well, I wouldn't even say that. 20 minutes here, a Kubrick. I don't know if I need to go through all this. i That's where I would disagree with you a little bit there. Because I would say Kubrick has never, he has no slow movies. I'll say this though to you. You've never said Kubrick is tight.
00:57:19
Speaker
Never. I don't think Kubrick is tight like Alien is tight. No, Kubrick isn't tight, but he's not slow. So there you He's not slow. He is slow. Okay, 2001 is slow. two yeah is that's thats shit He is slow, but he's not boring. But then once you get to the end of 2001, right, um you're just like, holy shit, what the fuck did I just watch? That's the thing, right? I mean, that's part.
00:57:40
Speaker
You know, there's nothing wrong with putting people through stress and making it a bit exhausting. There's nothing wrong with challenging the audience. Let me ask you this. a slow Like the slow burn, it has to have the it has to have the payoff.
00:57:55
Speaker
o it has to have that well It has to have the moment where you go, oh yeah, right? That's that's what I'm saying. It's like good sex. That's what I'm saying. Right? the Good sex ain't quick. There's nothing wrong with foreplay. Foreplay, in honesty, if you do it right, it makes everything much better. Oh wow, it's like damn. Yeah, you go, god damn, I'm alive. I'm alive. I mean, every now and then, you know, a quick pump and dump is great. You know, every now and then we want to do that. We we want our, you will want our predator. We want our ah ah alien, right? Our quick, tight, ah quick, tight, you know, pump and get out in and out. But, you know, every now and then you just want to like, oh, David, lean in and give her a kiss from, but you know. we we need to be deadly We need to kind of admit to this within art, right? like
00:58:41
Speaker
Don't be afraid to say the book Ulysses is boring, and that's possibly considered the greatest book ever written. Well, there is no book named Ulysses, so... Ulysses? No, Ulysses by James Joyce. Oh, i thought you meant the Odyssey with Ulysses. It's journey through the Odyssey.
00:58:58
Speaker
No, Ulysses by Jay Joyce, right? That that sounds bad. i don't know if you've ever read it, but it's fucking boring. It's like 5,000 pages.
00:59:09
Speaker
um Like Infinite Jest? Boring? Yeah, it's it's as long as Infinite Jest. But, and Infinite Jest, right? Like, no one's ever read it. Anyone that has is lying. I've never even heard of it.
00:59:22
Speaker
That's ah David Foster Wallace's magnum opus is Infinite Jest. It's a book about a bunch of different things, but addiction. It actually sounds really cool from the way Tom describes it. Addiction and tennis and essentially someone. Tennis. No, no. It's a lot about. He used to be a tennis player. Yeah, it's a lot about tennis. Tennis player and a coke head?
00:59:40
Speaker
ah And then and someone creates a film that's so addicting, like so good and so addicting that people just keep coming back to watch it. And they like kind of stop living their lives because they have to keep going and like watching and consuming this thing. And then it just kind of kills them, right? Yeah, and yeah exactly. It's actually a really cool concept. But, you know, there's these things that...
01:00:00
Speaker
There's a lot of, there's nothing wrong when an artwork challenges the audience. No, and it should. It should, absolutely. And there's a lot of great films that are kind of slow and boring that challenge you to make it through to the end because then once you get to the at that end, it is rewarding. You know, you go through that grueling,
01:00:17
Speaker
pace to get there more like a feel like alien is just so tight you can kind of do you think to that point another reason that people it's so we have the phones which is an ah an issue everyone agreed to that do you think then that another issue that you brought up is that people don't necessarily like being challenged uh the newer generations are all cowards they're keyboard warriors like we said like they do not like confrontation brought to them I was also going to say real quick. and Sorry. you know, we were talking about the R word earlier. Jump in, man. But people ah like the filmmakers ah kind of conforming to that idea. It's whiskey.
01:00:55
Speaker
Which sucks. But like, you know i mean There's probably some make filmmakers who are like, you know what Like, we could make this like... kind of like a slow burn kind of film whatever but we really need to make sure our audience is engaged so let's just do do do it the way they are gonna actually pay attention hold on hold on Alex but you're so wrong you're so hold on hold on no no I'm not saying that that's a like that's how it should be done I'm just saying look at those levels I'm saying that's what is being done no hold on let me say yeah let me say this in defense of Alex ok let me On Joe Rogan, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were on to tour the movie The Rip yeah that came out on Netflix.
01:01:35
Speaker
I never saw it. and they were They were talking about ah stipulations that Netflix had for their film. They're like, you got to have action scenes every so-and-so. You got to do this every so-and-so often. Oh, the big one was restating the plot and five times in the film. Yeah, because everyone's on their phone and not paying attention. yeah And they're like, what the fuck? like how about you let us tell our movie? But then Netflix had these like, no, you kind of have to hit, hit these benchmarks. Yeah. How about you don't want to, because this is how we keep our audience engaged to stay on the platform. You better not let me forget my point. Okay. It was, there you go it was in reaction to what Alex was saying.
01:02:15
Speaker
Which, what were you saying, Alex? About filmmakers conforming to... Oh, okay, okay. Thank you, thank you, thank you. That's bullshit because have ever watched these fucking indie films? These motherfuckers slow and shit, and it's like... Yeah, keyword indie. Well, yeah, that's what I was... Exactly. You know, keyword indie. I'm not even talking about indie. Everyone wants to get away with the slow burn nowadays, and it's like, dude, look at Osgood Perkins. Motherfucker. I've never seen a slower motherfucker in my life. Did you see the creeper? I want… No. The Keeper. The Keeper. I want to see that. Did you see that? Jake loves it. Jake loves it.
01:02:51
Speaker
i saw I saw Monkey's Paw or whatever. love the monkey. I loved it. I love the monkey. love it. Okay. Is that it also Perkins? Yeah. Yeah, it is. But it's so it's just ridiculous. it's So you just have fun. But no, dude. there that People still do slow burn. They just don't do it well because there's no payoff anymore.
01:03:10
Speaker
People forgot that like, oh, the reason why la like Tokyo Story and Come and See i and La Aventura and last year Morena Bad. Don't act like you liked La Aventura or La Aventura last year at Morena Bad. You didn't like those two fans, you fucking liar. Can I sound smart for a minute? You're just trying to sound smart. Yeah. Okay, scratch out the last three.
01:03:34
Speaker
Tokyo Story. There you go. Come and see, right? The thing is, it's like when you get, it's like these films have this point where you watch them and it's they have these aha moments.
01:03:47
Speaker
Where you're like, oh, fuck. Everything. It's like the filmmakers were so smart. You know who was really
Evolution of Horror and Film Surprises
01:03:53
Speaker
good at this? That Klauski guy, the three colors red, blue, and white.
01:03:58
Speaker
When you watch that three colors red, and you're like, God, it's so slow. You never saw the other ones. I have only seen red because we watched it for Criterion. It's like, these films are slow as fuck. They're, you know, whatever. But by the end of red you're like. Damn, that's crazy because red's not that slow.
01:04:12
Speaker
And you're like, oh, fuck. yeah you know what this is pretty goddamn good okay i get it i get it the fucking moon uh oh no that's not true where i would say i was gonna say bring a blink ladder and before sunrise and after sunset or before sunset and they're slow but you're so engaged the whole time sunrise is not slow it's really not no but you know i think also another thing too is the fact that everyone's seen everything nowadays right like We've been so exposed to to film either directly or indirectly to some extent. And so like I think a issue is ah not a lot of things surprise people. like For instance, um my niece's ex-baby daddy, he was like he was big into horror films. And i was like, dude, have you ever seen The Exorcist? He's like, yeah, i saw it kind of fucking sucked. It suck you know was like lame. And it was like...
01:05:05
Speaker
what her head turned around and looked all shitty and it was like yeah I mean obviously it's it's dated you've seen that before wait till you have a kid but because he's been exposed to that like it wasn't anything exhilarating like it was like show me more show me more and so now we have Terrifier Right? Which, okay, now we're going to this extreme. We have to just kind of go more and more extreme where, you know, you really don't have to. I've seen some very disturbing films that didn't even go that extreme. For instance, I don't know if you guys seen this, but there's that silent film where they show the razor blade going against the eyeball. Yeah.
01:05:43
Speaker
Dude, I still see that and I'm like, whoo! Yeah, I saw that in the film class and the class was like, oh shit! It's like, oh my God! so It was so funny, it was so good, yeah. It's not that gory, but it's implied, or like Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It's really not that gory, but everyone says, oh, this movie's so graphic, but then you really watch and pay attention. It's not graphic at all. you watch the graphicness, it's not graphic. it's but There's not even that much blood in it It's the implication of the graphicness, right? Yeah. And so I think also the younger generation is just- It's like the Google Earth picture of Epstein Island, It ain't so bad. I want to live there. It's like a tree.
01:06:21
Speaker
It's a bungalow. Oh, look, there's Alex. There's a, help me, carved into the tree in the grass sand. But, you know, i I think that's part of it, too, is just ah people being kind of disillusioned by so much because they're exposed to so much. That's true. yeah And honestly, but and to the point with Terrifier, I- Terrifier is an interesting um topic because to me, Terrifier is like almost like a James Cameron kind of thing where it's like, this is where we can take practical effects nowadays.
01:06:51
Speaker
And this is what we're... And it's almost like a tech show as opposed to a story because the Terrifier story is dog shit and completely garbage. than the Yeah, especially that second one. If Terrifier was actually like trimmed down and cut to like this like super tight 90-minute just like... yeah It's not 90 minutes? Or Exposé. It's not 90 minutes? No, Terrifier 2 is... The first one? The first one's 90 minutes. I like the first one a lot. Oh, okay. Oh, not a lot.
01:07:17
Speaker
I was about to say, didn't you just say it was dog shit? lot for what it is. I had a lot of hope for Terrifier that it continued. could the but Because Terrifier 2, I think, is over two hours.
01:07:27
Speaker
Which is like way too much. And then I think Terrifier 3 is even bit longer than Terrifier 2. It's like there are two and a half hours I think Terrifier 3 is. And it's not that you start feeling it, Josh. It's like, okay, you get to the point where it's like the grossness becomes almost boring because it's so you're so overexposed to it. I was going to say, it doesn't have as much like meaning to it. and You know, like...
01:07:48
Speaker
You're not feeling much at this point. have stayed with one. It should have stuck with the one terrifier. It's just gore for gore's sake. It's just disturbing imagery for the sake of disturbing imagery. And
Analysis of The Thing and Speculations on a Sequel
01:07:56
Speaker
then you're just questioning like, why am I watching disturbing imagery for that? Maybe that's why they did it that way. Because it could appeal to like today's younger audience. Oh, Alex, you're so sweet. Is that not true? But it's crazy how much the younger audience is like, let me show you how cool I am. I like Terrifier. That's a measure, right? And that's kind of the thing, too. It's like, they're like, oh my god, that movie was really fucked up. That was the craziest movie I've ever seen. But I mean...
01:08:26
Speaker
There's so many different ways you could do it ah without just pure gore in your face. you know And that's why I love The Thing. Because The Thing is like a perfect balance of gore, yeah but also not story pushing it too much.
01:08:40
Speaker
And so it's it's just this really nice balance of of a film, you know? Well, the thing is Because the thing is very gory. I mean, to steal from the title, it's terrifying. The thing is terrifying. But it never goes into like terrifier territory where it's like, I think you just hate women and you're just showing me on the surface. My thing is just like, I'm not afraid of- You're having your therapy session right here and I'm not on board with this shit. I do not agree. To jump in on this real quick is my thing is like, I'm not afraid of Art the Clown.
01:09:12
Speaker
But the the terror or the the idea and the existential horror of the thing is so scary that the fact that it's making a perfect imprint of you so much so that you probably don't even realize you're the thing.
01:09:26
Speaker
Like the thing probably is attacking itself because of how perfect it's copying you and you don't even know. Yeah. And then it's like, well, then it that brings up the question is what is you? Like, is it you? ah What is your consciousness? What is your identity? Like if the thing can copy you perfectly, are is it that it become you?
01:09:48
Speaker
Just with monstrous side effect powers like that we don't really understand and that's that is kind of like what I'm talking about when that and that's why the thing is one of the greatest horror films ever made yeah is because you when you start thinking about shit like that it's like yeah you know a scary ah spider monster crawling at you or when the dog explodes that's a horrifying visual image but You know what's just as scary is like if the three of us were were in here and it was like one of you is going to try to murder everyone else. yeah who is Who is it? yeah
01:10:21
Speaker
No one knows. yeah And you're like, oh shit. like It was Childs. yeah I'm just kidding. No, yeah, the paranoia. My argument is they're all the thing by the end. Because yeah the way if if it truly works the way it's broken down, where it's like if i ah a cell of the thing gets inside of you and takes you over. it Just a spackle of blood or breathing the wrong thing in. That's what I was thinking too. It's like you're the thing yeah at that point. Because it doesn't necessarily make a new body for you. It just takes over your body. Yeah.
01:10:53
Speaker
I saw a thing ah that WatchMojo had, which was like ah top five greatest villains. I think it was. And I feel like ah the thing came in as number two or number one because it was like eventually if that if the thing spread into the city, it would just take over the world so quickly. hmm. just because of how it copies people how easy it is you know we don't even know like what it is like it needs to transfer and then yeah we would all be the thing ripping each other apart but the horrifying thing which i think but the horr horrifying thing though alex is when we're all the thing like do we even know notice I thought about that. all but now It's like, do you even know if you are the thing or you are you carrying on like, oh, I'm fucking Tom Casper. He's walking around. imagine here's But here's the thing.
01:11:44
Speaker
thing All right. And I feel like this could be either really bad because I heard somebody say that ah from John Carpenter that they are working on the possible sequel to the the thing. And the what I think would be cool But they could also really fuck it up as if the thing was within a city.
01:12:03
Speaker
Within a heavily heavily populated area. But I feel like they could easily fuck that up. Then it would be Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1978. Yeah, there you go. Which is my favorite. That is my favorite horror movie.
01:12:18
Speaker
Oh, the 78 one? Yeah, that's my favorite horror movie. Because that's been remade many times. Yeah, that is the very first remake. 78. So there was a 50s. Well, you I'm sure you know. Yes, I've seen them. Because I read the book and I went out. Because I would do this thing where I read the book and then I watched like all the movies. God damn it, that 70s one is a depressing one. Yeah, but that's a why that's kind of why I love it.
01:12:39
Speaker
Yeah, Abel Ferreira made a remake in the 90s. I mean, there's been so many. And they're not even called Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Because there's the one Dan and Craig and Nicole Kidman. The Invasion. That's what that was called. Oh, okay. Yeah, Invasion. That one sucked. Yeah. Yeah, it did. uh but the invasion of the body snatchers yeah the 70s and the 50s one is both very good although the 50s one changed the ending to be a little more optimistic right uh but yeah the 71 70s they didn't give a shit they didn't give a shit they were like that's why i love it they were like yeah guess this is it it's just dour well that was the 70s right with films yeah but that's what that's it