Closing Thoughts and Future Episodes

This is the podcast. You guys aren't cheering these You're not ramped up by the high energy The mando, when he says things like Okay Broo comeome here. Where's that I feel like a thought of him going like Okay, and where do I go now? I'll give it a shot You're saying they need to be shot by me F F by me I'll ask one to two questions and then just do it anyway. Yeah Mandalorian, thank you for helping I don't help. Feels like help Maybe a little bit. bye. Don' s down, don' sit down, D't turn D. But I mean line a man though nameer doesn't speak obviously can be cool. I saw a really good quote and I want to see if I can find who it was. I was reading through reviews yesterday and I saw I think it's the greatest distillation of what this movie fucks up to me. C I speak yet Yeahak. Can I do my impression of Rod of the Hutt fast before I forget outoy Fuck, can we get a phone home next time? Hold on Hold on fuck The physicality is fierce And then of course, with the addition of I'm not like my dad I'm a good guy. I'm not like my dad. Yeah, I'm my own man. You're a giant slug. It's just he's like you're not a man. What are you talking? I'm not like my dad. I'm like, Will this come up again? He's like, Not really. My little sister Dad's dead. I don't care. Like My little sister Romley had when Revenge of the Sith came out, a toy that was a Darth Vader mask with a voice changer inside And it's one of those things where she was like, that's so cool. I can sound like Darth Vader and it's like Kind of All it's going to do is make your voice deep and reverby. Sure. There's not a thirty dollars technology at Tys orust that makes you sound like James Earl Jones.. And the Rot of the Hut voice performance sounds like Jeremy Allen White wearing that toy All it's doing not like my d Just pitching his voice down and reurby. Why'd you hire him? Exactly Sound like him or anyone? No Great Gess what were saying I'm sor I feel like I'm already gonna be the bad boy and say I liked this movie way more than the reviewers did. Okay, okay, more than. M. W you identify yourself as liking it or would you say that you just like it more I you just sort of like thought it was al right Well, first thing I want to say Yeah is you guys asked me to be here at eleven AM.. And I canceled plans I had at seven PM just in case we are still talking about. David has said it's not had no intention of it, but just so the fans know I'm liter I lit your pock without exaggeration handceled a commitment to drive an ambulance for a volunteer first aid squad. I got someone else to cover the shift. This is true. I said, I don't know if it will be done. You really did. I mean, I understand that's probably in New Jersey I do need a little bit of transit you' got the transit buffer to worry about. That still anticipates a six PM Memorial dayay weekend. We could still be talking at six PM and I might have to get back to traffic. I mean, you could be. I won't be here. I might be. I think it's a wise be a David shaped hole in the wall Look, you're going to leave it all on the field today So even if you make it back to Jersey by three PM by no, if we if I make it home by three PM, we have failed and our promise to the fine fans of the Blank Cck podcast. I woulde love it. Shout out to Ryan who works at the Dublin pub in Morristown New Jersey. I there one night Hee said him and all his friends listen to B blank Jck and are on what WhatsApp group about it. It isn't your fault. I just have to speak to this right away problem developing in our podcast where now every guest comes in and is like Don't you worry I'm not working for a week after this. Yeah. All the time. We're going for it. Okaykay. I'll by on for leaving. I had leave A record breaking episode this week. I don't know if we can necessarily announce the guest or can we? We can It was Try Letz. Tracy Let Chry Let whoo has better, you know, who has things to do? one a pulitzer E a man of letters And I'm going to be the for let's, but I't getet there nowere Al getet there comes through. you threaten to run through the wall like the fucking kool a shows up. He says, let's get out of here. Yeah serious. the guy who's been here from the very beginning. No, the guy who' part of the very DNA and fabric of this show We often say the three of us would not know each other if not for you. Everybodyays I'm the bad boy of like Jack, mostly me but maybe I'm the glue holding this goddamn thing together. Godr Try. Tracy Letz walks through and you'll stay as long as he. Well there there were two issues. One, of course, I do not want to be rude to Tracy Letz, who is obviously an estimable person. Two, We did have another thing to record after he was done, so I couldn't leave. It was a very long day. It was a very long day. I'm gonna admit My wife was like, arere you okay? and I was like legit, I am not okay. I'm fucked up And I was fucked up all day and pretty much tomorrow. So Yeahah. I was just like, that was we can't do that. It was too much Too much. So stay tuned for that episode. It's a quker. episode I thought was very good. Yeah.' like holding it together. Broken. But two Geff Yeah, he used to run You know, like shows pretty you know, big scale kind of like you got all these balls you understand the logistics and the n. I'm also a father. I'm a father. I'm also a father. Im also father and a husband. And I understand I understand all of it, but Andy the same time, you're like, if we don't No no, David, I mean, I understand all of those obligations and I also feel like, you know, if there's a counterpoint, I would say, even with all those obligations on the table, I never short changed the people Beyond that. it never it. Has Gethered? you've never short changed. Ever seen a self destructive or self harming bit that he hasn't run headf into. If I know one thing about the man my I feel like a little bit hero. You're a little bit like, yeah, well, you know, those were the glory days. That's you know, back when you' always got that itch. Oh yeah. But I mean, if you can do something ridiculous I feel I think about your face all the time though on that TCGS episode The Chris Eethard show for those who don't think the Chris know, Was it when Fallon was on or maybe Hgh had just been on had, that was a bet That The first time I ever went live. And you're like people coming in are actually paying attention. I just pluged this show on national television and that episode was particularly chaotic. It was horrible. It was horrible. Ruin this show. You went on Jimmy Fallon you got Network TV coverage for a cable access show Yes, and I said, callall up and or show up and do whatever you want to try touin the on Fallon. you said I said I'm going live, the theme is Iin the. show up and ruin my show. Do anything you can you can stay you even suggested you can stand in front of the camera. Yes. and then it's a good bit. It is a good bit. But what I didn't anticipate and I say this with love You know, I think there are other people who have done Rennegade talk shows like Eric Andre who I think is hilarious and who I love and admire great, one of the wildest outth. But I I was going to say. I think one of the things Eric Andre has that made him more successful than me is like he can be ruthless if he has to Totally. And I don't I don't have it in me. likeike my boundary on ruthlessness is not Yeahend everyone had my long peer dog. really was about to say. But I was just going to say on that show, what I didn't anticipate was that A lot of green comedians that we probably would not have been booking at that point used it as a chance to come grab screen time. That's what happened. And I didn't have it in me to just be like, get the fuck out of here. Yeah right It was kind of a worst. It wasn't weirdos wandering off the sh stet who I could speak to in a certain way. It was young artists who ultimately I do feel very much proud of my ability to support young artists in years. But unfortunately I're not going trash young artists who show up in costumes. It was a bunch of Din Grogus who hadn't yet learned the way Yeah they had. Ding Jarin and Grogu, you've sort of combined No, no no.. I Grogu first I have only recently watched The Mandalorian season through What finally polished all You're cutght up on more you probably have a little fresher than I. I had tapped out on everything post Book of Boba Fetets. Yeah a year ago this episode on the calendar. Yeah. We were looking ahead at the schedule and we went like we basically never book guests on new releases. Yeah. And it's usually sort of a pain for them because they would have to watch the movie right away. if we do, it it's a thing we usually do at the last second because something sort of makes sense. Yeah. A year ago we were looking at the schedule. we were like, G gotott to get Get back on. What's the right thing for get? And you guys were throwing episode ideas and I forget it kind of organically came up. Maybe we just do a Star Wars episode. so my my Citment to the Star Wars bit. actually makes functional sense and doesn't distract from anything else. Of course. And I do wanna call out, I'm wearing a Spider Man two t shirt today and a Spider Man hat. I do wan to talk about Spider Man a bit. I have some Spider Man talk. I genuinely wantan to do. I think it's important we talk aboutideran episode. I have know I have is two other friendes that I also wan to bring up one whos just I also haveologiz I do want to just to answer the question. Yeah. I would say I did land on the side of enjoying the experience of watching Mandalorian and Grogu. I think that's fair things I liked Yeah. but I do think that the sadder conversation is what is this any? I think we all need and I do I also will say I think the Blank Check podcast honestly does matter in the world of film nerds.. You guys and JD Yamato, I think came together and showed people that Speed Racer was in fact a good movie and now they're say they're Ch as well. But there's think pieces. I mean, JD's my guy. Yeah. but there's think pieces out there about how Speed Racer is actually good. I think that started with Blank Cck, but I think Blank Cck is a really good place for us to have like an honest notot histrionic internet commenty ragey conversation about like kind of just have to admit defeat about the cultural relevance of Star Wars. and then we can go back to enjoying the movies again. I don't even know if it's They are not meeting the moment in any way. And there's so many ways that this movie shows that But then if we can get past the fact that they just refuse to do anything that meets the moment outside of Andor, but then we hear about all the weird back biting behind the scenes about the Gilroy Falony stuff where it feels like the Andor stuff is not appreciated there. You sit here and go, I saw a movie We a rocket ship had turtle feet. yeah. I saw a movie Where Baby Yoda and a bunch of Baboo Ficks scaled a vertical wall. God it was fine, right. David and I are things I like Right. There's things I like. There was like a twenty two twenty five minute section that David and I were locked in on. But I want to report to. Did I see it together? We saw it together Mac. I didn't get the inv. Well, because wasiter a yearo I was gonna to be on this e episode. We did b it year in. During one of the busiest weeks of my life when I was already canceling other plans, I had to find time to fit this in when I didn't get You supposed to not go to the after party for Colbert's final taping last night. so that you could be rested. Everyone was your Beauty sleepone settled U I started a press screening Which, you know, I only get that invite a few days earlier and I had a plus one I brought Griffin. Yeah B knock Ben didn't go Ben saw it myself last night. I also figured like you would probably just see it inury. You know, you would I know, I'm getting like I'm giving you the g the comfort of you're giving me the bad not the. I honestly, I didnt you don't get mad at a dog for barking, you don't get mad at Gets for being a bad..y I was a little annoyed at the screening because like my wife was out that night We had to be like fucking get a babysitter ' becauseuse I was like, 'causeuse it's like, she was like is theres gonna be another screen? And I'm like, it's Disney. They're kinda like, you show up or Oh, fuck you. Let's also acknowledge the other thing. Yeah. We were coming from City Field where we had spent the afternoon at Star Wars. That was fine. Star Wars D I will say also, I think factored into our experience of being very, very underwhelmed by this movie was Star Wars Day the Mets an experience that reminded me more of what I like about Star Wars. Yeah than the Star Wars movie I saw that night. I mean Macor Mett was dressed up as the Mandalorian. I thought he gave a better performance than Pedro Pescal. I thought he was a little more locked in. And he was locked in. The t shirt Canon, there was just a lady dressed as Pad May and I want to say episode two. And the t shirt Canon, right You know, like they were just kind of doing she like there was just a stormtrooper walking around, you know, like So ro for kind of like high five them They had like good video packagage. They had great video packages and you didn't see this because of where our seats were exactly. But on the screen every picture a little. Y current enthusiasm for the New York Mets Star Wars Day versus what I can only imagine in your tone and body language will be for the actual Meda leararning experience is making me sad also s to say making me sad fact. We went to City Field, we took the seven. I'm currently we' been the up side. Yeah, absolutelyight. saw the film I'm currently all in on the Mets. It was also a fucking great game. like bounnce them offready start from No one. I didn't know any about that five I wasn't watching any of that stuff. Great game. That's true we were my friend Ellen was there and she was like, I really I hope I want to get Griffin into it. Like And I was just like, Griffin's been going to sports games all his life. Yeah like his He knows how to entertain himselfl at a sports game. He gets his food. Yes. he's got his like business. got the merch. Right. Yeahah. He's not you're not about to be like Griff, lookook at this guy. like let me get you in you know Rer. She did turn to me at one point and this is Ellen Cushing who co hosted your secret podcast. It's different not secret podcasts that you should all listen to. She turned to me at one point and went, So Griffin, what relationship do you have to baseball And I'm like, everyone thinks that I've just been like never looked at it And I'm like, this was shoved down my throat for twelve years Yeah R There was ended prison cent. That war was waged. Yes. you know, I'm not going to wage that war. Right? It was much like Antor We fought so hard for our freedom, the Gorman Mas. From Trny. I mean, I' beent talk about this with my therapist lately. I'm like about Anorth? No, I should talk more about Anorthur. I don't know if she's watched it. but I feel like until I was twelve, I played two sports a week Yeah, because I mean kept making me do it seem true. They did that. I've known you I've known you almost twenty years now and that does not ring. Itn't that crazy. But I mean it hs Wasn't mant sports? Were you playing like I lie was like No.. I was hang it too. I did all the little leeague sports. Like they had I did b. Iam in particular. Yes. Would you be shocked if he was like, I had to play two sports and it was rackquetball and chess. wouldould you be shocked if wouldould you be surprised I'm laughing. Would you be surprised that when I got to high school the village too fulfill my pe requirement, I took a physio ball class That was when I had the agency to lean into the bit. What up andnt Is that like a where you got like a medicine? basas basically like Lamaz's class. It' Yeah doing exercises on a big medicine j. like roll up and down or whatever. Yeah, And I almost got an even complette. They were like I'm not even joking. I'm not even joking. They were like, what's the right field of you doing this 'use you're not like how do we make this? From thirteen on, I was exactly what everyone thinks I was twelve in gym class discussing Betty Friedan with the other kids in gym class like that type? Yes. Not to stereotype with the girls Until I was thirteen I was doing Baseball, I was doing soccer. They made me go to basketball camp, roller hockey, boxing. You box? Yes. There's not a no. Yeah, shit was a nightmare And by boxing were you just a punching bag? He It was foxy boxing. Well, no, I wasn't like competitively boxing against people, but my dad was like, You should learn how to defend yourself. And I'm like I'm a professionalodcaster. and he's like, what's a podcast? I'm like, I'm gonna figure out how to make this a thing. Do that instead. And I'll look at myself on Mike, thank you very much. Um had experi about the mainame. I And Hen you guys Ellen, you don't wantan to talk about the main. Ellen we through all of it. The game was good. Game was great. Yeah. And then we went to the movie and you know, we're watching the movie and I would say, you know, we're chatting a little bit. We're sitting in the back row and like You know, a lot of times we're sort of like this ain't really, you know, light my fire. And then the Grogu part, which we'll talk about more words only Grogu, right Where he's in the swamp alone trying to help Two minutes Iisered passive thoughts. I whispered to Griffin like N not saying this is good, but I'm more interested.. Tw minutes later, I was like, I'm officially declaring this part of the movie good. And I was like I cameable And bit for how long into it. Basically the whole Grogu alone segment I was very intoed.il the Bian wakes up again. Now again, I know that anyime I'm I don't want to lean in too much to my relationship with your guys fans, but anytim that I have a counterpoint to you guys, it does set me apart. Don't worry. I got very restless during that. See, I was restless during every other part. I would agree. And David and I were checking in, I did like hate this movie. It did not inspire enough to like make me angry It is not the worst Star Wars movie. No agree. No not.. And solo, I would argue think I prefer solo to. I do as well. I like But I mean it's probably kind of Okay. I would say I likek this better than How going? How are you to say it? most of the prequels and sequels. That's Okaykay that little know. Yeah, I'm not there. If I had to sit down and watch one of them again Yeah. I might watch this one again because it's standalone and not tying me into a bunch of lore that I know is kindind of a headache and confusing. Oh lookook, I'll say this, this probably will end up being a Star Wars movie I rewatch a lot because I of course suffer from insomnia. Now this movie was startening to put me asleep When youress screening. Yeah I will also say, I saw it in Morristown, New Jersey where I was in the theater And there were two moms who brought a group of about nine boys who all seemed to be about eleven to thirteen years old. Yeah. So I also got to watch it in that context where as I left the theater in a way that I promise was not too creepy. Yeah, the one of the moms made eye contact with me. And I was like, how'd they like it? And she was like, hey A not like had this I had this exact experience That's a lot different than seeing it with a bunch of professional reviewers offenseed to one of my favorite reviewers It's Sims and Sppen Wall, it's everybody else maybe. That's very nice you, Chris. Seppven Wall was at the screening. was I'm sure he text seeing it in a room with Sims and Seppen Wall, I think that's a different Well Sims and Sen go right down the list. That's a different environment than than eight kid jersey who likek fucking Monsters fight. They want to hear you a poison snake live at hear you on the kid. They want to dragon snake. They want to see IRL Djar. I very much was like, yeah, it's a movie. It's very much like a movie for kids and like I don't buy that as a defense exactly, but I certainly that's the tone it's going for. Experientially though. I I had that. I would say at a Pars press screening Yes, there's a few learned espresso sipping. There is a lot of people who work in this sort of fan and genre journalist. This was a lot of very enthusiastic about Star. I would say it was it was majority like fandom journalists over film critics. Yeah. right. I will throw out was like pretty silent. It was very late in the movie in that same section, I want to say where I turned to Dave and I went, I think that's the first joke that landed Like that got a laugh from the audience Outside of like one . The jokes were bad. The jokes was bad. The jokes The score was awesome. score The scores awesome. score was legitimate. Licn beond in aent. The score was good enough that multiple times throughout the movie I clocked. This score is fucking c cool and weir. What's interesting about the score? It's different Like and it's like there's not a lot of stuff in this movie that felt too different. No the score is one thing where like. I also also even a someoneing I liked it, like Seeing a movie And obviously spoilers, right? You don't need to say it Seeing a movie where it who establishes no new powers that we haven't seen in the show to my memory He does not. Healing and lifting. He does that already. And literally it ends with them getting Jjust the two of them back and up Saceeship and flying away, which is your best times again. I'm like This reflects so much corporate broom. Yes. ing analysis in a way that's frustrating that again, the refusal to meet the moment Holy shit. I he' I just fld the balance on a couple of things. Having rewatched season three recently, they do at one point dub him Gro It's like a family name. is the family namecept that they're training him as a Mandalorian even though in season two and Boba Fet, both Ahsoka and deep fake Luke trained him. So the idea they train him and it kind of is like, but I don't want to be a Jedi. The idea is that he's the first kind of high talk that's like I first talk Jedi Mandalorian They don't do it a force using. They don't do it in this movie. Yeah But season three they're like he is canonically ding Grogu. and when they start calling him Ding Grogu, they don't stop calling him Ding Grogu, which speaks to kind of what you're saying, which is this movie is in this insane damned if you do, damned if you don't place where the movies have just been on ice. the TV shows have become this unwieldy thing Grogu as a character is the one thing that undeniably has been working for them seelling toys making money hand over fist, right? fuck with Grogu total kind of all we want to see is some character development from fuck. And you can just tell that this was a corporate mandate. Favreau has said this himself that they had season four at least like broken down into outlines if not like basic like scriptments, they had the season figured out And Disney was like Can you make a movie instead? And they scrapped all of that and they wrote a new thing from scratch and it was because he said, A It felt like what we had was designed for TV and it wouldn't work in film because you need to tell one cohesive story and not be episodic. I would say this movie fails on that front. It is crazy to me that it's not just several episodes mushed together that he claims All of that was thrown out and that would potentially maybe be a season four if they go back to TV, which is the real issue here. You're making a movie that is not like a finale to a TV show. It's not the graduation It's just Here's another adventure. It's a little bit bigger in terms of length to make it too tied into the lore of the Th seeasons of the Mandalorian, let alone the Book of Bobapfed, Ahsoka, what have you. So it's like basically not building on anything for the people who have watched that But if you haven't watched that, it doesn't really like get you into the world well or make you care about these characters outside of just Krogu being cute And I saw four Babu Ficks on a little dunebuggy fly. Ially they gave me that That stuff There's stuff, but I sawonever in a rogue squad we're going to talk about talk about that. I saw someone in a review say Nothing else you did was good. Things already were getting out of hand when season three of the Mandalorian lost the intimacy of the lone wolf and Cub dynamic and the standalone adventures. They did try to make this one kind of lone wolf and Cub and Cub where the second cub was Jeremy Allen Bite He has flg He has a jack. He's sort of it' long between hub and Bub It's insane that. I want to keep I want to be cle we would do of like they're gonna to make a movie with like hot Joba' sn. Like he's played by Jeremy Allen White. I want to be clear though, even me saying like I liked it better than the reviewers. I think being in a theater with a bunch of kids helped. My final feeling really was Going from a show that I loved that season one made me feel like maybe Star Wars is back on track The end of the movie as I walked out, I went Did I really just watch those two fucking asshles fly away in a sationship again? Like that that what Like I liked it better than the reviewers and I still walked away like That's not how movies work. movies characters are different at the end than in the beginning and they just copped out on the very basic narrative choice at point A things begin and in the end you see how characters change and how that affects the narrative If this movie would even claim to have an emotional arc. Yeah, it would be well. Dinjarin, the Mandalorian himself, who learns that someday Grogu' gonna grow up? Well, that is and like vaguely accepts it. If can I one thing about Grogu it's that he ages so fucking slow. Well he's not allowed to grow up that we can't sew him in toy form. We can't slmontoy for. Be timeline wise, I think Manda will be fucking dead before Grogu even hits puberty. Can I there's a thing I do want to talk about that I wrote down ties in directly to' brou in they're written Rapin. And what I don't want to d to dwell file under sorm. I don't want to dwell in era of fan fiction is boring. Okay to the exact point that we're saying right now of like this little muppet sells toys. we can't ever have them change. is very frustrating corporate thinking There is a thing that I perked up for only want to put out there as like fantasy booking, so to speak. Okay, I wonder if it's the same thing I thought because On because I have a feeling that if I say this out loud, right here day after the movie came out on the blank Check podcast that I have a feeling It may be revealed at some point that corporate interference interfered with something I thought they were about to do. Okay And I had to say the thing please What is the thing? Why are you already mad at me David, this is already read of me. We never would have met. I drove from New Jersey. I paid tolls and cogestion prices and you absolutely cover your travel. Jeez, just help in. o very far. businessiness expensive. You know, no one told you to move to the boonies. Sorry, he's sry. sorry, sorry he's happy. He's kindas the canoe. kayak. You got a kayak, You got a kayak best Dragon The dragon thing scratches. Yeah Mando the poison he They established this poison is going to kill him tells Grog get lost. Yeah. Right in the Grog comes back. Yeah. he puts him in the weird little mud hut. he tries to build Bonks his head a couple of times. It's sort, but I've seen it a million one Bonk I laughed and then they kept doing it and it' like guys, you got me the first time byy the way, Bonk was the laugh in the audience. That was the one. I'll also say to Nobody loved Babu Frick's original appearance more than me, You guys heard it. True I don't know that multiply it by four and put them on a fast little doom buggy is like, come on guys.' treading on why people hated the ex. I posted a negative letterbox thing and people in the comments went, how was Babu frick? And I'm like, this is the trick they're pulling in the marketing People are like Babu fricks in it. And I'm like, no, this is set Decades before Rise of Skywalker at best We are watching Babu Frick's uncles. Yeah That that' some of what I'm about I act Yeah truly. Some of what I'm about to say is tangled up in the existence of this timeline that they're b to He's there with the fucking scratch.. They establish that they have said so many times that Grogu doesn't speak, right? They explicitly say he doesn't speak.. Th all feel like choices here. Yeah. I will tell you, when I'm watching Mando with that scratch. Yeah, I am brought back to one of the most influential moments of my entire childhood which is Transformers the movie I did not see in the theater. I've only seen it once, but Optimus Prime dies in' it's one fameies in it, right? Fameous d nineteen eighty six year old. Optimus Pime dies, Orson Wells was dying when he recorded Orson Wells plays the plan. He plays Unicron. He is a giant transformer the size a planet, right? It's incredible It's fantastic fantastic use of weird. Optimus Prime. byy the way, incredibly. But Optimus d to said. to be the first let me talk to you about the movie. Let me talk to you about this. So because I'm older than you guys. I was watching Transformers epode by episode as a six year old child It was like one of your first genre. I'm hanging on things. half an hour, half an hour, half an hour Is it the matrix of power? Is that the matri of leadership? the Yeah. Yeahah. the m ofership. Yeah, right. Yeah. Cube. My parent I did My family didn't have money growing up and that was the same year my parents bought a new house. so there was zero disposable income. pllus I don't think anyone in my family wanted to sit through the Transformers movie. But also you're not getting hot rod that year. No you're not getting minots. I never had the big Trformers tooys I only ever had mini bots, manyany of them bought a around Like headadmaster. So we' mini bots. Okay many many bots. When when we do Michael Ber, I don't Transformers the movie. I'm six years old. I think it was eighty six it came out You're right. Yeah. this is the aniversary. I'm six years. I turned six in May of ' eighty six. okay? I don't think the movie. Thank you so much. show comes back on in the fall. For some reason, it was not on at three hundred thirty. I was watching it before school and before school, the new season comes on and it is revealed to those of us who didn't see the movie 'causeuse that's six, you're catching spoilers the internet world. I turn on this show and realize they fucking killed Optimus Prime. And when I tell you without exaggeration, I remember distinctly Falling to my knees and grieving the death of Optimus Prime as a six year old boy, That's not an exaggeration. It is widely reported as one of the greatest kind of like corporate boondogles of all time. They went on the level of Coke. Right where it really fucking damaged the brain. They were like, we're doing this. And then they were like, what have we done? They flying in the theater They also sold a bunch of hot Rodomus he went from hot Rod to Rodomus Prime. Yeah. They sold toys for him fucking It was the blue and red guysy's name. He's the alf of something. That reason they did this. Like what was there was dramatically there is a story couldn't read. It wasn't like some like We need to get rid of optimist because we don't like the whatever. I have read that they wanted to kept kill in the Michael Bay movie. I've re that they wanted to Duke in the G.I Joe movie. Yeah Yeah but that there was it was flagged that it would be like really disturbing to kill a human. so they used the idea They were around the same time. I think they just point being no. they were lookingight of swing and it was back Can we end on a downer note? I think it was that I'm watch in Mandalorian and Grogu and I go they really about to kill fucking Mando? It did kind of feel like interesteresting. And I have a feeling there was scpt he was going to die And I have a feeling where then Grogu is going come back and we're going to watch Grogu go fucking ape shit We're going to watch Grogu murder those hutts in a way. You' that joba h f Let me let him fin. Let him finish. I think I think you're going to see him fucking wheeled he's going to pull off fights that fucking Ray park as Darth Maul didn't pull off. Yeah. He's going to do disturbing shit that's more disturbing than we saw Vader do in Obi Wan, the most redeeming aspect of the Obi Wan series. We're going to see him fight moreore with more fucking Yoda shit than Yoda did versus Count Dooku. and it's gonna to end with him finally saying He's gonna say he's gonna end with him saying his first words my father he was. And we're going to realize that Jaba the Hut's son is witnessing it and we're going to see a franchise that so canonically says that sons hang on to the s It is the responsibility of a son to reject the sins of the father and not carry them forward in generations. We're going to realize that Mando's refusal to have Grogu train fully with Assooka And Luke was about the emotional attachment, the most dangerous emotional attachment in this franchise since Podme and Anakin himself. And we're going be left with a clickhanger that suggests that perhaps Grogu is reactivating as the Jedi Master Yodo was, or perhaps the Sith have been reborn because Mando was not brave enough as a dad to let his son go live his own life And it's going to be one of the most it's going to be the best And most intriguing heel turn since Hogan joined the goddamn NWO And somebody came in and said we can't do it. Grogo' got to stay a good guy. There is no way they were ever going to do that. I will predict that someone will hear this on blank check and it will eventually come out that there was talk of Killing Mendo and turning Grogoo back. I would bet money. I agree with you on it would go out of much more than I agree. It would finish before you make face f I'm making the face. I'm making the face. I thought there was no universe in which Gro Group ever turned back Did think for a second This feels like at some point someone pitched Hmando die. It got shut down almost immediately. and they were like, what if he's out of commission for thirty minutes? It's a great it's not great. It's a far more intriguing movie if Mandol fucking dies. I agree with you. It felt like that was killed immediately. are crazy. What David Sims, you're letting me down Sorry No, you're letting her down right now. Absolutely. You're calling me crazy. I'm just getting yell at something I will actually shut You're literally calling us crazy guys. I have ranted for five minutes about how you think they wanted to kill the Mandalorian in the first Mandalorian Let him have thet have the Okay sorry. but like no guys that is weirdly heated. Yes, you guys really yelling at me after slattering on you guys started telling a notoriously mentally ill friend of yours that he was crazy on m Career suicide, twenty seventeen highly rated in the Atlantic. Thank you so much, but it's an insecurity of mine to be called crazy. crazy What about this No, it's just like, why the fuck would they kill This is a dude The fucking grow and change drone. a narrative chance and to meet the moment We are not living in a time of happy fucking ending,? you' different than together. You guys are triggering me because I think the worst, worst, worst dramatic choice any franchise ever makes is that death is like a way of, you know, conveying storytelling like majurity. But you don't think a st in Star Wars bother dying. No. It's been done a million times. Boring. May I boring I agree with you generally. Yes, is Ohh he died. Great. I Now it's important. I think it was a thing that probably in sitting down ideation, Oh, we have a Mando movie on the schedule two years from now. We just threout our season, what's the movie about I bet you, it was pitched at one point He is just asleep for thirty minutes was the solve for that The reason why I am inclined to feel gered that there were seeds of intention somewhere even if they were nipped out immediately is that the movie is all trying to be about What happens to Grogu when the Mandalorans' gone? How is he going to be on his own? And the only good section of the movie as we said is him being on his own. It is different than just killing a character for emotional weight or growth because the whole notion of the movie is, can this thing survive on its own? I also think the only section of this movie that had An narrative tension to me was, oh, I'm a little bit worried about Grogu now. He doesn't have someone protecting him. you're Occam's razering yourself. You just it's not that they were like, shouldould we kill the Mandalorian? They they were like, we need a Grogu section I really think they just fundamentally were anything with it He has the mandate of not doing anything. But they couldn't even say give him a little fucking light He has. Let him go crazy.is dad's moment Liter card with a blank head and a question mark on it of like, this is the real bad guy. And you're like, o, okay, like I turned to David I got a Gorney, right? They were like they don't hire that Gorny Gney becausecause she's the only famous person they got. Loo at the opening credits. there' noprised cast members. Or there's some secret, you know reveal they're gonna to do of either a new celeb or who backag. Or dark you know, Poney will store dark in and it's like thrwn or whatever, right? Instead they're just like, oh, that was just the bald guy you saw right at the start. That was just him and that's that and that that that's d This movie absolutely is just kind of like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, stop stop stop Don't worry, nothing happened. It's I cl getting heated, which I do apologize for. David, how much do you think that was from the start? How much do you think that was corporate interference? I think Rita and I are both on the friday. What I this Yeah think tanks to death. Yeahononey wanted to do. I'd Mandalorian Ahsoka crossover series. Can I set up can I introduce the podcast and then I feel like we can do all of that? I haven't introduced the This is why I'm trying to help you. I'm trying to help here. Well, sometometimes you're trying to help me, but I am in the middle of saying something. And you say can I do something while I'm in the middle. It a massive conversation are about to tip off. It's a massive conversation. Is this all This is blank check with Griffin and David. I'm Griffin It'sodcast Alph phmography, director early in their careers, giving a series of blank ches to make whatever craz they want. sometometimes those checks clear and sometimes they bounce baby. This started out as a Star Wars podcast. And then for the first five years, even when we moved on from Star Wars, newew Star Wars movies were coming out and we kept talking about Star Wars. And Gethard would come on to talk about other movies and we'd still talk about Star Wars ople loved it until they hated it. some' calling a dark grogu turn And it has now been seven years So near the laure the worst movie. Now. setet up your point in that time, d are films that have been announced and then cancellled. Yeah Kyie Jenkins. Rogue Squ. Rogue Squadron announced at Disney Investor Day liive stream in twenty twenty one. In a video with like Air Force guy or whatever. Right. Rogue Squadron might have been cool? Who knows? 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If you're traveling, you got late nights, packed weekends, zero structure, any of those Keeping AG one in your routine helps you stay Consistent. That's a loaded word right there. consistent.. When everything else gets and here's another loaded word unpredictable. Oh, I don't want that and I know you don't either. Look, it's a daily health with a multiv vitamin. Yep FreeN pro biotics. Yep, suuper foods and antioxidants. all stir lineup. One scoop, eight ounces of water. You just shake it. There you go. That's it. You drink it. It takes thirty seconds. I know you drink it every single day. What's your favorite flavor right now? Right now, I'm actually really big into berry. I've been cycling through them and I I've really been enjoying this berry phase. I will say this as well David You said wherever you are, I'm about to go away for six weeks and you better believe I just ordered a whole box of travel packs so that I don't have to travel unarmed. I had no doubt So Visit drink AG one. com slash check to get your free. morning person hat and free AG one flavor sampler. for that hat. In your welcome kit with your first AG one subscription. That's an eighty two dollars value s drrink. that's drink AG one dot com slash. When I wear that hat, it's gonna be so ironic. I don't like the mornings. No. But I love AG one. Yes also canceled or announced and never realized Untitled Taka Watiti movie. Yeah, Ryan Johnson tririlogy. Sure. David Bennyoff andice tririlogy. those was movies, right? tririlogies. Th things are all canonically dead. Correct Yes. And then at the Star Wars celebration three years ago, they came out and said, we're finally ready to announce the next movies here are the three James Mangold is gonna to make a movie that's earliest thing we've ever done on the Star Wars timeline. Right It is the thousand Jedi ago. The first Jedi sound That's so cool. But that wass like the old Dark Horse com. It's like these things so they bring a guy out and they're like, he's got an idea. And he just signed the contract a minute ago. He gave us one cent. And everyone's like, what's it called? When's it coming out? And they're like later. But yes, that is a thing. The second thing they announced was episode ten or something like it. They said it was episode ten. Okay. Dayle Day Ridley is back. Yes. that this is episode ten They had just fired U what's his name Lindoloft Damon Lindoloff Or he walk away. Damon Lindeloff had been on a secret movie that was then retroactively revealed to have been episode ten, which was announced with Daisy Ridley' coming back That movie was originally going to take a different direction. Now they were like, it's the continuing adventures of Reay That movie has had seemingly no public progress. Although it doesn't seem entirely dead. they keep trying to figure out what that is. The third movie that was announced is Dave Fononey has this master plan Fi style of all these series. They're building up to Thron as the Thanos. And he iss going to make a movie that counts as basically The phase one finale of the entire Disney plus project is gonna exactly Asoka and Mandalorian and Boba fet and fucking everybody. Who the fuck is thrwn You know what Benes. It's just a great question. Th's from the Timothyys onn novels. He's one of the only people from the extended universe they've brought into Ka.' blue He's the blue He's great. Okay. Ben if you watch Th those old Timothy on novels are fucking great. You know, people I remember I remember them being great. I read them, to be fair when I was thing twelve years ag. I also read them as a child. I don't really remember them. I remember Thon being cool, but right. they brought him into the show. were alien race. What was that species? Th like assassins that were under his thumb tell you And I'll Google it. They brought him in. he's played by what a third Michkelson or whatever Which Michkelson is this? we've located a third Michkelson. S something Michkelson. Mickey Michkelson. And I think I already said this on an episode. I can't remember Lars Michkelson. There we go He fucking has like Joe Biden energy where they're like meet thrawn, like the scariest and he's just like You should get asoka. I'll see you later. Like he doesn't do anything. Well, this is the faloney thing. There is no energy. Like Bring a character from an obscure cartoon that he also is behind and it's just Okay, it's very here there's a thing that here. Look at them ink, You know, just the way the Foney shows brought back Hiti Christianen to play Anakin. And he's like, here I am. Well the major project of the Faloney shows, of course, is that when Disney bu buys Lucas film, they go, hereere's the canon of Star Wars. The canon of Star Wars is The six movies that have been theatrically released. and the Clone Wars cartoon show. Yes. End of story. Well, and I think was rebels in the wor? Rebels was the first thing started by them in a bunch of comic booksight. Well once those started, they basically said, all previous comics comics and bookarvel the Marvel relaunched. prior stuff is now consigned to what they call leegend. Exactly and is not canon. Marvel is now going start new comic series. This is the start of the new canon We're going to do new cartoon shows that is expanding that We'll just say the Lando series. Y, veryy good and gives you a lot of a comic book. is a comic book that does a pretty good job of explaining everything you've ever wanted to know about Lobot. I would tell a few questions. I will say I think the first two years of the Marvel comics were really excellent and I was reading all of them. And then like everything else's not overwhelming. There was too much I. I can keep the TV. Yep. we all The first season The Mandalorian Rocks. It's a triumph. And like, you know, I feel like even those early novels, like the new official novels that were being written in the wider people were like dialed in The first High Republic novel people were all about. The reason is because they were really making an effort like to, you know, they were picking talented people and they were right. They were like, ye we have to make And then as you say They, you know a little bit I's too much stuff. I also think Falone Mi wheel spinning. I think Faloni's major project outside has seemed to be I want to salvage things and bring them back into the canon It has felt like that is his priority on the work he does. He's a bit of a keeper of the flame. What the world building. What is the extended universe stuff that has now been knocked out of canon into Legends that I want to reintroduce. So like Thron was not on the Clone Wars. They reintroduced Thoron on rebels. It was a big deal Holy shit, Thron counts again And then live action Thrwn in Ahsoka This feels there. The pipeline of what he's been doing for the last ten years is just let me pick my people, let me put them in a cartoon, let me make them live action. They count again. Next, repeat, repeat, repeat. That movie is supposed to be the payoff of all the sh. And then as you are setting up here Yes. The movie mysteriously kind of disappears, doesn't really get talked about again. and there's a sudden surprise announcement, Mandalorian and Grogu movie coming twenty twenty six, Stalone adventure. It does this negate or replace season Theres all other aspects And they were liing. I don't know. Maybe we do another season after this or maybe it would just be other movies. And then we also have to point out which I think everybody knows, Andor, which hits and is truly special. is a a mirror and we will talk about it. Of course. But it just also say J to only tie it into what we're saying here That with this thing that's regarded as phenomenal that's getting credit with something that I bet drives them nuts, even if this wasn't Star Wars. How does this even great come out of the Star Wars system? Like a lot of the praise is backhanded. Yeah like How do they also he roll over there You start to hear that there's bitterness about this and who knows how true it is, but the internet rumblings are that There's sides, there's like a Malononey bitterness about the Gilroy of it all Yeah. if Paleri, you hear these rumbling. Pallomi has his garden The Yso regards it as is he's kind of left to it and has apparently indicated that he's not a huge fan of Andor, which is only the more frustrating for all of us hardcore fans who feel like Andor is the thing that nailed it. it iss also just the thing that felt different. It's also That good entntirely different philosophical approaches. Do you want to make things that are exploring the ideas already within Star Wars in new ways. O Do you want to just kind of circle back to what Star Wars has been You know And it's a lot of like, you know, can I make movies that feel like the old movies? And Faloney, it's like, can I reintroduce my friends? Well And like Falononey, we should acknowledge is George Lucas' like apprentice. Yes, hisis Potawan learner of sorts. He was the guy that Luc the Roy Thomas to his Stanley. Right. He brings him over from Abar the last airbender. you have to talk about it. I think it has major implications. Very briefly talk. You brought it up I was actually I was trying to be under his his dropper and like Gorm in his hands on table. I don't know much about always heard is like a lovely guy. You know, everyone's always like, he's a sweetie pie. But like I do feel like he's the last like keeper of the flame of like the Lucas two thousands era of Star Wars a little bit. feeling Even though George Lucas is still alive, I'd say it's a little bit like Steve Whitmeyer with the Muppets where you know, he was eventually pushed out of playing Kermit there was this feeling of Jim chose him And now Jim's gone. have to all kind of follow what Steve says is right. Right becausecause it's like he's still invested with Jim's energy and we don't want like Yeah. And it's odd when George is still alive, but there is this feeling of like, I don't know, George picked Dave Ralph the most overrated. His name is Rolf. I feel like you've said that before. Rpect. You like to bust that. J Bys has been doing a muppets month and Wiger loves Rolf but hates all of the electric mayhem. He has the exact opposite takeape which is David, do you hate when I'm on this show? The internet always says you do. and today's the first day where I really feel like it might be true. I do not I do you know, I having a great time. I Loki again, will just stress you. Tuesday was very traumatizing for me was and I'm feeling a little anxious about the amount of branching things going on, but no, I love having you on the show. I know I've been through too be fair, I won't do it I have been threatening to the boys to make this entire episode about avatar the A it's not happening. seen haveave you never seen it? You I've only seen first episodes for when I audition for the Shamalan. I gott to say one thing about it. because it L said back in You watched it recently. My son found it. My wife and I both realized separately that we would go into tell him. it was time to turn off the TV and would sit and watch Wow, full episodes with him And then asked him at the age of then six Hey can we once he finished it Can we go back to the beginning and watch it together again as a fan?ight Like can we? I will.'. I will say it is It's a two thousand five Niclodeon cartoon. I think people know what it. Incredible. Like I mean Ron doesn't does what it is I haven't watched. But when you watch it, I kind of always lumped it in. There was a phase there where Dragon Balls E, Pokemon, these things that either were from Japan or inspired by Japanese and Right When it was on, I wasge and I was a little bit I was old I was twenty five years old when it came up, but my sister was the exact right age. She was weirdly into it because it's not it's not kind of thing. It's not weird. She tried to get me into it and then I had, I got an audition for what was supposed to be Shamalan's trilogy play soccer You were gonna play fucking socer. I mean I didn't get the fucking You play soccer. I did not get any Winers hook One of the leads of Avatar. rememind you they made soccer like a fucking hunk on the on the movie and he's not funny. But he's kind of a cry baby on the show in a hilarious way. But I just that's I've only ever seen the first first three. I've watched Avatar about I would say six months ago. Okay instantly really, really fell in love with it. You've been texting me about it a lot and I've been talking a lot about it with people, but have the steals. I have Cora You're the one who told me Kora's underrated worth the watch. I stick up. But David, I don't know if you had the same feeling. I remember watching it with my son Y. And the reason I want to tie it into today's conversation is that I had this feeling that was maybe slightly heartbreaking for me, but also made me really happy for him, whichich was, oh Everything I got out of Star Wars, he's getting out of the show. Oh like that you're not star to have the Star Wars shared experience with that Star Wars isn't meeting him where he lives today. Yeah They can just go watch an adventure movie and be like Star Wars, cool. Right. It's all of us who are old and who grew up with it who feel like, why can't they fucking figure out the moral tales again But since two thousand five, I legitimately think you could put I'm not blowning smoke. I don't know if you'd agree with this David but I'm like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and Avatar, the lastast Airbrender are to me the three fantasy epics that teach kids morals, right and wrong, good and evil, how to exist in a scary world. Avatar's very layered. So since two thousand five, kids don't need Star Wars to do that. Avatar has been doing that. that for a few generations That only a good thing. like it's like for not more options. But I think it's part of why I think I think it's part of why I can go to Mandalorian and Grogu and not be angry Why I can I can go because I don't think Riff or I were angry. We were just that was a bit of a nothing bird. was Yeah but we're really doing nothing here. comeome on. like I felt exhausted by it. I just think that as an adult when you watch Avatar and I watched it with a kid, but I do think there's something who said for like Okay, Star Wars, I'm sadly recognizing that Star Star Wars used to be something like for a lot of us I think a lot of us grew up and if you weren't that religious, Star Wars kind of gave you what religion gave you. And we get mad that it's not that anymore. But like maybe we can let that need to change. We need to let things go let things go. as Kyla Rraant said. Yeah, right, let the past go. The first one came out from last Jed I. The first one came out a year after the bicentennial end predicted Raganism and good versus evil. And it was at the same time as the Ramones and this whole idea of like, look backwards while're so establishing the future. You're not gonna to create that. No' no not cre the Ramones We. You think about the cultural moments. like a new hope, metacultural moment that need ties into looking back at the fifties and moving forward to the eighties. and Star Wars was part of that And like the heroes we needed them were Luke Skywalker and Rocky, you know, L it gave us these heroes that back at the moment. I don't know if we want to bring back a Johny Ramormon right now. I don't know think president little doe it The most important band of that era was also looking back while reestablishing an exciting future.. Star Wars refuses to fucking give that to us anymore And then when they almost do with Andor, a bunch of people involved in Star Wars publicly at leasts they get mad about. I was going to say it sad. It's sad, but we got to start letting it go if we're ever going to be able to enjoy these movies as anything except a toy f. Weirdly I think, you know Dering opinions, but Last Jedi really, really tried to do that. and instead it launched a culture war rather than becoming part of a conversation of what it was commenting on. No argument. Yep. End of my contributions to the Last Jediation. And then and then Andor I agree with you is sadly because of how fucking cyclical humanity is is really in conversation with what's going on in the world today. and inputs into the original trilogy in a way none of this other stuff does. But it is fascinating to me that now having finally watched it for the first time, it's the greatest fucking TV show. It's unbelievable. It's an astonishing work. I I thought too, I think if you watch Two seasons of Andor. Yeah, Rogue One and the original trilogy the perfect Star Wars experience. I finished Andor last night so I have not done the Rogue one rewatch post Andor. I know how that goes. I imagine because even like certainly I care a lot more Let's say Cassieian Andor? Yes. But let's also say a little guy that I know you like Chris Getard. Who's this? Someone who you've said is maybe the new Kit Fisto of the Star Wars universe. Oh if you want to get into a fisto discussion, we talk in I have aillion to say, bring Parrea. Saguerrea is the current fisto of Stars. Kit Fisto is no longer the fisto Fisto is now the title. I'm down. I love Sugarera It's character. Sgar is the most in so many thingsist. I love the most I playing ref.. giveive him the four. really need to talk for a second. Yes. Okay. David On Avatar the Last Nirbnder. veryer good show, wonderful. I think it's good that I can't wait to watch that with my kid. That'll be great. I also can't wait to watch Star Wars with my kid. I think there's room for all of this. My kid was unimpressed by Star Wars. Well now you' going to ask you too Okay, so maybe this is part of your is your oh, but you didn't take them to the movie yesterday. No. but you wasn't. This is your emotional journey you're on. You're right, You tried to get your canon into starar or like, you get, you know you shot into him and he was kind of like Right And with Avatar, I saw him getting it organically. Everything Star Wars gave me when I was his age Avatar's giving him now. this idea. we live in a laayered world.eople are put up on your phone. Okay. Okaykay, okay. sorry waitait, I st to reply. Okay, so Avatar. I watched that in the pandemic My wife had already watched it when it was on. So she knew it And it was one of those pandemic things of like we gott to watch something all the time, right? Like the TV's just gott to be on is we' so important So I watch all of Lavits are All of Kora like them I Remember I was watching with election night twenty twenty Biden Trump when Trump tragically. I mean, he won. we all know he won obviously.ight when he was lied to and the public was lied to. No. L I remember like we were really stressed out election night and like I was like, I'm putting on avatar. Like we werere not going to know anything for a few hours anyway. I remember us watching sort of cherish. Lve Avatar, got the steals, Griff Well seven love that haven't rec cracked that, but I have been kind of like, yeah, that'll be perfect for my daughter in like a year or two pretty soon. And you haven't done Star Wars with your daughter yet, but we know it' have friends, mutual friends of ours who have kids around your daughters and they're too older. We have like a bunch of friends who have all in the run up to Mandalorian been like Is it time to show my kidsarars? Yeah. We've gone through them and have Star Wars obsessed kids now. I would It' not a thing that's completely bouncing off the entire dney. My daughter's pretty interested in Star Wars because the toys are like what she's seeing. He likes the toys, he likes the characters. Fisto g give him some kid Fisto toys. You did, You gave him a kid Fisto Oesie when he was born.l And it was also a Coca Cola one. it was soda and Katfisto Gethered's. Two favoritees that is tr.ys off. He likes Boba his fiz. sureure. But The sense I get from the kids his age is like I can look back and I didn't know this as a kid, but I'm like, all right I'm gonna wind up not being a practicing Catholic and Star Wars is a little bit more of my moral and ethical, whichich is great. They're not going thatad out of it And it's a big ass It's a big askqu' like I need my kid to have it religiously connect. Avatar is a little bit closer. But that's fun. That's a good at least that's good. A least he's not I love love I mean, I don't know what what the bad version of this is Yeah But he's not out here like watching looks maxing videos. He's not getting in on that shit. He's not like, Dad, can I eat elkat can I eat elk meat and get a jaw reconstruction What year you introduce a kid to Clavicular? I don't know, twelve, thirteen Just the second they sort of start asking questions about their body, you're like, o, these are questions can all be answered by Mr. C Clavicular. someone who has to figure it out, Height lying. Raw Gerrera Kit Fisto or Lyman. It would be awesome if there was a scene in any of the Star Wars movies where someone said to Kit Fisto, like you come on pretty strong, you know what I mean? Like because what I love about Sacara is that even fucking Stalan Skarsgard evenven he's like He's a lot. We need every weapon in our toolbox over here, but my God is that man t to de? fucking love it because it takes Starmars from Rebellions are built on hope and goes no, they're sold on hope. Yes. They still so good about. They're built on fucking lunatics like Stalin Skarsgard and Suare. us Scarscard's name is Lutheran Ram. L Lutheran Ray. L It's Luthan and that's who built on fucking extreme mania. And when you watch by Luke Skywalker and the branding you know when I was going to say when andor I got too headed and I was like, I got to watch Rogue one right away. You put it on. You're dialed into Cassian And then there is Jin Urso. Right. And you are after watching Endor kind of like, I don't care about you or your dad. That is my exact concern. Jly Rck like Yeah. I like that that And maybe I'm giving them too much credit because I love much. And Castian's like flirting with her and you're like, you have a baby. but I I do like the idea that that All these characters were operating in their own little vacuums to foment this fucking thing and they barely know each other and putting their lives on the line andckit non trustuff in that mo In a better world too. Andor and Rogue one retroactively make one of Luke Skywalker's lines in a newew Hope So sad. Which one? I used to bullsey w. We talked about this before I'm not sure. That's the line. That line becomes so tragically fucking naive. and you realize everyone else in that room must hear that kid say that and go I hope he's not in my scotgeon because not only is he dead, he's gonna get us fucking killed. Sure, sure sure. And like the contextualizing of that Yeah, that Luke is legit O newew Hope imism was dead. The thing that brought it back about Andor is that like, right, it feels like I dont see what the emmpire did. It makes original Star Wars even richer because it is not diminishing it by being like, well, that's like silly for offy surface level kids shit. It's being like, no, this is like religious myth These are the sort of like figures that we can prop up as miracles that help sell a belief system and literally allow society to move on from tr new hope. Right. And it's like, here's actually the historical account Here's what was happening. Whereas the book of Boba Fet says, what if this character you've always wanted to see kick ass becomes a low level county level bureaucrat. effectively becomes a county's sheriff. Right. We should also mention, I think everyone knows this Dave Falonne is now in charge of Star Wars He is now the creative head at this moment. and I like a lot of what he'sing Kennedy stepping down Yeah some of what he's done. Have he watched all of Clone Wars? No, right? I've watched a lot of it. Okay. He was announced as a president of Lucas Film in january twenty twenty six. However Lynwyn Brennan who's a long timee like ILM person was announced as like co president Similar to the James Gunn situation where she is sort of the business person kind is the creative person R Because there is only one FIig who is seemingly good at doing both of those things and anytime they've tried to make someone do both.. It's been a calamity. And I think part of the worry If people trying to do an autopsy on the Kathleen Kennedy era, their takeaway was, this is kind of one of the greatest producers in Hollywood history. notot kind of inar arguably one of the greatest producers in Hollywood history But she worked with incredible creative minds and storytellers. She was never someone generating stories or even developing material as much And do you need a balance between someone who understands the logistics of production and management and someone who can have the big overarching story view And in theory, Fallononey is now placed to, he's not because it's over. At this moment, Yes, at this att the moment we're recording, that is his position. Right. But like Kathleen Kennedy's obvious eye was for, you know Yeah a great eye for T. C correct And It paid off for her pretty well with Star Wars until I would argue she started getting the Yips I think well From what I'm aware And I I have mostly from the audience. Last J I freaked out Disney notot Kennedy. Crect. Kennedy loved it Eiger, etcetera. which always like fans are yelling too much. So no more of that. whatever that Not only thatet it was like that was the best production they had. It was the only Star Wars movie that wasn'tridden with reshoots and panic. And she was unbelievably happy with the final results. And people like to erase from history, it made so much fucking money Be it was divisive, people like to be like and that one disappointed did in the year twenty seventeen Three of the ten highest grossing films in history. Kathleen Kennedy Star Wars movies, Force Awakens was number one of all time. It still is domestically. Rogue one was in the top ten. lastast year I was in the top ten was working. Yes. I mean, one would argue Oh, but then the movies after last Sot I didn't do as well. It's like, well, yeah because they were solo. Immediate problem. the shambles. Yes. And episode nine, which people are sort of like You know, oh, that's JJay Abrams' fault. It's like fundamentally what happened with episode nine was Carry Fisher died. Yes and they had to completely dynamite what they were doing. They also had a director that they were losing confidence in. They fire a director. Yeah. They bring in Abrams two months before production starts or whatever. Right So late. They Abrams like four months when they needed to push it back two years. Right. And Abrams is like, I don't know I guess R Yeah. I mean, he's just which you know, many people think and I don't think this is a baseless conspiracy theory. There's actually a lot of evidence that points towards this that Palpatine was entirely a reshoot thing I mean, that Seems impossible. I have no idea. Yeah, it's so crazy. I'm not gonna go down this rabbit hole, but there's stuff that makes it seem somewhat valid. But yes, it does feel like they started to freak out. We should mention also that the first season of the Mandalorian TV show, a show we all love Or that first season. we all mons before production twoo months after it doesn't matter. Karen. what gues? Um One month before Rise of Skywalker comes out, Disney pllus launches And their big launch title is first episode of the Mandalory.. It was before episode nine. Y when Mando started byy a month. in unis in the world says put a little baby yoda in a I mean Jly love They stuck a little yoda in a Pokemon. love this. I remember episode one, which ends with the reveal of him. Yeah. I was like Baby Yoda. I don't know. And by episode, like three you're like, Baby Yoda is one of my family members. I love Baby Yoda. love baby Yoda thanbody was everyveryone agrees. They were so mysterious about that show. Can you believe it's weird, John Favreau, the Iron Man guy. He's making a TV show for Disney pllus. They're saying it's not going to be cheap. It's going to be really expensive. It's going look like a movie, right? Yeah. They got fucking Greek Freezer to shoot the first season.. incredible. R? But they're also like it's called the Mandalorian And I remember at the time being like, that's nerd shit. That's nerd shit. Like this is supposed to be like, you know, for the masses That shit. And the other part of it was they kept saying, there's a twist in the first episode. That's why they're being so secretive. I remember you and I saying aed.' annoy if's Bobafed. Right. And instead, the twist is created we found fire. This is Grogu. This is like a new element on this earth that is infinitely powerful. And we all were like, fuck, that pup is pretty good. What is the show? And then the show her h doogs in it.g Y fucking weirdly cool because of that. Cool, weird energy. The show reveals itself to be like a Western, a like standalone He's a bounty hunter. He goes out in a mission. you meet new characters every time. All we've ever wanted. And it's like, here's the cleanest new entry point to Star Wars in forever. Anyone can watch this Actually it is free of kind of lore shit. Yes. And the only lore is like it's after Rurn of the Jedi. Yeah, The Republic kind of exists. The emmpire' still kind of you know, hanging around. It really really don to worry about it. Yeah. And I just loved. I was like, this is TV. This is not a thirteen hour movie. This is every episode is thirty minutes of an of an adventure a differenting of style. because I'm just remember. That's what I loved you know, when they start being like, let's learn more about the Crees. Season two. let's meet cartoon characters. Let's hear about the Darki and that's Faloney It's all protective of his own his own Y. Y. Yp and the stuff he loves. It's both. It's like, what's the lore that I grew up on? and what's the lore that I made in homage to the lore that I grew up on Basically I will say in general, I think the Disney plus stuff gets a real bad rap and I understand all the disappointment and sharing it I generally think there is something redeeming about most of the shows. I like Obi Wan and Asua better than average. I disagree on those two two I can't really go there with you. I watched them I can with Obi Wan hugely disappointing to once again waste the potential of viewan McGregor. It's just it was that's the only good thing. It is just him and Mosa Syndram both give good performces and everything else in the show was bad. I do think for the first time since his introduction to see why the galaxy was truly scared of Darth Vader And like I'm not going to be mad at that Yeah. No it just was sort of like What was he was like fighting with inquisitors? remember three of the small towns showing up as this cloaks fucking Yeah figure bl and people are fucking dying and getting their fucking Th of the shows torn up. Like that's I've wanted to see that my whole life. Arguably. all become the exact same thing. This is my big takeaway from grinding tape and watching a lot of these very close together, right I got really turned off by Mando season two where I was like, guys doing the exact thing I was praising you for not doing in the first season. Why is every episode reintroducing a character from lore and being like, look, it's Bau Katon. Here's Ba Katon's deal. It's Asoka. here's Asoka's deal. And then it ends with the deep fate Luke and I was like, I'm fucking on this fake Cerk is indefensible. You think soe I hate it. I hate it. I hate it I mean, the deep fake can' even a good performance. But the idea of Grogu traveling to go train with Luke Skott. can't do it C something else. You can't That's how I feel. I mean that's what they need to be smart to realize. It looks like this and you literallying them and that's where it becomes fucking deep fake Luke. that becomes like Let's just show our dick in public. You know what I mean? Like like take our dick out of our pants basically is like kind of the effect. Like there's no you can't actually ch created like a Mark Hamill soundboard. It's not even him giving a voice performance because the other thing that happens in the Mando movie has a lot of this is they become so obsessed with the text of like we're pushing virtual production and the pipeline and the volume and all this sort of stuff. We have our own proprietary deep fake thing that rather than just bringing Mark Hamilton an incredible voice actor into a booth haaving him give dramatic line readings and then putting a digital effect on it to try to make him sound younger. They like, Study every second of line delivery he's ever given as Luke. put it into a computer and then basically just do like text to speech Every line breeding fucking Luke gives is flat because it's like Broku. I will train you now thums me out, but more than that, watching all these shows close together I defend Skeleton Crew and the Aolyte. I think the cardinal family of both of those shows. Skeleton crerew got good reviews in general S Cws. Sketon Crew was like, let's do a Spielberg. Let'sielbergle thing in the world of Star Wars. So so late that people had kind of tpped out I I do think the people There's an upswing. I think it was underwatched. I think the people who watched it appreciate it. No one was really against it. I just think it all kind of shrugged it off. They shrugged it up because it's also Skeletson crerew sort of like this movie. It's kind of like, we're just kind of doing our own thing over here. We're not really trying to mess with larger stararsars Sketon Cw I genuinely appreciate that. I think both Skettson Crew and Acolyte have the exact same core problem, which is they should have been movies. They both have like peak TV issues for me where I'm like Y This is a two hour story that's now stretched to five or six hours Aoled genuinely Like a tremendous amount. butally I do think it would have been better as a move. Iven't even watch You should watch it. Aclyide is one of the I watched the first episode. This probably won't sell you. I heard such bad things that I was like, I guess I want I think you would find it interesting. It is one of the only things in Star Wars since, you know, the Disney takeover that one engages with the prequels. whichich I think is like vital if unless, you know, we're not about to junk them. It's the primary mission is to engage with the weird stuff happening between the margins and the prequels teextually. notot in a lower sense. ennggages with like Jedi Rot. The ideas. You know, the ide the idea of like what happened that like Yoda's like I'm not seeing this coming in then episode three and How the Jedi become this bloated bureaucracy. And that's what not witches? It's got witches. It does have witches. And it's got all this like interesting ideas about how witches are related to the force but demonize. But like they stand kind of in between the dark side like there's only one way to use Jedi interesting. It's about the birth of the Sith and it's also about how fucked up it is that Quai Gon Jin just abducts a kid. L that's the starting point for the show clearly as you watch it and just be like It's weird. Is this this thing they do all the time? No fundamentally it they do this day. The gon's like, I won you in the bet. so I get to take you. and he's like, C my mom comeing and he's like, I didn't include your mom in the bet And I don't want to hear about it again. Get on the spaceeship. eight year old. accish me in a way. I think people get pissed off the. I can't go with you. I'm like, whyy? you are a fucking Jedi. J take her. What's gonna to happen? What Wato needs a fifty year old woman? Like that badly? No, he sells her off immediately. Once he's gone, Anakin I'm com. No why? She wasn't in the bet I made with a bug jew. Mom, spaceship's a little heavy. We already have eighty as. second It's just when you're a kid, you're just kind of like, of course, because when you're kid every story is about like a kid being orphaned or separated from you know, but then when you're an adult, you're just like, qu God, just take her. That is what Acolyte's about. Like Acolyte is digging so deep into the text of what has been made and stuff that George did and being like, what does that actually say? What is that reflective of, right And if these movies, the prequels are about like how the Jedi were taken down by their own arrogance, then like where does that start and what was going on big picture. I think it's a really good show. I think it would have been better as a movie. I think the exact same thing with Skeleton crerew and Obi Wan was sket crew really should have been really should have been a mov. R. Obi Wan should have been Obi Wan O Wan obviously be a movie.. Obi Wan they had hired Stehven Dalry And they had started building the sets and it was going to be the next standalone after Solo. And when Solo underperformed, they were like, let's slow our roll and redevelop this for TV And you can tell You can tell it feels so fucking padded and Ahsoka Obi Wan and what Mandalorian becomes are all and Bobafet and Bobafet. But those none of them are great, but I forgot the book. But I was saying those are in particular Blew my mind is that they're all the same fucking show, which is like Stoic character. has a younger ward they're trying to protect while they're looking for one thing and one mysterious person is changed chasing them. It's all lonewolf. They're all that. And just the slightighter slightly different. We've talked about this. I've never read the manga. I've seen a couple of the movies. They are a de. I believe it. I mean Wolfen Club is so It is on Animated. M is animated. It's Clone Wars continuous. I was just following along as we were talking through all of the like releases in order All Shadow Lord I've never even heard of that. That newew cool shows that are also animated. I have't like bad batch. Right, R. And this is a minieries that's following up on Maul. David, sorry, you were about to say. I just had to answer Ben's Maul perplexion. And I forgot about Maul sh. I feel like Got into this sort of the Disney whoever. Lucas film got into this kind of endless on themselves of like Well, it can't be movie And it's like, well, why can't it be a movie? And the answer could be like, Well, because that's too similar you know, like Obi one like what We've done something like that already or we don't w want to do a prequel again Why can't Sketon Crew be a movie? Oh, it just doesn't feel big enough. Like that's that's more of a kid thing. So we can't why can't like Aclyite be a movie It's too complicated. It's too dark. you know, like andp you too we and I almost like can be a movie. like I don't know you know, right. I almost feel like that's giving them too much credit. I feel like they go, why should this be a show instead of a movie? And the sad answer to me is 'causeuse a movie they'll give us twenty bucks once And a show they'll give us ten bucks twelve times the year. There's a little of that, but like if you ever hit movie, you're making one goly money. One would think, but they had a streaming service to launch. They did. But they just startless to right move off trying to unwind this now. and you're seeing all the tendrils of Disney where they had been like, please make more stuff for Disney plus because all the money is going here and now they're like How do we train people off of thinking these things are unspecial and making them think once again that it's worth paying to go out on a Friday night You know, I think they just got in their head of like, well, The next movie's gott to be something big, right? It's got to be something you know, we've had a couple flops like we kind of need somethinghing that's going to set the new tone. Longer the gap goes on the more they feel the pressure of, well, now it's got to be even bigger to justify the return of Star Wars movies. And so they've sort of compromised with like, well, if we have a movie with Ryan Gosling as a star fighter, you know, that'll be good enough. L And that's the next movie. that's coming out next year, rightight? You're aware of this. I'll buy a ticket. Sure. We'll all go see it. But like with Mando and Krugu, it felt like Faloney was like, here's season four And Felonia and Favreau, I guess,' like, we've written season four. I guess we want to do it Disney Ssike That's gonna cost for a millionll It's going to suck I'm sure the script has so much Thrawn and fucking God knows Dark Sabers right? like I'm sure it's like heavy on lore because they've said like we pivoted from season four do something that had no lore. Right? We wanted we made sure the movie was going to be a clean entry point. Yeah. You know, Favreu said like, we didn't want to do any of the lore So Disney's clearly like, can you just do a movie u it's like, sure, can it be a big movie? No, no, no canan it just be It fun movie with Baby Gota in it. Yeah kids It her kid It' for basically middle school. I mean, this movie is flirting with being a PG. It's a P thirteen because it's got enough kind of like guns shit, I guess. It feels PG, but it feels kind of PG. And I yidly aiming for kid realactity. Right. I think what you're saying it just has from beginning to end, it's like, yes, sure, the bald guy is in season three. I guess I forgot about whichich I did not remember, even though I had watched one week earlier But it's basically just kind of like all you need to know is the Mandaln and Grogu go on adventurous together They got to go in I do feel like fundamentally, one of the questions we're circling around is it seems like no one in the Disney era is asking the question of out there need No. because people used to get something they needed out of Star Wars and that's why it's a franchise that for fifty years has meant so much to people One thing that really stood out to me about Mandalorian and Grogu that I think is so insane And I get it, I get what the world we're living in. I get the blend of visual No, no, no. I mean like the Star Wars universe is one with creatures and mks and a combination of you know, always the debate about practical effects versusus digital all this stuff, but I We are in an era where everyone's relentlessly talking about the loneliness epidemic and how much loneliness is killing us. And we literally have a movie where you only see human eyes for Five to six minutes of a two hour and fifteen minute move. Like everything is either a mask or digital. We're living in a world where everyone's lonely And I can speak for myself. I'll get weirdly vulnerable this deep into a Star Wars thing where I go, I am literally like a mental health advocate working to get kids less lonely in schools while also struggling deeply with the fact of, oh, I'm a living I'm so relentlessly lonely on a daily basis. You and I were saying this yesterday And there are people who for outside perception, people would be like, you got like a friend base and you're like busy and you're doing stuff And we're like, you and I are both like no burdened with the fundamental loneliness of literally lonely. Like my birthday is tomorrow and I never have a birthday party and reached out to friends because I go, a birthday is a reason that people will actually come out And I need to fucking connect with people. I forgot that that was part of this planning was to do this the day years a birthday present to myself is to be called crazy by David Simpson. I apologize for calling you crazy. I mean you are your notion that Cam Galorian would die and baby Grogu would turn evil at the end ofid movie little crazy. All' say is this When it leaks that that was proposed. Okay. We're gonna see you as crazy. Excited I to say like The idea that I watched a two hour fifteen minute long movie where I did not look at human eyes is just such a lack of grace of like what do people need Apart Eam Seorny it's like, you're right, rightight's hisis helmet comes off one time and he says, I'm gonna to kill you to the huts and it goes right back on. And we've seen versions of that in the show before And it brought me immediately back to Princess Leia in that first movie blast her up looking around the corner and she's stone b humanity. But she's teeny, tiny with these big doough eyes and she's a princess. It's primal. And you sit here and like you don't even realize it in the moment, but then you watch it over and over again and you go, oh, for like a late teenage era princess Tiny diminutive person that have that steely resolve. is masking so much fucking pain and fear. and you immediately are sucked in by Carrie Fisher's eyes. Y totally. And now what they give us is a movie Jeremy Allen White is playing not like Jack yelling that it's not like his dad. I'm not like my dad my dad. I just want to take another look at's hard sometimes You're like emotion on it. It's All of. Like I wanna love baby Yoda, but like a comment don't give a but's a cutie. I big eyes.'s the only address in the eyes canain. But he's puppet doing cuteit And like I just kinda need someone in my life to make fucking eye contact with me. I. And tell me a story that explains to me what's good and what's wish you a happy birthday. And that's star used to be Yeah right you are yearning for star Star Wars as you keep coming back to this is this sort of like moral force, which like, you know That's right. That feels kind of long lost And it's tough for it. But like, you know, franchise h part ofatever partart of the disappointment is that film you know, film fans and film nerds like getting vocal on the internet Comicon nerds like getting vocal on the interternet. Star Wars is a flashpoint for all of them I another big part of what's going on right now is like is a franchise that spoke to us on a deep level for a long time and just swings and misses and asks us to pay them for another shot. H And's like the boomers who made shit like Star Wars, you know, had a sort of a more woo woo and I'm, you know, speaking positively, right? Like this kind of like post hippie, you know, these interests, you know, this sort of expansive view of things. They like there's a larger issue. They're bling to help Optimism mixed with the punk cynicism. Yeah they' making a different these days. I think there's a larger issue. In my opinion, is Grogu needs cooking. Grogu don't need cooking and someone should address this I've watched in the last couple of months, six seasons of Star Wars television. You know a movie for the first time. I want to formally congratulate you on doing it. You thought I wasn't gonna get it done. And We haven't even really started talking about Andor. I wanna try to do something here. I wan to try to do something here, Ben, can we What's up As an exercise? Ben's eating the cookies. Ben Do You you want to bring this in? Do you wan to mention this Oh, I'm hungry yeah. snack. By the way,'s there's a merch spotlight, including a food spotlight at the end of this episode. I got bags under the table. But Ben snacking on Grogu know you guys want some? There's plenty of shair here. you want some Do wantan. All right. I got.an, can you stick your tongue out quickly Oh That's man. That's a blue t. Bue you start a counter for three minutes can And I'm not saying this is all we're talking about it I just want to like actually run through the entire plot of the movie in under three minutes. Of the Mandalorian and Grogu? Yes. yeah, go. Be I was practicing this on the way. I think you can honestly do it. Yeah threeree almosts roomy Okay, ready Okay, we start with Mandalorian on a bounty hunter mission trying to capture a warlord. He brings him back to Sigorny Weaver. Sigorne Weavers like, cool I got two more missions for you. One is find Rod of the Hut, Jabba's son and free him, brring him back to his aunt and uncle. Secondly, here's a mystery warlord. canan you find this guy? Roda my help. He goes to find Rada, Roda iss like I don't need to be freed. I like fighting because my dad was bad And so but by the way, I know where that warlord is. I can bring you to him. But then Mando gets captured by the same people and he gets caught in the fight with Rada. They escape, they find the warlord, bring them back to Scorny Weaver. Sorny Weavers' like, whereere's Rada He's like, Roda didn't want to be freed. She's like, this sucks because we work closely with the aunt and uncle. Can you go make things good with them? He goes back to the aunt and uncle. They're like fuck you. They throw him in a pit. He gets scratched. He falls asleep Grogu who's been separated from him and started was about to go Gremlins to gizmo mode, like Rambo style badass instead just learns to be alone, meet Steven McKenley Henderson on a porch, then Mandalorian wakes up and they have to escape and all their friends come and help them escape. And then Sirghorney Weaver is like, thanks for your work. That's the entire movie, right? And for some re, That was a minute fourteen And for some reason Cning Weaver decides they need to like nuke the hut They's already the end of the movie, it's kind of like, I don't know, S something's gonna blow up. That was That was whyine. fair It was a bit of an Eagles in Lord of the Rings moment of like if you can's like hi and he's like, I'm out of here and she's like, don'try about let it go. Lets quickly because the bombbss It's shot already. I also was like, man, like you didn't even have to kill the NazGL to get the eagle You could have done that the whole time. Look, look, the Eagles and Lord of the Rings is too complicated for this day. I would say I was fairly detailed there. was I not prettyt I mean, the only thing you left out was Scorsesee. Star making turn by Scorsese. Yeah yeah But but Scorsesee is not actually vital plot plot. He's just kind of like Rot us over there Hon who doesn't want to give information that mother funny. That Mother Parker was so hard that that character shin dude characters other part of the movie we We were like cannot believe how locked in he is Yeah. was H all It has personality and humanity. Does it speak to something that Martin Scorsesee, who has sort of, you know grumbled about franchise filmmaking In interviews. Ben prepared all of us a little dish. Ben's giving me some manando cookies. It's a lot of cookies. I don't know if I'm gonna e all those. But thank you, Ben. I got five other food items my back. But got really cool banana pudding with these blueilla wafers They call it like he plays the sameally in a wafers or something Like a guy being paid, you know, to like a chill like right this movie. on a flat meat stand. I don't know anything. D' ask me about it. I don't know Mbe incredible impression of Martin Scorsesee. as that streetcart entre you specifically. I hate it It tastes like a nilla wave for I guess there's no like blue flavor. No, but the cognitive dissonance of it not being blue flavor does fun rein a little bit. Well, we should properly name it. It is grogu nilla numummies.. It s is right here in the box, Nummies part of me that everyone sees. I'm Howie Mandel the comedian. Apparently I know what funny is. Funny bought me a house, but I also know what isn't funny OCD. I've lived with OCD my entire life and people throw the term around like it's no big deal. But OCD is severe, often debilitating. It's a mental health condition that involves unrelented, unwanted thoughts that can make you question your character, your beliefs, even your safety. General therapy can help with some things, but for OCD, it can actually make things worse That's why I want to tell you about noCD. NoCD is the world's largest treatment provider for OCD and is covered by insurance for over one hundred fifty five million Americans. Their licensed therapists specialize in ERP, the most effective treatment for OCD. If you think you might be struggling with OCD, go to ncD dot com d a free fifteen minute call, they are here to help. David and I, as he said, are sitting here at the theater And I want to be clear We're considerate moviegoers. We're not talking the whole time, but occasionally we turn to each other and whisper one sentence And I would say about every twenty minutes, one of us would turn to the other and go, Is this really all there is Like we kept being like there must be some well, story idea that the trailers were hiding. Not a big twist, but it's not that I wanted that No, Like it's not like I wanted the third act of the movie. I was basically like, is this movie going to be what it looks like, which is just kind of like a disposal. They gott to find one guy. except they find the wararlord halfway through And then you're like, he's bald. What is the movie? now? You turn to me and said, I actually don't know what the rest of the movie is. Right. And so then I'm like, right, will the third act be AI Luke and fuc, you know, who you know, take your pict show bad surprise behind the mist you know Grogu short shoots some lightning or Gross wings or you know really don't think Dark Rogu would have been a more interesting third act No, You really triggered me there becausecause it's the kind of shit I hate the most. You know we' actually screaming at each other. really I really hate the someone needs to die for a mov. Can you guys say that you love each other just so we can like you very much.. Here's my pitch that hit me But when we got to that section I was like, arere they gonna do some slop? Yeah And they didn't. No But instead it was just kind of like Mando'. Why did you even make this? What was the idea? Get away from the hutts? What's your pin? My pin. I just say one thing to close out that thought, please. And I think this actually is ful This does feel like the exact Star Wars movie you would make at a cultural moment where it feels acceptable to people to remove Stephen Colbert and replace it with Byron Allen's comics. I mean, just kind of like, let's not hurt any society where it's like we are we're looking for something and we're not getting att. They actually hurt you heard you just traveled over here from New Jersey Anything you want to let me share about We need to talking about this Lincol Lincoln tunnel traffic Byron, Allen. We gott to be talking. The Linkoln the Holl in the George W thir you know, like one of the crazest, you know, great comic figures of our life. Get That is that is a brutal comparison. Yeah It is one hundred percent on point. It's not even about inoffensiveness. It's about this sort of like whole weirdness of comics unleashed as you're like This looks like comedy, but it something feels off. Everything's for sale. It's everything comy, but it's in a hollow way and it's so packaged and strategized And they're acting like this is an organic conversation, but it's neither stand up nor interview. And it's getting an eleven thirty slot, which used to be sacredating this as if it's the legit thing when this used to air at four o'clock in the morning and this was only watched by people Wh were struggling. Yeah peopleeople who should not It was wed away drug at. Yes. Literally men core demographic My role. The core demographic was men in hotel rooms debating whether they wanted to live through the nights. Some of the worst nights of my life had been watching comomics Unleash and it wasn't because of Comics Unleash. Comics Unleash was meeting me where I was o You and I both just revealed that we watched that show all suicidal ideation. I just also want record. I just wna shout out to you that while we're all talking right now, everyone has a blue tongue. They hg immediately.illa wers talking. It went blue immediately. Nilla, numnies. numumbies, numb nums? Numbies numb. All, All right um Griffin, can you get? have I flag my own mental your pitch. I hope you're doing okay, Chris. So like minute threety forty. I love you, Chris. I love you Chr. You're doing all right, right It funny dissonance for us to do that bit while eating these treats. I gotta say you're making a little sinker face while you're eating vanilla numummies We've never stopped we never stop We never stopp. No' be kind good. It lookook, it's the most respectful way to honor the movie is to just keep snapping. buying the product, baby we don't give a fuck whatever you want about our movie, you're literally eating our t product bn about our movie We're giving you what you want, Disney did We were underwhelmed by the movie and thank you for the blue Nilla wafers, you fucking corporate fucks. minute. Like maybe thirty, forty of the movie They go to get Rada. Rada iss like, I'm not like my dad Dim Jarn's like, okay, I guess I'll leave and then they gas them And as he's starting to pass out, he's like, Grogu, run. I'll find you later. And I was like, o is the core idea of this movie because I'm not asking in going from TV to film make the movie really big in a Threads connect Thron comes in deep fake Lke kind of way. I'm like, can you tell me a story that could not fit within an episode? Ideally, that's a story of greater emotional range That's what I want, not necessarily even scale that's bigger than the TV show. A lot of this is the murky, uncanny valley of the more that TV has become like movies, does movies feel like TV? And how do we make this distinction? We saw it in IMAax Weirdly, anytime it went to the IMax ratio what is closer to the traditional old school TV r box. It felt more cinematic because it didn't look like Disney pllus Yeah, which is now super widescreen. This whole weird backwards thing we're living in, right All I want is for this movie to be like We came up with a story That is two hours long that has an emotional through line that's not an episode and doesn't feel like a couple episodes smushed together. And when Mandalorians getting gassed You're like they're going to make him do the Dajaric fight, which for the listeners who don't know. is the hollow chess board that Cewy has of the millennium Falcon where he plays against the three PO and then leans back and looks but the wookie w let the Wookkeie win. We see like the real version of that in this. It's like a pit fight, right? with all the big creatures And he's like, Gro G, go, I'll find you. And I was like, o, is the big idea of this movie that they get split up? That it is Grogu has to feend for himself on his own And Mandalorian has to deal with the emotions of feeling what that's like Now We've already split them up. Season two ends with Luke taking him. Mando's really upset and it's the first major boondogle in the Greater Mandalorian Eiment is they resolve that not in a movie, which would have been a storyline fitting for a movie or season three. They resolve that in the second half of Boba Fett, a different show. So then season three starts and it's like, this is resolved. now I'm training you And then season three becomes basically a b Catan show. As you said, David, it's largely Mandalorians talking about politics and caves. Right. They're in a cave. No any cave Dark Yes. There's like a big lake with like a a serpent or something that they're like fish. Right. We Yeah We maybe don't believe that it exists. And he's like shoulders you think it's fake? And they're just like and they're just there's like a lot of like, to what extent should we wear our helmets? And I'm like, Gody I'm also shut the. I'm watching it and I'm like, this show is barely about the Mandalorian or Grog who is right. They all kind of just sound like I'ma Thompson, so I can't like tell which one is which. Right. This movie still makes a big point of like the disgrace of his helmet being off. And I'm like, I thought all of seeason three was litigating the helmet thing and sort of going, A, maybe we're not that serious about this moreill with the helmetallyiterally too the extent that I was almost like, is this was this written before season three like in But like no, like it was not. You also have a very famous actor who has famously, infamously not done most of the physical performance for this character across the previous three seasons plus B Credit to him like his stunt performers are second and third buildill. Single card billing. Yeah likeike like big ups. for the transparency on this. But it is fascing that this movie is like, we had Pedro Pascal do one sequence We had him do one sequence that starts with a little emotional dialogue and then his one big action set piece. The rest of the movie, I'm like, did he ever meet Sigorny Weaver unt the press Yep, rightight D deffinitely not After the Dajark fight, he just immediately reunites with Grogu. And then the movie has them split up and get back together like two or three times until it finally does the thing where he's asleep because he was scratched H a space slug or whatever. And then there's twenty minutes of him having to fend for himself And I'm leaning in because I'm like I mean, this is the thing Grogu is the star. This is the thing they like and the biggest re the exact point where I would actually say, I mean, it's also puppet stuff, which I like. One of the things that I was most disappointed though by, I'm like At least we'll see Grogu finally level up. and instead I just saw him continue to be able to just lift I cannot deny that they consciously clearly were like, we're not going to have him level up. It's also it's a conceptual fuck up that they have him level up way too fast when he starts training with Luke. And when they start showing him do the Jedi shit, it always looks dumb. I think in your words, he looks like a fucking idiot jumping around. You said that about someone in the prequels, maybe grievous back in about many people I think so. It looked silly and they gave him too much power too quickly and they've already set up this thing of he ages really slowly. When the mando meets him, he's already hundreds of years old. but he's a baby. So any growth is going to be so slow as to be indistinguishable. And the money is this character needs to stay in this exact form. I agree with you that it feels like dramatically He should say at least one the end of this oneing in the style of Yoda and watch every theater go n. Totally. But they're too terrified to fucking with the magic of whatever the sanctity of Literally have T shirts. Literally have him say, Dad wake up. You must when Mando passed out and watch everyone cry their eyes out. Or numummies He could have said he could have said Daddy Daddy Daddy numies. Have him do one new force power or say one thing. Yeah and satisfy everybody, but that would that would disrupt my status un que. If I don't think the Dajaric gasoling I dont think I would like that W like what? him talking like yourod I think that would annoy me. So he just says Daddy. What if he just says Daddy at the end That would obviously wreck me Exactly. Well, because I'm a mark for this the right now. Yes. But even that's right what I'm talking like. I mean, the two major reasons they G like Yoda when he talks. He's a Yoda. He's a Yoda. I mean, this is the debate, right of like's a Yoda and a Yaddle all due respect Right.ike it's like we don't they don't call him baby Yaddle. That's true. Did Yaddle talk that way. I know Yaddle eventually made like a cartoon appearance or something, right. Remember the first season. Yeah, Brace Sttyles Howard played Yadtle Do you remember the first season? I mean, that might be true. It is true. I'm not joking Love her, loveve herard. R. V veryy pro Bice. First season We all call him Baby Yoda. Disney's like, please, call him the child. Don't call him Baby Yoda. His name isn't baby Yoda And we're like, okay, so his name is the child. And they're like, No, he has a name, but we're not telling you yet I remember when the Ahsoka episode dropped in season two, she calls him Grogu and the internet was like Do we like this? Did they just fuck it up is the sanctity, the purity of just little cute thing eats things. we have a name we like for him ruined. Eventually everyone comes around to Grogu for a name. This movie refuses to even make a move as strong as his name is Grogu. They're like nothing new y And part of it is, as they've said, their strategy in this is a movie now is they're like there is one thing that the current generation has grown up with of kids under ten They' Star Wars that feels proprietary to them. It's Baby Yoda. Even if they don't watch the show, Baby Yoda is just omnipresent cult. My son has a baby Yoda water bottle. My daughter knew who Baby Yoda was before she knew any other point they say G good My son is by far most familiar with baby Yoda. That' a Star Wars thing. that probably doesn't know much about Yoda The second thing, which is the Cars effect. Every Cars movie made less money than the previous one. They made three theatrical films and two planes movies and they all dropped The merch was insane and they kept being like Iuess we gotta make another movie to keep the merch relevant And at some point they're like, do we Maybe the merch is the thing. That merch still flies off the shelves. hot mch for that. Right. Maybe we can leave it alone. There hasn't been a Cars movie in almost ten years, but they're just like gotta do it again just to like the brand deposit And that's some of their math I don't think they were responding to a false notion of the public is demanding this But it was a real path of least resistance thing and also if our likeike majority shareholders are freaked out about our lack of action on Star Wars is the promise, Hey, I bet we're going to sell twice as much five times as much grogu shit twenty twenty six, Is that good enough And it feels like that's the only justification for this movie. And I feel like if in that scene where he's gased outside the Dajaric scene, they are actually split up for the next hour plus of the movie, and that's what the bulk of it was that Mando's trying to figure out how to get back to Grogu and Grogu's trying to fend for himself That's different than what they've done on the show. And that is a story that I feel I could sustain a slightly longer narrative would give us something. And then instead what I saw. Yeah was them get back in a spaceship just They're so mad that they. But it is How about the scene where they just Ggu Armando was like, I need to take a break and they like go back and they take a break and then it's like, okay, let's go and And I'm like Do we just do like a commercial break with Is there's a movie? There's a scene in this movie where they listen to our episodes. with Gethard talking about Star Wars in the past and I'm like, why are we watching them listen? She's not even a video podcast justust like It felt like television the whole time. L My final moment back in the spaceship. Yeah He lets Grou push the button. Yeah. that button. I didn't let you push side and you went, he gets to push the button out. And that to them is their notion of like, look at the character growth because they're like, we planted the seed. in the first act, he was like, don't push the button. And I was say was elemental storytelling. I want to say one very nitpicky thing, please. And Griffin, you just rewatched The seasons of the show more recently me I also found myself feeling veryer not into how often Mando uses dog language to tell Grogu what to do. Yeah, I don't telling him Yes. The little thing they they think is funny and it's not funny. It's like is he your kid or is he a dog? It is it is clearly that.s it's bad comedy instinction.. It was it ended up being funny a couple times. and I think when it used to happen, when it happens earlier Mostly in the first season. It's a joke is this guy doesn't have bedside mannerories He doesn't at this point this is his child No And dad, I watch it. and I'm like, thats child abuse. It's just when like at when now. When parents treat their children the same way they treat their animals you know that they're bad parents. Yes. Obviously the manandorian's supposed to be You know, whatever, a man a few words, so on and so forth But yeah, there's not much of a connection that you can detect because of how muted and flat. But this is the character seeasons lost their wayight. I mean, you have the end of season two and Luke comes on the show takes him right, right. So season one is perfect and is the one that ends with the Tyo IT robot saving them and everyone like all the characters melting from all the episodes sort of come together. and like it just felt like great TV. does that also though, Mark No let me just let me finish before we right. Okay. season basically ends with him being like, I'm going to keep the kid. Yeah. And then season two ends with like Gian Carlo Esposito wants the Dark Saber or something. and then Luke Skywalker shows up to rescue them and he Grogu, but then he takes Gro. I have to train him and Mando takes had her a tearful goodbye showing his face to Grogu for the first. And the emotional growth is cares more about connecting to as a creed than the creed and he's showing his emotions, the stoicism wall is over. And Joka's in seeason two, like she drops inwhere in there and trains try to train him a little Okay. And I guess she's the one who tells Luke to go find him. And then Book of Boba Fett was in between those two So like the first half of Book of Boba Fet is Boba Fett being like, do I want to be a sheriff? a may R I char I guess. The fact that he just becomes a sheriff, which is an elected county opposition There's never Bie. You know what's so wild about B that? Let's leave Tatooy. Yeah. go And the season ends with him kicking fast Bib foruna off a throne and going, I like that chair. Are you taking his position? It's no, maybe just the chair. We have say your thing. Yeah. I gott to say this On this show, we have created a Honestly at this point, our own language, which is ludicrous, but the idea of a fisto as represented by Kit Fisto in the prequels the character that you see And you go, I want more of that. E today that the current person holding the crown of all Fisto actually Sagurea whoo is dead in But in the Star Wars Univer even Fisto has been out Fisto by Sarguerrea. We've never talked about the fact that the most famous and iconic Fisto Is Boba Fett starting in the original strule? The original where fans are just like holiday What deal with that guy? All right.s interesteresting. And And then Vader says no disintegrations. and you're like, so he's fucked up, huh? Like So he's done this moment. We've been begging him to get him right. We have to be specifically told They have mishandled him so much that we've never even addressed that he's the original Fisto but he's actually He's the most mistandled the attempt to fisto To give the fans what they want. Yes in an incorrect way with a fisto. Yeah leads to what we have now with Bufett, which I would actually argue should now be phrased a swing in a misto. It was a swing in a misto was He's the ultimate swing in a misto in a misto. You have a fisto, which is Fisto himself absolute representation of what this should be Tease us with some intrigue and then don't give us too much. Make us watch some deep cut cartoons to find out more. Yeah. Sgerrea currently there with I would say we're probably not the only people Ben and I clearly kind of begging like you can get fucking forced Whitccur to recommit to a prequel about how that assphalt came to be. Yeah, I will put But you know, his back j is great too. I went down a rabbit jumble my eing all about' character. R was the c to confir We thing swinging Is that Sugerrea. Not looking like um, you know, force w Force Winak Cer is like they didn't have that idea yet But he is in the Clone Wars cartoon first You know, shit and like And like is a minor character that they decided to recycle for Rogue one. But then obviously Frest kind of just transformed the character And everyone kind of forgets that. that character's the rare example of a jump from the cartoon being interesting. Yeah. And done very in a very considerered way. And you also have to imagine that you're going to an actor of that caliber who whatever you tell me to go says, than you so much for your input. Right. I've got this from here. And you actually shut the fuck up and listen I think also rogue one is crazy where it's like He was gonna to be in more of it. There's a scene where he like rescues her and I think there's stuff. The trailer he has two different haircuts. one of the haircuts never shows up in the decided to cut of their relationship because like in Rogue one, he's a little weird because you only really see him, you know, in the last days of his life. Yes. And he's crazy. Yeah. And then Andor gives you much more seasoning on him, but it is still basically like you need to understand how this person became It's an internet disk.. Yes. He's kind of like the weather underground. like we're just try to blow shit the dirty work. He's the's getting shit done and they all love to pretend it doesn't have to be that machine. Mon Moff' the least like she's the most like we need to win over the people hearts and minds. We can't be blowing shit up. And he fs like a little closer to IRA that's like actually we need to kill fucking Mount Bat Yeah We need to how about we bomb a boat and kill an ancillary member of the R We that but also I don't care if right if we're going to kill some civilians like They're all culpable blah blah, you know what I mean? Like that kind of thing. dirty And Luthan is more on that side of things, but Luthan has some control. where saaw likes to like huff like where saw is the inverse of Vader. Yeah, well that they kind of do that in Rogue one of like he kind of found like the su. I mean, I love it th And L' one of the most psychologically fucked up characters in Star. But what I love about Luthan is he's like I'm a bullet casing and I'm going to be spent. Like I will be done and I know I will die. That's incredible character in And I know like It's in service of something important and I know that I'm like a sin eater, like I will do the bad stuff I know I won't be remembered. That's fine. Like I, you know they basically my shows up at the end of episode two in the first season, I think And I was watching the first two episodes and I was like, yeah, this is good. But there are a lot of great TV shows that people tell me for years to watch and I watch them and I'm like, I get this. this is well made, but I don't like TV this much or You know, that's right. And you've been hearing for years from people like me who watch Andander Wars You love Star Wars. This is the greatest where like have you don't understand it actually rocks. likeike it's actually it's not where do you think it stands up. in it's the best thing they've ever done apart from the big two. I mean, I don't think that's to being empire Yeah. Yeah. I basically I'm inclined to agree with. Yeah. It's like were w five seasons. I think what said previously on the show about Rogue one. And I think I think if you view Andor and Rogue O as a package deal I think time will only perhaps elevate them even more sib Yeah, but I also think part of its power is that it's building something underneath the foundation of the original Star Wars. It's in conversation with the original conversation smart way serves It makes it. Yeah, exactly. It doesn't feel like it's like, you know,' messing with it. I'm say this has a callback, but also really There's so much eye contact Truly There's so much fun. making voices in spaces about it. The idea that like it's not digital that you go like, o, sometimes the way a street revolution starts. someone takes a spoon and bangs on a fucking frying pan so you have time to lock your dooror those first That's the most human real ass shit, you know? Those first two episodes, I'm like, this is well done. Yeah. Second episode ends with Scarsgard on the train. I lean in a little bit. I go Scarsgard interesting The third episode starts with him introducing himself to Andor. likeike two minutes in, I text you guys And's the best shit ever. I get it immmediately. I see the whole thing now. just the entire conception of his character is so perfect and so smart. and then his performance on top of it and then everything feels like that where you're just like, oh my Godd, I'm watching them practice um, rebellion runs in the mountains. of how they're going to infiltrate these things. They're doing their play. rightight. This is like the fucking Cuban revolutionaries. like it's so smart about like comommenting on human history and also the text of Star Wars. And this is a big thing I felt watching all these shows and watching this movie and you saying David, like the seventies creatives more woo woo and all of this. There's a bigger thing, which is the magic of Star Wars is that George Lucas put basically the entire history of storytelling into one container He was like what if you could make a three in legend exists with Saturday morning cereals and religion and samurai and Westerns and all of this shit. And he put it all on a blender. And then he kept pulling from different genres. What if you have an alien kind of mob boss, that's Jab of the Hut? What if this? what if that? And you kept building and building? And the longer Star Wars goes on, Star Wars starts to become more and more about itself The prequels for all of their faults are not about themselves They are him saying like This is actually what's like the foundation of this world I built. You know, It's about me commenting on the cyclical nature of how, you know fascism rises and falls and all these sorts of things, the human instincts and structures and governments, you know and people in power. And the Disney era has had this really uncomfortable relationship with Are we trying to comment on Star Wars? Are we trying to make a new Star Wars for the current audience? A we just trying to point backwards for the things that the fans love minus any of the deeper meaning I have not watched much Clone Wars, but the people I know who love Clone Wars, and I'm sorry I'm forgetting who said this to meure. But someone recently was making the case. For why cloneers were so good P probleblem with the live action shows and specifically the faloni led ones have been And they said this thing that Faloney did that was really smart on clone Wars Hful episodes rough goingo That was the stuff that felt a little more passed down by George. And then Falononey starts to find his own voice And what he did was he clocked into George was pulling from so many movies he had watched So many stories he had read, books he had read and stuff Fononey just starts watching like Turner cllassic movies and going like, oh, here's like a B noir from the forties This is kind of an interesting plot line. Could I transpose this onto Star Wars? And part of Star Wars to me, the magic is that It's taking a different mode of storytelling or a different genre and finding how to put it into this universe. Andor is doing that. Anders like, what's the Star Wars version of Battle of Algiers. R? Totally. And it rules and it's in conversation with everything and it's deeper and more meaningful for that reason. I think Aolyte does that. I think even Skeleton crew in a very superficial way, well not being self burdeny or whatever. the Gies Gonies inside Star Wars And that in unison. We did. And Mando That's right. Mando smartly, why the first season works so well is it What if you just did Yeah do lone wolf and cub, do gun smoke Yeah. You know, do like how gun wol trout or whatever question that I have for you, Griffin having just watched it though, because we've talked so much about how And again, I'm the one who liked the movie the most had fun watching it Sow shit I enjoyed and still kind of rolled my eyes, but like partart of it feels like change a thing about Grogu. He's our money maker. This is about is our wars and beyond that, it's about Grogu. It's like about like it's so myomic then we also talk about, you know, from Force Awakens to L Jedi to the Rise of Skywalker, how they're constantly Unwrapping what's been done based on overthinking fan reactions in this and How in the world in an era where it's clear that the creative and corporate culture is leading to so many moments like that, let alone the number of high caliber filmmakers that have been announced and then It's been pissed away How the fuck? This is Tony Gilroy two seasons of a show on that so clearly meet the moment in the way no other Star Wars is and which He does a show. about regular street level people trying to deal with the encroachment of fascism at an era where the news is so heavily dealing with All over the world, street level protests of people trying to fight back against the idea No Kings, George Floyd, Minneapolis last year. I can't answer this miracle. How did he pull that miracle off of getting it off? He pulled it off in the way that most miracles happen in this level of like corporate art, which is like something slipped through the system. There was a mistake and it was actually it solved a problem to let him do this Same deep pandemic, Disney Investor confonference D day where they announced eighty seven projects and these things that used to happen behind closed doors were suddenly live stream. none of us had stuff to watch. So many people were watching it and it was being reported on They announced these movies that didn't happen and they announced like eight TV shows Half of them never manifested There was some new Droid show that never happened. There's the Gina Corano show that never happened. There's the Lando showh that never happened. Oh boy. And Andor is part of that lineup and or was of the things they announced that hadn't actually like been going. And Ahsoka was part of that as well Andor was kind of highest priority A, they have Diegal Luna on a contract. They're trying to negotiate his holds. He's a busy actor. They're like spending money to keep him available to do a show.. They hire writers quickly. They start developing it. They put months of work and money into it. I think there's some amount of pre production. What Jared Bush, was Jared Bush's show. And it was also Stehven Schiff who had come off of the Americans. There were a couple different teams. but Jared No, Jared Bush develops the show, the Zotopia guy writes the pilotind utopia. That's original Yes. he writes a pilot He writes a Bible. Yeah It wasn't Gilroy at first. Noot at all. Then Siff is hired as the showrunner. Yes. And then Gilroy joins in a little later And that is how this all happens. happen where, you know, where he's like, I have a few notes and then it's like he seems to have just kind of taken over in a good way. My understanding is, you know, Rogue one, they said, like the movie has problems. Can you come and fix it? And he was like an assassin And they credit him with solving a lot of the issues, even though it costs a lot of money was a lot of panic late in the day And so they're like working on this and they're like this utopia guy Stephven Schiff, who's coming off the Americans. Oh, let's hire a spy show guy. None of this is working And they're like, canan Gboy come in and give us the three fixes?? And he sort of says like, I think you sort of don't have anything And Kathleen Kennedy challenges him and says like Okay, if you could do anything, what would you do? And he goes, let me think on it And he comes in and pitches it and basically there was enough money sunk into it It was prudent to do something with it. And then I think they got excited by it Yeah. And they were like, let's fucking support this But he never could have pitched that from the get go. I don't think so. Yeah, I don't think so. And it doesn't seem like there's any part of them that's going to look at it I don't know about the actual subscribers, but the critical praise and the fan like they matters. Well, they listen to the negative fan love to the point where they have I think that Abrams unwrapping his movies, but they don't listen to the positive fan love to go like, what's our next political star? But how do you replicate Andor? They're like, that's like, saaw Guerrera. Well, you know, people they them saaw Buzz Buzz, Motherfucker Guerrera from the Book of Saul. You know, like it's like this weird series of accidents that led to this thing. It cost a fortune they don't to do that. You know, I mean, partly it's COVID, partly it's scam meaning to, you know, But also Gilbery was like, if we're doing this, it has to look real. We need like bodies in placeac. They said it in like real places. Yeah Um But Na was shot entirely in LA which they keep saying And people have been making fun of Favreau for trotting that out. And obviously, it's like Fabau he's doing right by the industry Exactly. He' doing right in Hollywood where a crowd understands like that matters right now. And I think that's fine that he's human being, it's a great move. But some people are kind of pointing out like, hey, man, Starars is kind of defined by like going to a really crazy place or whatever or even Australia, you know, where pretty call. like ye And cool landscapes. and instead, like you're having a conversation with Rod of the Hut in what's clearly like nothingight O credit to Favre, Like the unions exact and the out of work people in the. What he's saying is I r in fucking Bulgaria guysy. Right. knowight. That's what he's saying. They weren't gonna shoot this in real places anyway. Favreu has basically become a guy who seemingly doesn't like fresh air or daylight anymore Right? like you're right. It was a binary. It was either they go to Eastern Europe or they shoot this in stages in America, but it was going to be shot on stages That in and of itself is not a death knell, but it's like every decision on this movie is a version of that And there's even a story. there's a vulture article that came out yesterday at the time we're recording this about like Clown scen in LA. I read that No one's talking about it. Everyone's normal about that piece E Did you read it? Yeah. I was just jumping into to make a joke. No, no, no. Anyway you're the vulture piece you were saying. It was it was asking the question of why is this the thing that they made? What was the strategy here? Is it going to work? It's not ing well, right? The reviews have been bad. Everyone's kind of shrugging about it and they call out this movie was very cheap to make, especially for Star Wars. It cost one hundred seventy five million dollars. LA was so grateful to get production entirely there. they gave a twenty five million dollars rebate. It costs less than one hundred fiftyars, which for Star Wars is nuts. I know it's an insane amount of money. It's nuts, it's money that was spent to putut a lot of people to work and create jobs and fucking whatever also have this anecdote Tw friends texted us yesterday. Yeah. and I was like, there's the review right there. And they go, Disney just trusted Favrero because he's like a smart, steady hand. He launched the Marvel Universe Lunched Marvel. kind of launched live action Disney in a way. He doesn't stress out. He gets things done. He works fast, he works quick. He's such a multitasker that one day when they were filming Easy interior shots of Mando and Grogu in the cockpit. He also spent his time grilling up five hundred grilled cheeses on a griddle for the cast and crew. and I'm like This feels like a movie made by a guy who's also making sandwiches at the same time. Chef call that. There are these shows that feel like, you know, we joke, this is a show you're supposed to watch while you're folding laundry This is a movie made by someone who's in the act of folding laundry. And it's like, it's the whole thing there where you're like, it's great that he brought production back to LA. That's nice that he made sandwiches for everybody. know mes in the cockpit should be better. I would not be shocked if this movie outpaces the financial projections that the reviews are dismal about because People are gonna to bring their kids to it. The Thursday numbers which is not a kid thing, right? I it will come in the weekend Mattee afternoon just wait to watch it out. streaming is now also It's also a problem. Yeah. But the Thursday previews when you went to see it are lower than what Solo did. And Solo opened on this exact same Mmorial Day weekend and made one hundred million for the four day and like eighty for the three day. And this is looking to make less than eighty for the three day Coming in below the low watermark. It's coming in at solo or worse. Yeah. It could, you know, because it's a family movie. you know, you could see some improvement. It's kind of like a rainy weekend. Yeah That's sort of good and bad, you know, like that can help drive people to theaters. But their triumph would be we did the exact same number as solo. The idea of them doing demonstrably better than solo basically out of the question. But also when they make a bunch of money from all the toys and theummies they're fine They're f. mean it's It wasn't that expensive shot solo two times. Solo cost like four hundred million dollars.. They' They're going to be fine on this, but like the long term gain of Fine When Star Wars is kind of in crisis and Andor is starting to feel like an aberration Yeah. and like I guess Faloni's hope is next year we have this other movie comes out. It'll work and it'll do well. Yeah. and my skin is saved. Yes. But if I'm in charge of Disney and see this go over so poorly. This is going over poor It's going over poor. We've got bad reviews and it's not doing well financialally. BlankCheck's barely even talking about the movie it right BlankCcks mostly just talking about Nilla Waferers and Avatar, the last Airbender. They're saying it's a good episode ell if people are going to be upset that we're not talking about the plot, but I did that three minute challenge thing and that was one hundred fourteen. Our editors struggling a little bit with the screaming, but we'll make I even think about that. Thank you. Thank you, Alan Smith. Cut that part out. No, I can keep it in triple it.ope A Appa's last day is the best lost days. That's the best stretch about. That's that's very good. I mean, I love all the bussing say stuff a lot. I think that stuff's really really amazing spepecial for kids, especially like, you know, like teaching them about totalitarianism and about like placement and refugees and all this stuff Callodian cartoon Christ. Yeah. No, I didn't watch it. I don't watch it first second. up many years to watch. Hotalorian and Cascu. Oh, sure. I XT, but just say is sorry, I just finish it. Is Falloney fired? rightight? Like Is there a world where someone above at Disney is like Star Wars needs a very strong hand at the till now Star Wars is a little lost Yeah. We need to do the James Gun thing that DC did. We need to bring in a respected creative force. I have no idea if they do or don't. I don't know. But like if I'm in charge of Disney right now, Kathleen Kennedy has gone out into that good night And Faloney with his cowboy hat. he's in this movie. He's wearing a stupid hat. Trapper wolf. God bless him. Do you think his performance at that robot is when he said, I'm the shit and I won't take notes that you think so? I think it's all part of it. I think I think a lot of contributed to the white and he was really feeling himself girdling say. I was so wrong about I thought Th our movie was gonna to be do the Goddbooker stuff That's one of the funnest friends you've ever. A lot of your friendans making fun I would say If you read the comments, No, you're right about this. He's good. He betrayed it to have his own character make jokes. Yes. He betrayed everything amazing about the storyline so he could keep coming back and personally making jokes. Thor Love and Thunder, which did you ever catch up with this? I still have not seen it. It is the only MCU movie I haven't seen. I haven't seen Iron Man three, obviously Oh so good. best. I regret to inform you. it has one flaw, but otherwise, it is maybe our favorite Marvel movie. It's the one flaw that I was cut from the first.orct. Obviously it's only thing that could have improved. I acted opposite Don Chheetle and the cutting role.'s a great actor Unfortunately, he could not overcome the massive deficit I brought. No No Thor eleven Thnder's one of those things where I'm like that kind of slipped under a bit of a sort of post COVID radar. It doesn't get like shit, but I think it actually does not get into shit how fucking bad it is. And you're with that level of riffing that's freicaking sublime. then then the source material goes out the window. The riffing was frreaking sublime The riffing wasrific. What did you want to say, Ben about the Mandalorian postcque? Ecuse me the Podalorian and cast. I sent you a text. Can you just right now? Yeah, look at quickly look. The greatreat Pat Reynolds are longtime Photoshop artists titled this episode The Pod Potalorian and Cast Gu. We giveave him no, I don't wantan to make you here. I'll just show you the picture. Yeah, And I found it I found my phone. Okay because I do think there's some powerful stuff going on here. He doesn't, you know, we rarely even give him notes But he usually drops the thing like a day or two before it needs to post and we just trust the process. He sent this photo yesterday and it did have us reeling I even showed it to my wife and I don't show her every, you know, phhotoshop that crosses my desk. And was was she smiling? She was laughing. I like that you came to Cascu's defense because Marie Yeah, they were like Oh cursed. and I'm like cursed with awesomeeness. This is good. We've really landed on something. And in fact, maybe Blank Cck's first movie is podcast Lor and Casc because I think we could sell a lot of cascu merch. I think so. I mean, look, I know we're being critical of this moie, but we can do it, right? right? If we sold like Cascu cookies and ship. Yeah. Are you looking at this stf? Itsally strange. It's kind It's kind it in the room. I wish I wasn't the room with you. You wish you weren' in the room. Are you saying you want to be photoshopped in? Do you want to be Zebarella? I mean, I did I did aybe I would be in there, but that's okay. Do you wantan to be Zebarata M is Rada. I think Rod is the get this Rd in and your Zeerellios. There's. rememberZ. I't do email Pat right now I don't know. Griff. Yeah. until this second, I forgot about Zeb. Y And they told you not to forget about Zeb obviously, you know, they M and Ea that. R. But Zeb, who's in Star Wars Rebels. who's like, which I love Rebels. Rebels is a show I actually watch Love is too strong, but I watched most of it. I felt it somewhat disappeared up its own ass eventually. But I David, the exact same relationship. I don't remember if it was three or four seasons in total I loved the first season of that show, much like Mandalorian. A season two, I was like, I still like this. season three, I'm like It's getting really into tying back to Cone War shit. And then I never finish the show. I be the start Well, did you love Inessoka where, you know, all those characters are flesh and blood now and they deliver lines like this. We have to go get the I it fine. I mean, I also just, you know I like Rosario Dawson. I do so much. I watch good I watch to be pensive and exist in Mary I just love. Rosario Dawson existing in a liminal space where she rejected Jediism, but it never be b. Can never be human again. Like I'll watchaking a nap for four episodes of that h. You guys are so harsh I'm not harsh. I watched all of that TV show. It was a lot of hours I put into it. It was very low energy. It was very, very l. faces is lit up by the lightsabers. I was watching it's a white lightsaber. That's a white lightsaber. I was watching it and I was like, what is this acting style? Why are they like this? What does this remind me of? And then I cracked it went This is children doing Shakespeare This is when you see a high school production of Shakespeare and it's like no one knows what they're saying But they know that it's supposed to be performed seriously And so you just make an acting choice that is serious. I like I like the soaka f. And I'm why be one I like just be so juiceless Can I share my joke with Chris? Oh yeah, it's time. Yes. I've heard that there's a joke. I struggled to watch ahsoka. I was really struggling and I made this commitment to I'm gonna to watch all the shows before this episode. and Ben was a real friend and he helped me. Well, because in a little more context. We're just say the joke first and then give the context. I think this is the way to do it.. Okay Griffin's struggling. I say, do you want me to come inside and jump on the bed while you're soaking? No context needed. Okay, so the context is we workshop this joke a lot.. It's been in the works for like two months I pitched it. I mean, I said it in real time when we were on our trip. We were drk in the back of a car and you said, Is a soaking anything? Is there a way to make that mean something? that's that's when the Mormons they they they they jiggle to bed to Yes because they can't move, but maybe someone else can move you can insert But you can't when you say you can insert it like I think already some roules are may be being do here is they insert Yeah. And then they go, well, I'm not thrusting. And then someone else jumps on the bag like like a bunyery Jury Duty did a They did. famous jokeer. Yes So Ben was joking that I was holding my finger over the play button. so that I didn't want to press it and then he started jumping on the bed. o. And that's. So Zeb. Yes, Zeb, no I like all Rebels, I think every character is well conceived and fun. And the way they've translated to live action, all of them have become so boring and s. And Zeb's thing is basically A he's based off of like the original Ralph McCarie design R Chewbacca, right? Right, whichich most of Rebels is original McCary designs back to the drawing board. I like that His character is basically like, what if the pilot kind of like a big kind of monkey bear alien who's almost got like a football Hooligan vibe. right? He's like a bit of a tough guy But he's funny and he'll give you shit, whatever This shows up They just act like everyone's gonna to be cheering that he's back He's from a TV show that's now over ten years old Rot himan for one scene, basically a like blink and you missic cameo in one episode of Mandalorian season three, where he never interacts with Mandalorian or Grogu And now he's just like their friend who pilots their ship, even though Mando famously loves piloting ships. is a pilot skilled. And they don't do any work to introduce him. They don't do anything to make you like this guy. He no longer has the traits that made him likeable as his previous show. Yeah Yeah. And they just act like we're all like than fucking God Zeb is here. And he's there in players a Groger pushes the button I think he's gone from the movie. And then he's like, oh, Zeb's back I do have a follow up question for something you said, David, and it ties into this, which I think You said, like, is there a chance Faloney gets fired? Yeah. or at le or maybe fired might be too strong, but like exactly pushed again right over to the side of like, you know what? you can be in charerm of cartoon. but I kind of I think one of the thing that seems clear about him and I don't know him is that it seems like his greatest strength and his greatest weakness is that he really, really cares on a granular detailed level about the things he cares about. This is true. And that's what made so much of his early stuff feel so great and connected. And is why we're all sitting around like, who the fuck is Zeb? Like that's Clearly it's it's good and bad My question is If someone is brought in to share that load or to become the Figy of Star Wars that he is maybe proving not to be Fundamentally Is that better if it's someone who really loves Star Wars or someone who doesn't give a fuck about? You know who doesn't give that much of a fuck about Star Wars Tony Gily. Would you hand the whole thing to Gilroy? Would Disney ever? No, and he wouldn't do it. he wouldn't do it now. Right. Be it is right. The challenge is it's like James Gunn was, I guess down for it, but it's like, right, do you want that job? It's like It kind of this weird executive managerial job. You meet someone that's like, I just want good stories. Hopeally the Star Wars stuff will come in or at least a fifty fifty you know, versus Faloni's interests feel ninety percent maintaining the tenets of Star Wars Yeah in a very kind of like literal way. You say, you know, do they bring someone else in? Do they push them aside The question is beyond who would even want to do that because it feels like such a poison chalice and the fandom has become so impossible to please I feel like the fandom speaks as if they're monolithic, even though it's like a shattered like forty part fandom with different feelings. You know, it's like modern Christianity that's like a bunch of different sects. and then they're speaking as a monolith And then Disney reacts to them like they're also a monolare So you're never actually making something that pleases everyone and everyone's like, no Star Wars is for me And why are you not making the thing that I want, which is a struggle I'm not against the idea of this being a movie that's just for kids to get the new generation in. And if kids are loving this, I'm happy. The screen we went to our buddy Matt singer brought his daughter, who I believe has not watched the show? sure. I don't know if she's ever seen the original Star Wars movie. He's seen some Star Wars. not sure. Certainly not specifically a big Star Wars fan and was had you brought her to the press meen? Matt Singer brought his daughter. Got it, got it got. And he he you know, was I thought you did have I did not. He brought his daughter, who I think is nine and was just kind of like, I want to see that movie because I like Baby Ooda. And he said that she enjoyed it She also enjoyed like her green colored sprite as much as she enjoyed the movie And it was just sort of the general celebration of Grogu was enough. I'm not going to be like cynical of that. I like anything that like people happy that isn't aggressively harmful to society. You will all be dead sooner than those children T. They need those children spending their money when they are in the workforce. Yes Sin Is there even an obvious or semi obvious person to point to of should that person take over Star Wars? becausecause when people were angry about the movies four years ago, everyone would have said probably makes sense to hand it to Favro Sure. And if not Favra Falonone's the bad fan choice And now both of these guys have kind of like stepped in it Well, but I mean I personally would never have wanted Fal Sy in charge of Star Wars. Babro, I could have seen that happening. Yeah, yeah He's more got that kind of like vague exec Yeah kind of status. Now I would rather see him be in charge of a Cubano truck, for example, because it feels like that's what really makes him a happy Cubano It's so funny that he made One great giant franchise movie, one franchise movie that was a mess, that made his self referential. I'm struggling working within these corporate demands. I just want to be doing my little thing, food truck, got that out of his system has become the ultimate like studio hired hand guy become the like, yeah, yeah I figured out how to take all difficulty out of the filmmaking process and I will do nothing controversial C I ask a question And I just also want to say I think you guys would agree. Yeah. That boy have B blind Check bit on hold for this episode. I think we've had a thoughtful discussion with a lot of good points. I think you're bllankchck's good boy. Some passion along the way that maybe led to some early moments of contentiousness, but I think all in the spirit of the debate. it's emotional arc. And I think that you and anyone listening can hear that we are I believe two hours in and I'm only bringing this up for the first time now. I want. I hope that's reflection that I'm asking this genuinely and not trying to force any Divisveness back into the spotlight for real. sureure When I watched Andor. And I watched Groue one I mentioned before that I did have that it's it's not that much harder than shooting Womp rats in the Tap fourteen back home. And you Luke was soking naive. so innocent and it actually A new hope is obviously you kind of know this, but it just underlines Pace hope farm boy who represents this idea like not only Not only does he step up in the face of people like who know the history of Cassian Andor killing someone who's like You're on my team, but you're making too much fucking noise. Blo, you're dead. But also he's a vessel. He's got to believe in. He's a is bllond hai, blue eyed boy with optimism. o See where I'm going? I just want you to say it How do we Like I sink my teeth into that Luke and it actually gets me choked up thinking about the beauty of like, all right An there is no revolution in real life That can lose sight of hope and optimism. And Luke is the reminder of that in this universe that we love. But I think the other st when we get the out when get three repeats it But when we get to the last Jedi and Luke himself is cynical, that's not even slightly heartbreaking. No It is heartbreaking, but that's the point. That's what it's using. That's the story engine is that it's heartbreaking. Don't have this relationship with Luke that you do. I just don't at all. Th why do you want Luke to fun you see fine. Why are you yelling at? Because you're you l I'm doing like Star Wars. I'm being like Luke al right. I'm Be so gentle about even bringing it up because I think it's a valid question in light of it. How to respond. It's just like it's just not what I feel about. I just don't care about Luke though. I care about Luke, but I care about I more interest to have these things tested. It's also just so funny to me. It's the same as you forever and ever Everyone's like, I can't believe Ryan Johnon did that. I'm like, episode seven begins with He has vanished. That's the exquisite corpse He was handed. Number two, George Lucas' entire plan for his secret trilogy was the exact the exact same thing. It was going to more Will's focus, but it was going heavier on Will H Luke on his own eyland. I really am not trying to have a fight. Yeah. I'm really not trying to poke a beehive again. I'm not doing a bit I just will say Dmal nature of Andor builduing up to the dismal ending of Rogue one. king right to Vader on the ship and throwing you into Luke's story, rightight With the new context of like this world is fucking falling apart. This kid's aunt uncle got yelled leaving this world and he somehow still fucking believes Like he has the fucking idiocy the audacity, if not idiocy to think he can actually blow up the Death star, but then he does it because it's like aagege twenty knowledge. He's a young man. here I justt say anything All I'm trying to put on the record is that that's the Luke I love. And then I'm just le at that. I'm not trying to have a fight about it. That's theu gu I love. sometimes like you love your dad and then he gets old and he's like racist and you're like, how is this the same guy? not speaking of my own father? But they don't make a movie. But the credits can roll before your dad gets racist. that's why it's fictional. And then you're question the entire enterprise of which ties him Do we need more st No. Okay, but here's the thing. we're gonna have more starars it's happening. I'm not in a ro. I' real you guys can feel it. I'm all being a good boy having a stid conversation. Died with episode Yes. any chance to sort of properly resolve whatever you felt about the Luke story or any of the other sequel died with episode nine, which had no story. They whiffed in a way that pissed off both sideses becauseight was unhappy other than Christian third blank check. If episode motan fight looked cool. episode looks all right. If episode nine had successfully kind of given you a satisfying conclusion to the stories of Ray and Finn and Kylo Wren and maybe Poe, but like those three No, I'm just saying like but if you had given them satisfying endings, then you would have been like string them to a tree and chopp his head off. Hey, come on here C on sorry sorry sorry sorry please get it. No, no So just run out your energy I respect you. You're smart and I respect you. please. just dudes, I'm so out of energy. I I just It's too late. it's gone' cutting off so many Weop I was honest with you guys, I'm not mad, but I get cut off so much that I just my brain can't fire anymore. I don't remember what I'm trying to say. You were saying if it had given satisfying endings. Yeah to the main character. Then the Luke and Leia and Han stories in the sequels might not hurt your feelings as much. It might be a fun debate then instead of a It would be like Luke did that and had all that in service of what happened to Kylo, which made sense and Ray which made sense And instead it was like, Ray decides to be a Skywalker because she thinks that's nice Kylo died. he was al right in the last twenty minutes there. It is ultimately P what does whereere does Poe end it? I don't know. He's arounding and rolling hisyes to Palpatam return. No, But I mean like after that is he around? He's around. He blows up the emmpire in that way And Finn I guess like maybe meets his sister or his friend or something. wasn't his sister And she's like not Orlando's daughter, but she's but she's like I don't know if she's like him or something. Yeah because she also was a stormtrooper. But maybe they have force powers. We'll deal with it later. And it's just kind of like the movie just kind of ends with like I don't know. Everyone's all right. Can we talk sorry? Mbe other elephant in the room. It is tough to be like, o right could be an interesting debate, but like we don't even Bue it. We don't we fundamentally don't trust that anyone's at the wheel of this entire thing. L like Luke's in episode nine, right? Like he's like E H solo. They bring both of them back as force go O solo H Solo, I remember because that moment is fine because he doesn't even speak Butu talks? What does he say? He' like shit, son, I'm sorry A the scene, like Ghost Luke sits with Ghost Yoda and they' Hey Ray Skywalker. I like the sound of that. Yeah Schlitz like what like I just Sitz you know, it's just like if there had been, then maybe you wouldn't be so mad. Or I'm or more I'm not dead or whatever your emotion is about the sort of the later arc of Luke that they blew It's I don't even care to relitigate it. I'm sorry that got got any of us this upset. I just really' just touching. I just really think Andor underlines the naivete of Luke in a way that I think it really underlines what I always lik about I agree, but that's theaivete of a young man and also a white man who's not being challenged in the same way that Andor is. I mean, that's part of what Andor is about nice fun part of the Juice of Andor. Totally. And in downtown over the top. Noing. He is like coded as immigrant within the universe of the movie. He never gonna be the posteroy. He's hidden in the shadow. Can't be the poster boy. That's cool. What I would equate it to, Geeth is partart of the enduring power of Jesus as an idea for people to believe in. tal Is that Jesus now? He died very young as a pure symbol kind of have to die And there's the there's also, you know, the promise of he's going to come back someday. But if he never comes back, we can all project how helpful he would be today. And I think there was a similar thing because you make this trilogy, it ends with Luke settling the universe, right? And now he's become the Jedi master. And then George Lucas is like, I'm stepping away. And by the way, if I were to do more, they'd be prequels It just takes Luke Luke off the board where it's we all have our head cannons of how great Luke could be right? And then he does the prequels and people are disappointed. And then they come back not have I will say not another word about it. I'm just putting on record Andor made me like the Luke. I when I was young. Totally. But that guy can't live forever. Like he life experiences are going to change him and test him. I mean, the thing that sucks and then we should just of course return to, well, we should be done soon T a little There's some toys we need to A little rot. A little bit of r. But it's just like That was your shot with Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carry Fisher. That's the thing they absolutely fucked up is never putting the three of them in the same frame while they had the chance. And that's a JJ fuck up. It's a bit of a JJ fuck up and it's just kind of a like You know, you had all those guys. they all look great and force Awakes. It's like, you know The energy could be there. Herry Dying is a tragedy. No not could have anticipated that. That was a force majure disaster But just generally, it's kind of like we saw old Han Solo that kind of rocked. Yes. We saw Luke Skywalk, old Luke Skyworker people complicated feelings, but he gave a big performance.. We saw old Leia you know, there's little bits where you're kind of back kind of rock but like there's not much of it and it's sort of, you know, and it's like, And now if they're like Hey, we're going to episode ten, it's like yeah, but you're not going to do it with them. So right that's that over But also now what are you gonna do? Our friends who've been watching Star Wars with their kids are all like, Ray still fucking hits. Oh yeah, Ray Rck. Like Wing this today. You know, born after these films ended, that trilogy ended. are like'm I'm buying Ray. I'm buying Ray likeike I'm buying Luke. bothoth of these work for me. Like I'm buying Anakin. I mean, that's the interesting thing about Our friends with kids under ten who have shown them all three trilogies are like They're in on all three of these arcs They like the innocent. They like seeing the innocent go bad. They like seeing the different versions of what the innocent becomes all works. The elephant in the room I think we should just talk about very briefly. they brought in The brought in the room It was revealed earlier this year that they had been deep in development and had green lit. and Lucas Film internally was ready to go on a movie that was going to be directed by Stehven Soderberg and written by Scott Zeburns, one of his regular collaborators was the Kylo Wen movie that was basically Adam Dver being like, we got to fucking undo this rise of Skywalker Clearly Driver just being like hit that character personally. Yeah. Yes. like and we didn't do it right. And can we just bring him back and like do a better thing? Right. And no one knows exactly what the take was on how he's back or what, you know, it was, but it was going to be set after episode nine And it was going to be called the Hunt for Ben solo and not be episode ten proper, but be this Kylo Ren Ben Solo movie And Lucas Film Green lightights it, Kathleen Kennedy Green lights it. It went along some amount of time.y says no to it. Yeah. And Kathleen Kennedy did an exit interview earlier this year where she was like That's the only time that's happened that we wanted to make something and they overruled us and the argument that was given to us is We don't think you've justified in the story undoing his death Right. It's like, I just don't see how he's alive. Right versus like Mando and Grogu, I got no questions about. They're on another adventure And it speaks to like what a mess this thing is We're Kind of what everyone wants is a movie that could undo the damage of Nine I' accept some pretty stupid logic if it leads to a good movie that is functional on its own terms and leaves me feeling like these characters are in a better place. But then It's like what you're going to make a whole movie that like exists to fix continuity, right? And it's like on the one hand sure On the other hand, should just do something else Just forget they just like lob the ball to another f. I'm also like if Adam Driver wants to do it that's already more of an arent That's the That's the baffling part that you have an entus perform Adam Driver and even Soerberg that want to play in this sandbox. That's an entergy that Mando doesn't have where Pedro Pascal's like, so what? five days total right? He speaks to the Disney thing where they are not hearing Soerberg driver that's they're hearing like They're going to be expensive. They're gonna to have notes. They're going to push back. You know, like they're probably hearing just kind of like those are artists. We don't want to deal with that. We just want to make something that's like, you know, we can control. The thing with Soderberg was part of his big pitch was I figured out how to make this movie cheaper. I think these movies got too expensive and that created a fear around making creative decisions.. He's been figuring out how to shoot movies on fucking iPhones. This wasn't going to be that, but he was like I think I can apply some of what I learned to make a movie that costs half as much as what these other things cost clloser to probably the budget of this movie and said like, it would be great if we could free Star Wars up to have different budget levels. You know, this is a thing that fucked Marvel eventually is that the movies got so big they could't make a smaller fil.ive Right,. So everything has to be three hundred million dollars worth of justification And I I to some degree come in that Mando's small Sort of at least he's not trying right to be the startar of something new. It's not cacophonus It's like it really places a lot of its bets on Rd of the Hut who is ripped ab Layden Jeremy Ellen White pitch down voice whose characterization is just my dad was shitty. I'm trying not to be like. like my dad. I'm like a muscle burn. Now pieces from the chest thing. So Chris Yeah This character. I'm actually watching a Twitter video of it right now. Rot brought This character here is suck sucks sucks. This is like really rough. This is like hard to watch. Can I ask before go back whereere you saw the film Ben you actually I know you saw it with some kids, but I saw at the Cobble Hill Theater. Oh theater. And what actually I think enhanced it for me likeike on an emotional level is that the fifteen year old kids that were there were talking throughout the entire movie. Yeah. And that were they any get distracted from the film sure. because I could then lock in on my anger at like this kid whispering to his friend that that's J Jeremy Allen White the up there on the screen or whatever the fuck What did you ask me just were they yeah, were they into the movie? Were they like this loved it. They're laughing at every every badfking joke they were like rolling and fucking in the eye. we're the old heads and we just need to let it go. Every time Grogu came on screen, there was a group of like girls. They were just like They were just like, That's what I mean.y. I understand projections. I watched a movie where I'm like, it's not for me. Yeah, I have to let go of the idea that Star Wars is going to give me anything to actually chew on like it really legitimately used to, but like kids in thatyor downly. Is Andor almost a problem because it demonstrates that that you still't get done. we're like, why don't you do this all the time? Yeah. This is the fascinating thing is I've been so deep in Star Wars and the closer we've gotten to this, the more I've been watching, right to make my deadline, my self imposed deadline And the majority of the stuff I've watched I have not liked A lot of it, I found kind of a sluog to get through and kind of boring, and I'm not a binge watcher in general. So that notion of being like Stay on schedule. I gotta watch three tonight has like often felt like true homework in a way job doing the podcast and having a signigned viewing, usually does not The more I'm watching the stuff I don't like, as much as watching the stuff like Andor that I love I out of it just being like fuck, I' remembering how much I love Star Wars. Like when I see Andor, it reminds me everything that makes me love Star Wars and when I watch the stuff, likeike It reminds me of what it's not doing, which reminds me of what I do like about Star Wars just like have bought three Star Wars shirts in the last two weeks what Star Wars. What'd you buy? They're like old comic art shirts, which I kind of like like it's the Marvel comomic. Isn't funny the characters? How all these like bespoke t shirt shops online and stuff and like, you know, like with these sort of like indie designs of shity like like X men or star basically just kind of like You know those guys on the street who would just have weird t shirts that were kind of like bootleg. Bootleg stuff has become official. Right. We're that. It's forty five dollars, pleaseight Like it's like nightcrawler. Do I have a ninety eight dollars deal for you. And by the way, you don't know if this is a drops shipping company in China that might take eight months to send it to you. O like a beast company run by VC people I almost think to to speak to what We just touch on Andor almost feels like a really profound accident that it ever sliips through. Yeah. Like I think that A lot of the explosions of nerd entertainment when you look at them historically actually max you up with points of major societal anxiety. Yeah, right? Totally. And we're living through one of those moments. right? Like superheroes were invented by young Jewish creators as Hitler was rising in Europe. This is when superheroes were invented and feeling powered as survivors making it through the other side. well ies Marvel a combination of those same Jewish creators now also talking about survivorship and nuclear anxiety. All the origins of the Marvelight It's lot of civil. You look at Spiderman, Fantastic four X men all Nuclear anxiety feeding into social movements Chren notot Aam. Feminism. Racial anxiety, all of it, right? The same years that race riots were happening in major American cities are the same years Marvel's exploding. And Star Wars about the Vietnam War.ar Exactly anotherother era, a new form of fascism on the horizon. It's about all of these things. And now 't likeike I don't know what to point to who that's doing that now and then end or maybe it seems accidentally or Trojan Horse did in a way that feels like such a tease compared to everything else, which is like now they fight a big dragon snake. Now they fight a couple of robots. And now now they fight this and and now they fight the whole fucking chessboard and now they fly away. I. Oh the chessboard are the monsters. Yeah. Oh. Yeah, you didn't love that, Ben? Well, because they just looked like nothing. Yeah. They just look like monster monster monster look like fight. Ben, Thankk you for calling that out. I have I think I want to say about that The chess booard was done by Phil Tippet, who's like one of my favorite film artists of all time. Star Wars movie with the little puppets. Yeah. It was play guys. It was the first moment that Phil Tippet really kind of shown in the process because he was brought in as sort of additional guy to do stuff. They had shot the Daric chessboard as actors in costumes and it didn't look good And George was like, can we get a Harry Housens type thing? And they were like, Tipp's good at stop motion. And he does that and it leads to the breakthrough of him being the guy who cracks the Tonton and the AT AT and all these sorts of things, right? And then Robo Cop and head to a nine is like a legend to me and like a genius. And I watch this documentary about him that was called let me look it up quickly, but I watched it recently it's a documentary made by two French guys. that's mostly just kind of like informational about the entirety of his career and his worldview and whatever A lot of his compatriots were talking about him and what makes him so great. And they said the thing about Phil is a lot of people with detail and build out a design from there Fill always starts with really elemental shapes He lands on a shape that's interesting And then he lands on a personality connected to that shape. and then he works into the finer detail. And it's like, right, you see the Dejara Tress board For like seconds And the different shapes on that board, beyond being different colors, feel so distinct and recognizable This movie shows them for ten minutes. They move all around. They p them in a way where you basically never see them full body can't distinguish between them. And these are very h designs by a genius. They brought Phil Tippet to work on this movie. He did work. A lot of the special effects feel like they are CGI trying to approximate fill tipppet stop motion, especially the little walker that Mando's on in the snow at the beginning of the movie. Iated that. But I obious. then I felt like the big robots at the end might have actually been some version of stop motion. It certainly they felt very robocane. So he's involved in this process. like this is a guy that Favreau idolizes and yet he's not getting What made this guy's work work What I didn't like about the opening sequence, apart from just generally kind of low energy, the weird thing of him going up and down the mountain in the walker It just felt like a video game when you where you like one of those open world games Reel like Adam No, it's like you're like, I'm gonna go this way and then you like climb over a mountain by sake. Like it' just nick andy said the physics of it. Well whyy would they be landing in the m He is a character neary Yeah But there is still a part of me that's a sucker for like emmpire starts with a big dumb battle on hul. Totally. and it's sm battle. It's a big smart battle It's coold open Yeah' I open. Benn has quit I. I guess I'm still just a bit of a sucker. Like there's still just enough of a kid in me that's like Maybe they didn't nail it in every way, but like I'll watch the heroes climb into a Star Wars Walker machine. Oh what. I want It's like a there. It's like aver a ten. They got a convert chicken fingers. They got a convertible ATST. They got an open top ATST. Okay. This is me being a one hundred percent h. I still am charmed by that. I wanted to feel that so badly. and because I was like feeling so ramped up on Star Wars, I go into the screen with David and I'm like, I'm not excited for this someome of the key jangling is gonna to get to me. Right. I bet they're gonna to start showing me things that are Star Warsy. way these characters. I love that first season. I like Grogu. Grogu's like a marvel, right? Like they nail the execution of this character on a technical level, which is half really fucking high level puppetry. And the genius of Grogu is when he's digital, they make the digital look like a puppet. They use the limitations. And like Grogu fucking just works visually this whole movie And I sat there and I kept waiting for anything to give me any feeling of joy. And I wasn't sitting there with my arms crossed. I wasn't like this sucks. I just felt bored don't know if it's that I like maxed out on Star Wars, if coming off of Andor, the bar was set too high it being so fresh in my mind, or if I just am like uys we can't be doing this. Like there has to be something new I see the trailers for the H Man movie, which is another dumb baby thing that I love so much And like the trailers have not been great, but I'm like, I guarantee you I'm gonna to sit there and they're going to show me characters. I have I'm going point at the screen. I got hope for a Ram man. People are starting to say it's kind of good. I'm starting to be some I have a response. Whereas the Street fighter movie Yeah You're out on that I don't know. Interesting Yeah, I'm about that. If I see Ramam Ram into a bunch of guys, I'm probably gonna like my you have real connections to Han. I have been Oo It' been working wild thing today. Isn't that insane It really is it is a Orco and Arthur are the two things where I'm like, it's actually crazy that their' characters that meant that much to me when I was young that I got a chance to play And I like think about this stuff where it's like In both of those cases, I want to do my own thing, but There's a legacy of these characters. I want anyone who like grew up with them to recognize not that it's identical, but that like the spirit of the thing is captured, but how do you do something new with it? I spent years professionally thinking on this stuff so much in a microcosm. only how it relates to like these characters and just be like, it's got to be new otherwise you're just doing an impression, but also Don't try to make it your own thing disregard the past entirely And I just this movie to me felt like it was just like snow, right Like hoth stuff Yeah, like you like that you like Walker Like I do And I'm like walker right. I'm like like I said, I'm like five out of ten. I ate my chicken fingers. If my kid was older, you know, old enough to see it. I would have taken my kid and been like, yeah, I was al right. You would' have had a better time. I'm not with your daughter than me because she would have gotten a little something out. Totally. And I'm not like just gripping my hands sick of going No. But I am just kind of like,, this ain't really getting my blood pump and yeah, I was fired We got to be done talking about that movie because I know you have toys to show me or whatever. Like I we cannot ignore the to We at least shut out andbo Crazy that we didn't even mention that. There's there's a fuck assassin theiny assassin character with the flat basically becomes the antagonist for the second theman I kind of like the character. I thought it looked cool. Apparently he's from he's from one of the animated Boney. He's from the . Oh, was a floowy creation I he was what C constable Zuvio? You did. And you went That would being him Zuvio. You know we like that would be the coolest move. I did I just I thought he was he's like cool. I like that a dog I thought that wolf was cool. Yeah. No, I thought the wolf. Can I say wait what is a wolf? had a little. He has a wolf. Oh, that's like his grogu. Yeah. But I'm gonna say something It's gonna make me sound nuts You either Here we go. Oh no. N mind say. I say it. You have to say it, and then we're gonna do food Good spys I think think if you're gonna have the wolf pick up one of the Baboo fricks with its mouth, just kill the baboo. I agree with you. I agree with you one hundred percent. Yeah Cage your con Babu frick. We want Babu frick. It's okay if maybe one is me. Much like like two Ewoks like die in return of the Jederal.ight And you have it roll over and go like And it's kind of saidad. It's kind of sad a little bit. It's good. It brings you in. Again, like the corporatism is showing when it's like, well, we can't possibly We can't possibly kill one of the Babu fricks The children will be sad. It's like then don't have the wolf ever put it in its mouth go halfway, kill the Babu frick Uh, is there like I just like the Star Wars thing of like the AnzZelans. That's the Fick aliens where it's like, so do they do they just all like Being mechanics, is it a world of mechanics? It'per Star Wars wed with it's like racis There are no anzlions who are like, I make fucking pizza. Like someone's gotta eat' working on an EP. Dad, I like me. Maybe they're like just all guys with a bunch of goggles. Maybe Maybe they're like corornish miners. Mbe maybe it happens to be an industry they have excelled in culturally for decades. Lets let's go. So we bring them to Michigan and have them miners. They're like the Cornish miners of the Star Wars Universe. Do you remember how Care Russell is in episode nine is like a lady with a helmet or whatever? where li. She's a spice dealer. Right. And like I've forgotten that.' booty there was Baboo Fick and I was like, B Fick. Baboo was on her shoulder and we forget that she existed. And the Bab farcastic actress. don't she her actress Incredible. She wears a helmet the whole fuck. Maybe one of our best living actress She's up there Bob M Frick only survives 'cause Spielberg at the end was like, what where's Bob Wh theick?uck is Bob? Are you guys idiot? so they have him like pop up and go like, hey, hey Okay. I know we're trying to move on and I think you should do your thing. I want to at least because weve I've been slamming on this movie. I want to call out some good stuff quickly. I went on record from the start that I liked it better than I thought I was going to. Here'sing shout out Yeah I like all of the shady droids that work for the twins. I think there's awesome design there. and even the assassin we've been talking about Ebo. he has some other Uh guys and his crew. Yeah, includluding the one that's headless I think that this stuff that fel very tippet to me, I wouldn't be surprised if that was the stuff he worked on directly because he's got a pretty major credit in the film. and noted Yeah But I just like the idea that there's mercenary Droids That's been in Star Wars before though But I guess it's cool. It's cool and it It's different. Yeah sure. I'm trying to I don't know I don't know why. And speaking positively about most of the Disney plus stuff, like I said, I liked Obi Wan more than most people. I liked Ashsoka more than most people F Book of Boba Fett. I watched it all. I found it Iappointing. hate that. it was a little disappointed. I didn't I think it gets worse. I think the Mandalorans like the stuff on the Mandalorian world, it got away from what I liked about the first season, but on its own, I liked it well enough But I think I've had to kind of almost start treating Star Wars as like, That's someone I used to date who I was deeply in love with. That is how I feel right now. it's a great And I'm buying. broke up We can still text like it's an ex that I'm still friends with. But we don't love each other anymore, but'. There's a reason you found Andor. you had like a week long like vacation with them later. like it was like back to the glory day. Andor is you had to leave it, you know, And Andor is when you are frustrated in your current relationship and then while you're on the toilet, you check your ex's Instagram to see how they're doing. No man That's what That's why I like Andor so much I also, I feel like my relationship to Star Wars is closer to it being the exX where I'm like, we're friends and it's good Is she still dating that guy? You know, I want tove again. No, no, no, no, no, no, the opposite. I want to believe like maybe there's like a universe where it could work out again. Even if it seems unlikely. Yeah, we've got to get because the base of emotions is so strong culturally we have to get past the idea that we're ever getting back together with David I bought this to for George Lucas talkal show. We were in Pittsburgh and Connor wanted to do the George Lucas Pit show, which is an insane idea. So I was like, oh, can I get a Grogu that does something So I can act like Grogu is a patient This toy is called Galactic Snack in Grogu. He's got a weird open mouth. And if you push his tummy, his cheeks flex and the idea is that he comes with little little snacks little nibblets And you feed him into his mouth And he choose them sort of. Let's see. Yeah, there you go. they go down They go down. Yeah. back. far back. Now this was It' more. I was doing it for visibility. It's more about you can do it facing up. I bought this for the show and then the theater had bad eyeelines, so or sightlines. Yeah. So it didn't work at all. I'm gifting you this for your daughter. Oh sure. She will have fun with it. The food's in the backpack U and this is what Mandalorian and Grogu is all about. It's about merchandise and it's about snacking. So I found four different food items. We don't have to eat all of them now, but I at least want to just introduce them. One feeling I know where you bought them Um I don't think you can guess I'm holding a big target bag Um these are many toys. Oh. No, they're not toys, They're food. Oh, you're saying your box of toys. Yeah, yeah yeah. Did you get these as well? I did. We been b little. Great. Okay. fan foods offfficially delicious Oer rim ranch flavored chips. The cutest chip in the galaxy, the chips are shaped like rogu. I find this Pretty More bed There is a part of me that This is bringing me back to growing up in the eighties where Mr. T's face was just on everything though. yes, it does feel like that So that we have two boxes of Nilla wafers. We have two boxes of fan foods. Ben didid you buy anything else? Ben was late to this I mean, not late, but like, you know, delayed because he was buying these at Target. Yes. Yes.en you have Did you one other thing Purchase muddy bites, cookies and cream filled waffle cones with green vanilla filling I didn't the target I went to. Okay. so that's that's the a proprietary item to the Giff bag Did you purchase this What is that? What the fuck is it's like a It's called a pop Poles. Oh boy At home movie theater popcorn kit, does it make popcorn? It's three buckets and two bags of microwave popcorn, but most interestingly Galactic stard dust popcorn seasoning. Oh, sure. I don't know what that tastes like Ben. The stars, of course. What was the other item that you bought? Well because I knew Chris's birthday tomorrow. So I thought it wouldd be nice to at least get him a gift. That's so nice. Thanks here. I'll give it to you once second. Okay, H here's the galactic seasoning. It doesn't have ingredients listed on it. This unit is not marked for individual stuff. Wha, whoa, whoa. This is really. this was worth you being delayed. This was worth that This is a Mandalorian and grogu electronic and wait man So A are you saying it's a voice changer mask like the one my sister had? Is this going to make you get Jeremy Allen White voice? It It does seem to have a thing that if you hold down the button on the side and speak This is the way Oh, there you go Okay, so it says Mando stuff So it's not like you can put it on and be like Donald Trump did nothing wrong in Mando. L Giff can I ask why there are two Star Trek poster things on my desk? Yes, you can ask. Okay Why? I'm not mad, I'm just wondering. Yeah, they're little little pures. I thought you might like them because they're interesting, little like promotional painting. Yeah. I found at a vintage store when I was in Pittsburgh, action figures of the Malcolm McDowell villain from Generation. Of course, Dillian Sor and Alfrey Woodard's character from First Contact. We love her. And they both came with these posters and I thought you might like them. I like them funine. I thought they're nice little original art. I just like that they're Anything with that kind of nineties feet. That's what I'm saying. That's why I thought you'd like it. I thought it was your I'm pro Thatic. I'm pro Okay, I'm putting the ears on this popcorn bucket. I think this has been a good episode. I think we've gone on a journey. there' been ups and there' been down. Look, if we just literally like broke down Okay, Chris. Okay, someone get a picture of this because this is pretty good this is really sh Although it is underlining that the Gg the Mandalange is the most quotable guy he's just saying lasers. This just not even work Who's that? I am the Mandalorian. It's a mask that literally says I am the Mandalorian. What if the next one is I am not Boba Fett Some of these are just I don't think the sound effects were a good call. I need some information. I need some information This is what he talks like. Where is R? Thank you. You look great, you're so welcome Truly a kind presence This definitely feels like the most themematically appropriate way to sort of wind down this episode because this is this is what it's all about folks. Yeah. Unfortunately, this movie exists to create these bags It exists for toy and for snack. Yeah for Namis But we'll make sure to post pics of all of this stuff that belie social. Yeah, this thing is freaky. It is weird, right? Cek movements. I thought it was gonna to be really funny and then you just couldn't see it from the stage, but I'm sure kind of cute. It's kind of cute. The che movements are weird and I thought they'd be The creepiness would play more visually So we think this is going to end up at like a seventy F day. seventy five Oh, you think it's not going to make one hundred four day? That's where people are projecting right now. Let me see what the ye we're doing, I guess sort of the box office prediction game. Y. So it opened no, it had twelve million previews. That's the exact number that Captain America Brave New World had. Okay. That made one hundred four. Okay. My guess is that Manda will be slightly over that because it's more kid friendly. So I would guess that it's like low hundred Okay. four day. but Obviously, the word of mouth is not great, although nor was it great for something like Captain America Brave New World. That's true. But I just think the kind of like Dude, it's a fucking rainy meemorial dayay weekend and Baby Ooda is on a screen like takeake your kids. Like what's good That's the worst that could happen.m I'm gonna say eighty five. Obviously the other contenders at the box office right now are Curry Barkker's Obsession, which is already like a kind of a breakout hit. It looks like it's maybe going to go up this weekend. Yes. It' going. It feels like there's number ofood detroning to hard Das Prada. It's very good. It's good. I li likeed it's quite effective. I should' say very good but I liked it lot. I had a good time. It's effective. It's very effective. That's a way of putting it to your good phone crit. Oh, Jesus. And a dear friend. please relax. I'm sorry if sometimes The show gets annoying to do. the way We kind of got a Mando Grogu relationship Sometimes you have to tell me to kneel It's funny how Griffin's kind of trying to apologize for cutting me off. I mean, it's it's a somewhat self aware bit. It's pretty good. Devilwarears product two is doing fine. like' holding fine. I mean, yeah, exactly. Like it's like, it's good Mortal Combat two is doing, you know, the kind of sixty percent drops one expects of a Mortal comombat movie, but like hey, everyone's happy. You see Mortal Kombat two bad. It's a lot of fun Do you like the kitana Asher. Do you like baraca All of our friends are here. This is probably the best Katan in a movie Rid Rid Raid's in there, mayaybe I'll take the fly on. Sheep detectives, that's holding on. Is there anything else new this week, Griff? No no, right? L counter programming I know right I mean, oh though, there's, there is counter programming, right? because there's There's why. Fuck, isn't there one thing I'm gonna look at Yeah, there's I love boosters. Oh sure. But I assume that's be a little low. It doesn't right Yeah. And then there's this horr movie Passenger, which Oh over it all. who mov was that kind of like? What else did he make? He did sccary stories at tell in the dark and he the autopsy of Gene Doe, I watch. Oh yeah, those are both kind of interestinging funny because it's like, deeadline is referring to as like the Melissa Leo R film passenger. Sure thing. And I'm trying to imagine how many people are like walking up to the box office being like, I hear this is a new Melissa Leo movie nextext week th, I think this is something Mando didn't see coming. ark Crooms is going to eat its lunch a little bit I mean, they're saying backrooms might open to fifteen like backrooms. It's one of those things where it's like, you don't understand. every twenty year old is very locked into like liminal spaces. This is an eight hundred twenty four movie directed by a twenty two year old. He's twenty one No, he's twenty years old and he will be turning twenty one in a month. He can I interbute him recently Iillegally This movie is about to open, incredibly large. It's an adaptation of a viral YouTube video It's like a real changing in the guard moment Hollywood. It is. It rocks.s a good movie. and I liked him a lot. He was really smart during COVID how to make like visual effects shit and, you know, started making YouTube shorts and kind of rocks Uh, like he was housebound by both the pandemic and arthritis I can't rec himself Blender. Yeah. yeah, except I didn't learn Blender. I got a faulty bucket. It's got two right ears Yeah, that doesn't look right Grogu bucket. So we'll post a picture of I've been fussing with and trying to figure out if I was variance. It is. Yeah, it's a rare variance. Chris. Is there anything we haven't covered on? You wanted very thorough. No, we did sure. Yeah No, we got all my notes I haven't watched C Kori yet. It's next up on my list H Avatar is very good though. Has your son watched Kora? He started watching it yeah. But then we decided to watch it as a family mom. Okay, okay, so he put it. What else does your son into That's been the big one lately. Jurassic World has been very big for him. W The whole Jurassic World cartoon I've heard The films are too scary for him.ic I can say that Jurassic World seems to be very big with kids in his age dinosaur Yeahs are back in a big way. And what else? That's about it. He went through an Italian brain rock phase. I'm really glad that's over. I don't know what that means Oh Aa Erlich was really into Italian brain rub It's so funny that David Erlk was like my child will never watch Western animation. It will make you feel fably only. It'll make you feel worried about he did get very into u we got him very into like Totoro and Miyazaki stuff. Yeah. These AI generated ADHD cartoons called Italian Brain Rot Tong tong, tongg tongue Shor, Crocodilo, Bomb They all have ins scene names and they look like nightmares. Banzini, Benini. are like YouTube a coffee with's all YouTube nonsense. I don't know if it's like Russians influencing my child to be.. It's one of those things where it's like, oh, this is just like random AI slop and you're like, no, it feels like this was made by a human hand. It' got for various parade There's also like raps that have fifty five million views on YouTube that is AI generated, rap sung by the Ta Marine Rats I will tell you, I'm glad that phase is over. In the beginning of first grade, my son would often say to me Who's your favorite brain rot? And I would go, I don't know man, tong tong, tong, tongk tongks to her And he'd go, who are your favoritite seventeen? and would not stop until I named seventeen Brain Rots. And when I tell you this happened like three times a day every day, it was starting to drive me into madness. Chris, I congratulate you on making it through that period. and I hope you never have to look back. Although some of the songs are catchy, some of the A I gener wrap. I'm sure they are. are Beautiful I mean, I still have the k Chalal The pink Fong lion song. anyyone out there get at me if you also listen to that one hundred times. N N never gonna listen to. I don't want it aect my brain. Beautiful anonymas is still one of the best podcasts Yeah. Beautiful anonymas just celebrated its ten year anniversary. Oh yeah conongrats. nice. Yeah the timelines. I will ask you U all bits aside. I know I've been the bad boy to blank check that But go listen to an episode because I'm trying to get that show to survive trly. We have a contract to twenty twenty eight and I'm trying to just like People back into it. It's an incredible show. It' and it's like a good thing you do not to be self righteous about it. Yeah. Yeah I feel good about it. And then also on june eleventh, we're doing a what's in the dumpster live stage. Yes. we're paying homage to the ten year annivers T anniversary of track The one episode of my show everyverybody universally liked Paul It's going to be live at UCB. Paul Sheer will be there. This hasn't been announced yet, but Men Zuk has arranged to schedule. He'll be coming in Hell yeah. I've reached out to spoiler person from the first dompster. I won't say it to see if he wants to be there on stage And yeah, it's already sold out, but there will be a live stream ticket for ten bucks. so you can watch that live. And what's the date on it? It's on Thursday, june eleventh. Thanks. And and if you're in New Jersey, my beloved New Jersey, I've got tickets on sale in Red Bank, june nineteenth. Oh' u Chris Kim Smith. Yeah., yeah, the secret stash is no places, right? Yeah Bank New Jersey. guys you've been to smmide Castle. I've been there with you Yeah, we got there. And then I went to a dogma screening there. did go there one other s'm pretty great. I really love it I really love him. you know Smod Castle or the he owns a movie theater. He bought his childhood movie theater, the Smod Castle cinemas in Atlantic Highlands, Is that correct? Yes, Yes. I know you know him better. You've worked with him and you know him much better on the human show. I know. Yeah, yeah. But I want I do have to say meeting Kevin Smith and you realize He's just exactly He's just like this. You Hes really exactly who you want him to be. and. You know, I weirdly get asked about him a lot. There's something very special about him. large Yeah, especially for A genereneral. But peopleople are like, you're friendly with him, right? Like you know him'm like, what's he actually like? And I was like, he's actually everything you want him to be Wearing a suit jacket and denim shorts and down to tell stories. And I laugh a lot. I think the people who are the most cynical about him are completely disarmed when they meet him when you see just like how thoroughly genuine he is. And he's incredibly thoughtful and smart As you can imagine as a DIY jersey creator, he looms very, very large in my history. I mean and I'm one of the biggest Mall rats defenders you'll ever meet. Geth, we were only going to have him be the guest for that show. and I threw out the flyer and I said, I think we should ask Chris be. think I think beyond the fact that it's like a midfot to have you two guys like engage on stage and connect as people. I was like, I think it will make for good ent I think you guys were going to get into it and you did. you started just naming locations and the audience was applauded. It was fun shit. It was great. Thanks again. No, you're the best. And I said it before very cleanly with no cross talkal The three of us would not know each other without you. On the most fundamental level, there's no universe the show exists with. Maybe Griff and I are acquaintances, but like obviously these bonds were forged. But I'm I Ben in the basement because he'signed to become the second producer of Tal and TCGS podcast I do with Ryy Salman. thrilled by the assignment No, I was a weirdly popular show and it's time from what I It wasir it did well. And David and I only meet because Alyssa Stonoa tweets that the two of us should be because we're both in the Gether community. Well, I will say at this point in my career, which has slowed down a lot, it is very strange for me to be in room sometimes and realize I am just strangely a person who can sometimes walk into a room and realize, oh most of these people know each other because of me. Yeah, which is strange to say for a guy who is generally pretty socially uncomfortable and sort of off in the corner But it's a point of pride that I've been able to with so many great people and smart people such as yourselves over the years. You're the best one we love, ye. And it's always a pleasure to have you on. You were never shhadow banned. I need to communicate that very clearly. Why did you think you was shadow shhadow banned Because you felt like there was a gap post Spider Man too that was twenty because I'm mentally ill. Bother I bigig time. My brain is so bad. It's crazy. A lot of people like being on the show, Were always just trying to like match guest to things well you know. Wellll say like Matt Singer is about to come back on. the aforementioned Matt Singer and he was like, thanks for having me on. L I hope I can be on again sooner than three years from now. And we were like shut up months ago which come they were like three fucking us whatuck are we doing Um, and this this has been the way. Clearly, we talked about the movie A little bit a smidge Oh the one this is not at my dad That's the one connection I was going to make. Do you know who was the DP on this film The man who shot clerks. Is that true? Yeah. Is that true? Kevin Smith's Jersey Coty, who like that was his first first And Mats and chasing Marats. Yes, Morats underrated I'm justing like guys don't like seeing a spaceship that looks like a turtle. I like the ship. I like the Anzelian. Okay I was St had a little bit that part Yeah. And Stephen in the Rocking Hower chase. Right. And I was ye grilling some sandwiches, I guess. And then Scrusi. I guess the only two good characters the ones who grill meats. are puppets grilling meats. I mean, I know Scusesei wasn't really a puppet. Yeah. voiced by esteemed members of the artistic comm. But I'm just saying is that what is really kind of activating Favreau the most as an artist is being able to tell the story of people making sandwiches You're so right I'm seeing here David Klein shot a bunch of the book of Bo Fed. Yeah He's the the def Disney pllus Star Wars guy. I just bring it up because like he was a guy Bootstrapping it with the Kevin Smith thing learned how to be a DP across those movies and now is shooting Star Wars. And I know that like Kevin's been doing screenings all weekend with him talking The audience afterwards, which is really fun at the Smod Castle theater So shout out that if you're in the area and you need to still see the movie. Sorry that we ruined it for you. Thank you all for listening. Please remember to rate review and subscribe. Next week is an episode It's a movie that I kind of hoisted upon David. It's called Master and Commander Far Side of the Wor. Right, That's next week. David very quickly sets the rules in place that it is his episode. Yeah, you're like, you try some like you knowne bit of the. I'm like, we're not doing that. You were in I was like, no step off But don't worry. is it is absolutely you and and John Hodman We have fucking Andrew Stanton coming up. There's plenty of griff material in the future. No no, I was saying donon't worry that you go off. Oh I think we had fun on that episode. So John talks a lot about boats. Hodgeman talking boats. Yeahes. It's it's good episode. So yeah we're finishing that up and then yes, we've already sort of soft the announnce it but Andrew Stanton is coming right after that. We will be covering disclosure dayay as well. Yes. Yes. There are a couple summer releases that will take some breaks. Odyssey obviously comes in the middle of Stanton We'll be doing finding Nemo through Toy Story five And then Scorsesee starting right after that. Martin Scorsese. I don't know if you know this, the guy who plays the flat meat dealer Yeah in the Mandalore and In Grogu movie. He name is also directs movies, blp or whatever. I'll have to look him up. And we're gonna cover him We also have a Patreon. We're currently we've just recently covered mortal Kbat and we're gonna soon kick off our Robocop series on june first You can sign up for that at patreon dot com slash blank check Guys, I'm so excited to take a nap. I'm like I'm really't worry if we have like six ads to do after myself recording.ll post. Ad nap is We just snap a all I'm so excited to Pe. Yeah. I love Rad. His abs, his body, his brain. hisis sparkle oil. What do I love? Dad, you love his dad, right? His dad's a good person. Yeah. And he's just like him. I miss him. He had some ris. Again, I'll shout out. a lot of the images we've been talking about will be posted on our social. Also sign up for a newsletter. We have a substack called checkbook. Y. where they also have a lot of that stuff if you don't engage with social media. And I'm sure Marie iss gonna have a lot of Amanda Lorur and Grogu thoughts a movie she has many times said she is excited to never see canan't really argue with her And as always, David, you were trying to remember things you love. Yeah. And I just want to end this episode a positive note. I love you and I want to remind you that you love ium, which I think is best So Is actually best served cold? I think you did it wrong Okay has to be called So good job remembering that coaxium should be cold. Okay, so I' respondse. Yes. Nice I guess that's how we're gonna end it. Yeah. LlankCck with Griffin and David is hosted by Griffin Newman and David Sims Our executive producer is me, Ben Hosy. Our creative producer is Marie Bardy Salinas, and our associate producer is AJ McKeon. This show is mixed and edited by AJ McKon and Alan Smithy Research by JJ Birch Our theme song is by Lane Montgomery in the Great American novel, with additional music by Alex Mitchell Artwork by Joe Bowen, Ollie Moss, and Pat Reynolds production assistant is Minick Special thanks to David Cho, Jordan Fish, and Nate Patterson for their production help. Head over to blankchheckpod. com for links to all of the real nerdy shit Join our Patreon, Blank Check spepecial features for exclusive franchise commentaries and bonus episodes Follow us on social at bllank Check pod suubscribe to our weekly newsletter, checkbook on Substack podcast is created and produced by Blank Check Productions U Ben are we recording? Okay, and what I'm about to say is going to sound like it's pre roll but I both want you to keep it in and actually do what I ask, okay, Ben Yeah it'll make sense in a second. I'll do what you ask. Okay K fabor not like blanket st No, no, no, no. Okay. so K Fabe starting now