EP. 316.5 — Last Looks: The Specialist

Paul Scheer [00:00:00] Who was Gianni Agnelli? What happened to Timer the Cat? And Steven Seagal sings? All this and more on today’s Last Looks. Places, people! It’s showtime.

Music [00:00:12] [Intro Song]

Paul Scheer [00:00:37] Hello all you hotel shower floor fuckers. I’m your trigger man, Paul Scheer and welcome to How Did This Get Made Last Looks where you, the listener, get to voice your issues on The Specialist. Jason and I chat about all the stuff that we are currently into. Plus we will reveal next week’s movie and I will share an exclusive bonus scene from our last episode. But first things first, a big shout out to Lone Wolf Collab. That’s right. Lone Wolf Collab is responsible for that amazing opening theme. Thank you, Lone Wolf. And if you like those songs and you want to be a part of it, you want to get me to say your name here on the show. Well it’s easy. All you have to do is send a song about 15 or 20 seconds song, send it to HowDidThisGetMade@Earwolf.com. We’ll put up the best songs that we get and that’s it. So keep on sending them for Last Looks. We love them. And now I want to see you all out at I’d Hit That. It is a Deep Dive Bitch Sesh crossover Mother’s Day weekend pickleball event. Those are a lot of words all coming together. It is super fun. I am DJ-ing. You can head to the Janeclub/pickleball, use the code HDTGM for 15% off. It is so much fun. Last time Emma Watson from Harry Potter, she came, she played, she kicked ass. So many people are going to be there at this event. It is so much fun. It’s a great gift for the mother in your life. Or maybe you don’t have a mother and you’re like, I don’t want to worry about Mother’s Day. Come to that as well. Get drunk, play pickleball, have fun with some of your favorite people. It’s the I Hit That event. I love it so much. Okay, let’s get into it. Last week we talked at length about The Specialist, a movie that according to Discord user Rocket Wesker should have had the tagline “Tits, Dick, Boom!” I love that. Now we all have questions about The Specialist and we might have even missed a few things. Here is your chance to set us straight. Fact check us if you will. It is now time for Corrections and Omissions. 

Music [00:02:43] [Corrections and Omissions Song]

Paul Scheer [00:03:05] Bam. Thank you, Wally Tarkington, for that great theme. Let’s go to the Discord. Corgi Herder writes, “Suggested by credits are a real thing in Hollywood. For example, the original Top Gun movie had a suggested by credit for an article called Top Guns in California magazine.” RyRy80 chimed in to say “Scrooged, iRobot, The Sound of Music also have suggested by credits.” All right, I didn’t know that “suggested by” because “inspired by” “based on” would be more appropriate, like ‘based on the article Top Guns in California magazine’ but not suggested by suggested by means like you bumped into somebody at Mendocino Farms and like “What would be a good movie, like a bomb specialist who gets hired by like his former mentor who’s out to kill him. But then he falls in love with the girl who set out to, you know, set him up?” Anyway, I’ll take that pork bahn-mi. Thank you. That would be suggested by. Anyway, Sheila from Sweden writes, “Stallone is wearing his wristwatch over his shirt sleeve. It’s got to be a nod to Italian stallion, playboy, industrialist and billionaire Gianni Agnelli, the former head of Fiat. Now, Scott, our producer, notes that Gianni Agnelli was known as the godfather of Sprach Zarathustra, an Italian term, meaning a certain nonchalance to make whatever one does appear to be without effort are thought. To exemplify this, Agnelli famously wore his watch over his shirt cuffs and tucked the back blade of his necktie into his waistband. I’m looking at this guy and he looks cool as shit. By the way, we should be wearing our watches on the outside of our shirt cuffs. They’re always hidden. Got to roll up my shirt sleeve for this bullshit. No way. Anyway, GT75 “James Woods’ character should have died in the police station when he builds his an impromptu bomb. He sets the timer for 20 seconds, but his rant and argument with the bomb squad guy lasts 40 seconds. Between that and a one minute timer for the bridge, when it seems like the jeep had to be exactly positioned over the bomb for it to be effective. I have to believe that Woods was terrible at being a trigger man.” Well, here’s the thing. Trigger man would mean that you actually press the explosive, not set the explosive. So maybe he’s a bad detonator, man. Anyway, let’s go to the phones. Jane from Toronto. 

Listener [00:05:26] Hi, Paul. This is Jane calling from Toronto. I have an addition to one of the comments you made during The Specialist live episode. The part where Sharon Stone walks into the room and, like, strips off her dress and then is sitting naked smoking a cigarette, which seems very dangerous. My interpretation of that is like the reason she put her dress in the garbage is because she was so disgusted with Eric Roberts’s character, whose name I forget, but it was unnecessarily Cuban sounding. But she strips off the dress and like puts in the garbage like she’s so grossed out and disgusted because he is like, he was all over her and because she hates him so much for obvious reasons. And so I thought that was weird. And that was like, Oh, that that’s kind of like where my brain went. Curious if you or anyone else had the same interpretation. Thanks so much. 

Paul Scheer [00:06:21] You know, that is a good point, Jane. I feel like I didn’t bring this up on the show. Did they have sex also? And then she’s like, I just want to get that off of me. But Eric Roberts is all over her in a disgusting way. So maybe it’s like, I want to get that sweaty Eric Roberts smell off me. So alright, I buy that. But you know what? That’s why we invented dry cleaning. Use some chemicals, get out that Eric Roberts smell. That’s exactly what my dry cleaner says when I go inside, get out that Eric Roberts smell. It’s the Hollywood dry cleaners. So that’s why they have to have that up. Ashley from Washington, what do you got? 

Listener [00:06:55] Hi, Paul. This is Ashley going from Washington. I just finished listening to the most recent episode about The Specialist, and I couldn’t help but hear a comment you’ve made in the background about single use clothing and Tobey Maguire’s underwear. But I don’t think I ever heard anything else about it. So just curious if you could elaborate. Sounds pretty interesting and hilarious. Anyway, thanks. Bye. 

Paul Scheer [00:07:28] Well, what did I mean? Okay, so when I was talking about Tobey Maguire and his underpants, I had heard that Tobey Maguire only wears underpants once. That’s it. He wears it once and then throw them away, just like Sharon Stone threw away her dress like we just talking about from Jane from Toronto. Now, Jason made a joke in the show that Sharon Stone only had single use wardrobe, but I had heard this thing about Tobey Maguire wearing underpants only once. And I’ve actually now heard this from a few different people that they do this, not just the Tobey Maguire thing. It’s a known thing. Like you don’t want to put your junk back in there. It makes no fucking sense. But look, if you had enough money to buy 365 pairs underwear. Then, I guess, you know. I mean, how expensive could it be? At the end of the day, how expensive could 300. If you buy it in bulk? Give me some. Let’s get some price checks on that, please, for the next episode. All right. Next call from Reid from New Mexico. 

Listener [00:08:29] Hey, Paul, this is Reid in New Mexico. Listened to your specialist episode today. And just wanted to make a clarification. You guys said that Emilio Estefan was the musician for this film. Actually, the original music was done by John Barry with Emilio Estefan being the music supervisor. And John Barry, of course, is arguably one of the most important people in the history of the James Bond franchise and was knighted by the British Empire for his contribution to music in film and did double digits worth of James Bond films. And if you listen to the music in The Specialist, it does have a very, very mid 1960s flair of John or James Bond music. So I just want to clarify that. Thanks so much. Hope you guys are doing well and love the show. 

Paul Scheer [00:09:24] Reid, you are correct. I am sorry. I had that in my notes. John Barry did compose and I got it all confused. I didn’t mean to not give credit where credit is due because the theme to The Specialist is just as classic as the James Bond theme. I think we all could agree. Right? How does it go? Huh? Hmm. Can’t really remember it. Anyway. All right. Thank you. Reid from New Mexico. Sophie from Boston. What do you got? 

Listener [00:09:51] Hey, Paul, This is Sophie from Boston. I’m calling up about The Specialist. Absolutely loved it. My fiance was so excited that I was watching it for the first time. As a cat lover, I made it my mission to track Timer throughout the movie. And I was so disappointed that he didn’t pop up at the end with them. I agree with CinemaCats.com who says having Elvis in the car. Elvis is the actor. Timer is his name in the movie. Having Elvis in the car with Stallone and Stone as they drove away would have made the ending that much more satisfying. I completely agree. But it was not the end for Timer, Elvis the Cat, as he is known, who went on to star three years later in That Darn Cat with Christina Ricci. He has only two credits on IMDB. But the best part of this trivia that says “It’s a cat.” Love you all so much. Thanks for what you do. Bye.

Paul Scheer [00:10:40] Okay Sophie. Great. All right. Yeah. All right, So that. Well, you know what? I’m glad that you have some Disney cat knowledge. I don’t even know how to respond to that comment. Besides saying it was wonderful. What a wonderful wish to have that Timer the cat got away with them. Where is Timer the cat? Maybe, I think wanted to stay in Miami, right? I guess. If you like that Miami lifestyle for cats is pretty good and she’ll find another trigger man. Anyway, going back to the boards, Dr. Guts writes, “How amazing would it have been if Timerr, the cat, started talking to Stallone with the voice of Eric Roberts, Ala, the How Did This Get Made classic film A Talking Cat?” Well, Dr. Guts, that’s the sequel. Avril, if you’re listening, let’s tell April to do that. Cut Eric Roberts from this two of the talking cat. I don’t know how he could do it. Maybe we could. I would like to see that matchup. If anyone is inspired to do it, let’s get that matchup going. Rocket Wesker writes “Sharon Stone said that she wanted to be there when Thomas died. Fair enough. But how did she know that Stallone would choose Thomas at the country club using a tea saucer bomb? He never told her about the plan and was very surprised when he saw her following Thomas into the room.” Yeah, I guess that was bad communication. But you know what? They’re going to work it out. Those crazy kids. I feel like they’re going to have a long, long life together. RyRy80 writes, “Siskel and Ebert weren’t fans of the movie.” Oh, really? Wow. Interesting. I found their old review. And this is Gene Siskel in particular just ripping on it. So here are his thoughts. Take a listen. 

Gene Siskel [00:12:11] By the way, that one minute of nudity really isn’t worth sitting through the dreadfully dull action of The Specialist during the whole picture. I wanted Stallone to talk faster and drop his Rambo persona in favor of something contemporary. You know, maybe he and James Woods should have switched roles. I wonder what James Woods looks like in the shower. 

Paul Scheer [00:12:30] Great work, RyRy. And you know what RyRy? For going deep, finding the old Siskel and Ebert review. I am going to give you the correction and omission of the week. That’s right. You get this amazing song from Bombay Beach Revival. Hit it. 

Paul Scheer [00:12:59] You know what? I’m a sucker for research. And if somebody comes back and tells me how much underwear costs, if you buy 365 pair of good underwear, I’m talking like Hanes level or better. You know, Tobey Maguire is not rockin’ Hanes. Or maybe he is. And maybe that’s why he can kind of justify it. Who knows? Anyway, I would like to. I don’t want to be. Well do I want to be in clean underwear? I mean, not like new underwear every day, because I feels starchy to me. Anyway, let’s not take away from RyRy80’s win. And thank you, Gene Siskel, for always having an insightful take on any movie that you watch. If you want to submit a tagline for our film, if you want to chime in with your own thoughts, if you want to call in and tell us your wishes and hopes for Timer the Cat. You can do all of that. You can go to our discord at discord.gg/HDTGM or you can call us at 619-PAULASK. Coming up, Jason and I chat about all the things that we are currently into. We’ll reveal next week’s movie. Plus I’ll share an exclusive deleted scene from our Specialist show. Stick around. 

Paul Scheer [00:14:00] Welcome back, everybody. If you are interested in what is in the How Did This Get Made feed this week besides this and The Specialist. Well, let me tell you, we got Super Mario Brothers with Jenny Slate back into the mix. That’s right. To celebrate the release of Super Mario Brothers, the giant hit smash film. We are talking about the giant flop film, Super Mario Brothers with Johnny Legs and John, Not John Hopkins. Not John Hopkins from the hospital, Bob Hoskins. Anyway, that’s a fun episode because one of our first live shows and the first time we ever did corrections and omissions in the audience. So there you go. And next week we will be rereleasing Fast and Furious with Adam Scott because we got to make sure that we are caught up. By the time Fast Ten comes out. We got to go back. Refresh our memories and get ready for the big show. Fast X is coming up and we’ll be recording that live at Largo. We have two very special guests and maybe even a third special guest. And we also are revisiting. We’re not even revisiting. We are visiting for the first time Fast and Furious in our April 21st show. So got a lot of stuff coming up. All right. We have spent a lot of time hearing from you and what’s on your mind. But now let’s hear from me and Jason and what is on our Mind in this little segment we like to call Just Chat and John Astonish play us in. 

Music [00:15:28] [Just Chat Song]

Paul Scheer [00:15:37] Jason Welcome back to a just chat. Just you and me. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:15:42] Just. Just. Just the two of us. 

Paul Scheer [00:15:45] Oh, yeah. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:15:46] Here we go. 

Paul Scheer [00:15:47] Just. Yo, I got to tell you, I think you would love this movie that I saw, I’ve been talking about it a lot, which is Dungeons and Dragons: Honor among Thieves. It’s such a fun movie. And I just want to continue to tell people to go see it for a couple of reasons. A. I know it’s a big hit already, but as my sister in law said when she saw it, she said, this movie is not for me. And then when she saw it, she says, but it’s exactly for me. Like, yeah, look, it’s a it’s a full on comedy. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:16:22] In other words, anybody can enjoy it. You don’t have to be a Game of Thrones or a Lord of the Rings person. You don’t have to be a D&D nerdy. It’s for everybody. 

Paul Scheer [00:16:31] It’s just for everyone. It’s so fun. It’s so good. And I just. I’m just into $150 million, like, budget comedy. Like, make more of those please that are actually good and not, like, disaster. But I’ll tell you. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:16:48]  I love that. 

Paul Scheer [00:16:49] And I have one other thing that I need to geek out on with you. And if you’re not there we’ll push it. But have you been watching Picard Season three? 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:16:58] I’ve not. 

Paul Scheer [00:16:59] Dude, it’s the fucking best. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:17:01] Really? 

Paul Scheer [00:17:02] It’s… Okay. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:17:03] Oh okay! 

Paul Scheer [00:17:04] Do not worry about season one or season two. I did not watch either one of them I have never watched. Nope. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:17:10] Oh, okay. So this is intriguing to me. Go ahead. 

Paul Scheer [00:17:12] I just started on season three. It is perfection, if you like Next Generation, this show. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:17:19] Okay. 

Paul Scheer [00:17:20] Giving you everything that you could have wanted. There’s only about one or two small details that you need to know from season one, which, in watching season three, I was like, Oh, what do they mean? And I Googled it and I found out one thing, but it’s not like. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:17:37] You’re not lost in some larger plot. 

Paul Scheer [00:17:40] Like in the first 5 minutes, you’re like, Oh, you’re trying to piece together a couple things, but it actually doesn’t even matter because the first 5 minutes are kind of. In my opinion, like a reckoning you out of season one and two, it’s like, bye bye. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:17:55] Oh, is that right? Are those flawed seasons even like in their opinion, do you think? 

Paul Scheer [00:18:00] I don’t know. And I don’t want to, like, slam the show too hard. I will say that I’ve talked to a lot of Star Trek fans who really were disappointed with season one and two. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:18:08] Oh, interesting. Okay. 

Paul Scheer [00:18:10] They brought in new showrunners after season one. Season two and three were shot concurrently, but they couldn’t be further apart now because I’ve gotten so into Picard. I went back and watched 35 minute long recaps on YouTube of both seasons. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:18:26] Wow. And so now you are in it? 

Paul Scheer [00:18:28] I am in it. And I will tell you that everything I learned in those recaps has nothing to bear on. What is happening? 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:18:35] That’s wild. 

Paul Scheer [00:18:36] And it’s wild. But if you like Next Generation. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:18:40] Well, isn’t it now like in three. In season three. Isn’t it now. Like oh like almost all of the Next Generation cast has re like has reemerged. 

Paul Scheer [00:18:48] And it’s done so beautifully. Like, like it, it happens over the course of eight episodes. So by the time you get to episode eight, the crew is back together. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:19:01] That’s cool. Okay. 

Paul Scheer [00:19:02] And and in that journey and this is not a spoiler because the season finale is going to come up, they’re actually even, it’s doing so well that they’re bringing it to IMAX theaters for one night. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:19:13] Oh, yeah. 

Paul Scheer [00:19:14] But the episodes are long, the episodes are big and they’re awesome. But what’s so great about taking eight episodes to get everybody together is everyone gets like a chance to do something and something very cool and something very like, Yeah, everyone. It’s not just like, Oh, we’re all back together. We all just merged. It’s like every person fits a piece of the puzzle and by the time they get to eight, it’s like, And now we go into our movie, we have a two hour movie to finish the season and it’s like. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:19:45] Wow. Oh, now I’m excited. 

Paul Scheer [00:19:48] I am loving it. I am loving it. And yeah, it’s like it’s giving me a love for Star Trek. And I know that we both are on Star Trek shows and I know we’ve both talked about Star Trek in the past, but this is. Like, I can’t, I don’t want to oversell it, but it’s like if you like, if you think like, Oh, I wish they gave me a great Next Generation movie besides First Contact, they only really got one. Like, this is giving you everything and those actors are great. I gotta say William Frakes or the guy who plays Riker. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:20:18] Oh, yeah, sure. 

Paul Scheer [00:20:20] He’s awesome. Like, he’s so good. Jonathan Frakes not Williams. Jonathan. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:20:25] Yeah. 

Paul Scheer [00:20:26] Jonathan Frakes is great. And like, he is. I mean everybody. Michael Dorn, MVP. I mean, across all across the board. They all still have it like they all have it. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:20:37] It’s really great in terms of because I know we, you know, we are guilty a lot on this podcast of talking about Star Wars. 

Paul Scheer [00:20:44] Yes. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:20:45] And we are both on Star Trek shows. You are on lower decks and I’m on Star Trek Prodigy, which again, I will urge everyone to please watch. It’s on Paramount Plus. 

Paul Scheer [00:20:53] So good. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:20:54] It’s so fantastic. And we need all of you watching it a.s.a.p. Watch the whole season. Just let it run. Anyway. 

Paul Scheer [00:21:01] Get that completion rate up, people. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:21:02] Yeah, that’s all we need. We need people finishing the series, if you don’t mind. So I love what I. What I think they’re doing so well, that I think Star Wars is doing very poorly is all of those shows are executing at such a high level but are such different shows. There’s no overlap in in tone or in like they’re incredible versions of what they are. Your Lower Decks is a comedy like a like a hard jokes comedy. 

Paul Scheer [00:21:30] Yeah. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:21:30] You know. Oh, Prodigy. The one I’m on is like a young, young adult adventure show. You know, It’s like a it’s a one hour episodes, like crazy adventure show. 

Paul Scheer [00:21:41] And and it’s and it has things that hearken to the series. Like Lower Decks is a perfect example of a show that if you love Next Generation and Star Trek, you’re gonna get all these, like, funny strikes, But it’s not crucial for you to know them. You can enjoy it as a pure comedy show, as I think Prodigy exists as a pure adventure show. The way that I loved Rebels when I watched Star Wars. Like, yes, it’s great if you know these other things, but it’s not crucial. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:22:07] Yeah, that’s the thing is like the barrier to entry with Star Trek used to be like, Oh, there’s so much of it. And I don’t know the mythology or I don’t know the history. And I feel like now these shows, and even with what you’re saying about Picard, you can just jump on, you can jump on and start these shows. And they if you know Star Trek history, it will be maybe a bit of a richer experience. But if you don’t know it, this is your exposure to stories and characters that are just as accessible to you on first Watch now. You don’t need to go back and do anything. You can just engage. 

Paul Scheer [00:22:41] And I think it’s great. You said Engage, which is the catchphrase of Picard. But yeah, I think it’s really I was saying it to June, because I was watching this on an airplane one of the episodes, and there’s a moment where I was like, Oh, like I literally was like, so excited. And she was like, What are you so excited about? I’m like, I just, they just did something that was so fulfilling to me that like, it got me. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:23:06] Well, that’s like when I will say this now I’m going to jump to the other. But I will say that was me watching the Ahsoka trailer. 

Paul Scheer [00:23:13] Oh yeah. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:23:14] When they have the back of Thron’s head, I, like, lost my entire mind. 

Paul Scheer [00:23:18] My gosh. All right. So Star Wars celebration happened in London. A lot of news comes out. I, I was online because I was on Eastern Time Zone and I got to even watch a bootleg of Leslye Headland who had been on our show. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:23:33] Yeah, of course. Friend of the pod. Hello, Leslie, if you’re listening. 

Paul Scheer [00:23:37] Yes. Her show Acolyte, which looks awesome. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:23:42] I could not be more excited about this show. 

Paul Scheer [00:23:45] Carrie-Anne Moss. It looks great. It’s like based in like Akira Kurosawa films. Like There’s a Lot. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:23:51] And it takes place in the High Republic era of of of the star of the Star Wars canon now. That is many, many, many thousands of years before the events of Star Wars that we know, the Skywalker saga and so forth. So yeah, all new characters, all new part of the timeline, new stories in Star Wars, which I love. 

Paul Scheer [00:24:12] I love, I love it. And then you got all these other announcements which I was excited about. Rey is returning 15 years later. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:24:19] Yeah. 

Paul Scheer [00:24:20] Which will be interesting. And I’m very curious about that because I’ll say that as a Star Wars fan, I’m a little bit worried that I believe it was Justin Britt and Damon Lindelof created this idea and then were replaced. Yeah. And so. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:24:34] Along with a number of I mean, they had a room going and they had like a whole, they were writing this, they’ve been developing this idea for years, I believe. 

Paul Scheer [00:24:42] Yes. And so. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:24:44] Steven Knight is going to take it over who created Peaky Blinders and my beloved S.A.S., Rogue Heroes. 

Paul Scheer [00:24:51] Well, see, so this at that, I’ve been meaning to write down, as a matter of fact, the so look not a bad replacement but also I’m always worried about like. Who can tell these, you know, what are the personal stories? And I think that like there is a sense of. What are you talking about? Star Wars, where it sort of gets a little bit muddled. Like what? Like where are the voices as it. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:25:15] Also like this is another in a long list of in a long list of creators who have spent years working and developing Star Wars ideas that then get they then get removed from. 

Paul Scheer [00:25:28] Yeah. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:25:28] You know. Yeah. You know, that’s that’s now sadly with Lord Miller or Josh Trank or. 

Paul Scheer [00:25:35] You know, the guy who did Little Miss Sunshine who created the whole trilogy. Right. Like he created the original. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:25:41] Oh, is that right? I don’t. I don’t know that I knew this. 

Paul Scheer [00:25:43] Oh, yeah. So the. I’m just forgetting his name right now. But the guy who wrote Little Miss Sunshine. He created the new trilogy and then was fired off that trilogy. And then that’s when J.J. Abrams came in. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:25:57] Okay. Yeah. Michael Arndt. 

Paul Scheer [00:25:59] Michael Arndt. Yeah. Yeah. So he, and that’s they went kind of built it. But now I also am excited that Dave Filoni is going to get a chance to tie together all the series. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:26:10] Yeah, I think that could be really exciting. That’s, that’s the part that I’m that’s the one that I’m pretty excited about. Just like Filoni getting to like flex all of the muscles that are at play in this in Bad Batch, which I cannot recommend enough I’m having great I’m having a little bit of this season of Mandolorian is a little uneven for. me. 

Paul Scheer [00:26:29] I agree. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:26:30] Some great stuff but a lot of stuff that feels a little bit like not as satisfying but this season of the Bad Batch say season two that just wrapped up was, I thought, fantastic. 

Paul Scheer [00:26:41] Bad Batch is I mean, look, this this is the interesting thing that Star Wars has, which is its animated shows. I think pound for pound, I would say are better than their live action shows. I just think that they they I think that they have a better track record. I loved rebels I love Bad Batch. Clone wars. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:26:58] Clone Wars is fantastic. I loved the and they’re doing there’s in a couple of weeks there’s going to be season two of Star Wars visions. Yes which is the non-canonical you know outsourced animation. They go to different animation houses all over and have and commissioned them to do shorts for them that are not inside of the canon. And the first season was, I thought, incredible. 

Paul Scheer [00:27:20] I really liked it. I there’s so much fun stuff going on. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:27:24] Well, the thing that I’m very excited about is the thing that to me, because I’m like, okay, the Filoni one, I’m like, Great. Give me the culmination of the Thrawn, Ahsoka, Esra, the rebels, because we’ve already in this season of Mandalorian, we’ve seen Zeb, we’ve seen Chopper and Hera and Sabine in the Asoka trailer. We know that the crew of the Ghost is going to be back in Star Wars stories in live action. And I. I genuinely could not be more excited. 

Paul Scheer [00:27:56] To me, this is what I’ve been waiting for. I mean, it’s that, by the way. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:28:00] But the James Mangold, Star Wars Biblical epic. That’s the other movie they announced. 

Paul Scheer [00:28:07] Yes. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:28:07] That’s the one that I was like, well, I don’t know what this is, but please give me give me this. You know, the same way that I felt like giving Tony Gilroy free rein to do whatever he wanted with Andor. I was like, Yeah, this is I guess takes place 20. It’s the beginning of the Jedi, beginning of people understanding the force, if that’s what it’s getting. It’s like a story about like he compared it to, like the Ten Commandments, you know, or Ben-Hur. It’s an epic. 

Paul Scheer [00:28:34] I’m excited about that. I will say that, you know, we talking about Indiana Jones. I’m very excited for the The Dial of Destiny. The new trailer looks great. I’m in and and I feel like. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:28:48] They must be happy with what he did on that if they’re signing him up to do this. So that only I think that only solidifies and a little bit. It makes me hopeful that Indy is going to be great because they’re trusting him to do the next big Star Wars. Because I’ll be honest. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was absolute dog shit. 

Paul Scheer [00:29:07] I know. It’s such a it’s such a bummer. And I think it’s a hard thing to mix up. And I feel like watching it. I know nothing about this movie. I know not a thing. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:29:18] Same. 

Paul Scheer [00:29:19] But I will say that I think what I’m realizing, at least in that trailer, is Indy is dealing with grief. And whether that grief is like the death of Mutt, which would be great or not great, I mean, you know, but or maybe it’s Karen Allen. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:29:35] You are so you’re on the pod just saying #killmut? 

Paul Scheer [00:29:40] I mean, that’s it. I mean. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:29:41] That’s a savage take. 

Paul Scheer [00:29:43] We got to get we got to get rid of this crystal skull stank on us. You know, there is something about putting Indiana Jones from a character perspective in a different place. Yeah, like, I think they tried to do that a little bit with Crystal Skull. Like, Oh, he’s a man out of time. Yeah. And like, yeah, but it didn’t really like, flesh out I think emotionally it’s like it seems like he is the world has passed him by. He’s a little bit older now. He’s grieving. Like, again, I’m putting this all on this. I don’t know. But there’s something about the tenor of that trailer. It’s like, this is the one last adventure. This is the moment of him like clicking back to finding life again. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:30:24] That would be great. I think that would be great if there was a sense of finality to this story. 

Paul Scheer [00:30:30] Yes. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:30:31] I think that would make the movie better for it the way that even though we’re now seeing it be undone, the way that I felt Mangold did with Logan. Yeah. You know, I think Mangold came in and gave Logan, like a real definitive sendoff, which I thought was, I love that movie. 

Paul Scheer [00:30:48] Which. I believe, by the way, from what I understand, and again, I don’t know anything on the inside scoop. Logan stays locked. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:30:58] Oh, interesting. 

Paul Scheer [00:30:59] Wolverine is a different Wolverine. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:31:01] Yes. 

Paul Scheer [00:31:02] Played by Hugh Jackman. I think it’s going to be playing in the meta that’s in the in the multiverse. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:31:07] I assume that Wolverine belong, that Wolverine belongs to that universe’s Deadpool. 

Paul Scheer [00:31:14] And that to me makes me happy because it also opens up the scope of whatever baggage. Hugh Jackman, Hugh Jackman does carry a lot of baggage as Wolverine, and I think this could open him up to be a little bit of a different Wolverine, which I think is kind of fun. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:31:31] Which would be great. Yeah. I would love that.  I’ve got. I’ve got a couple of things to recommend to you there, one of which I think if you haven’t watched it already, I think you are going to love. 

Paul Scheer [00:31:41] Okay, I cannot wait. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:31:42] Have you watched the Hulu documentary about Anthony Pellicano called Sin Eater? 

Paul Scheer [00:31:51] Oh, wait a second. I think no you know what I’ve heard about this because I think June has been wanting to watch this. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:31:57] Yeah, it’s next level. But here’s the. Okay. I got to tell you this though only because it’s annoying, it’s under the title The New York Times presents. 

Paul Scheer [00:32:10] Okay. Because I just typed in Sin Eater. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:32:11] Have an overall documentary series called the New York New York Times presents at Hulu. And each I don’t know how often each season they just plug in different documentaries. 

Paul Scheer [00:32:23] This is the one I believe that did the Britney Spears doc because they did The New York Times did a Britney Spears, a really beautiful thing about like her how she was put under the court orders. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:32:36] Oh okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. So yeah, it might be the same exact thing. I also watch they have a great new one up. It’s about J Dilla, the producer and, you know, prolific beat maker. They have an incredible one that they just put out about J Dilla, but there’s a two part episode that’s about Anthony Pellicano, who was the Hollywood fixer. 

Paul Scheer [00:32:58] Yes. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:32:59] Of the wire tap or Hollywood fixer for the, you know, Don Simpson generation. And it’s all like inside Hollywood kind of corrupt nonsense, craziness and all of the kind of hubbub around him and then, of course, around him getting sent to prison for many years and how that happened and why and all the kind of intricacies of all of his relationships with people, for people who might not know this, Anthony Pellicano is who Ray Donovan is based on, the character Ray Donovan. The show Ray Donovan is is loosely inspired by. Yeah. The guy who wrote the guy who created Ray Donovan was first hired like succession was first hired to write a movie about Anthony Pellicano. And then when that went away, I think he reused that that that material as and turned in made it fictitious. 

Paul Scheer [00:33:59] I love this. You see I know a little bit about this. I read that Don Simpson book, which was it’s a great it’s very tabloidy, but I enjoyed the hell out of it. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:34:12] Don Simpson’s book in the one he wrote, the one that’s out of print? 

Paul Scheer [00:34:17] The one that is written about him. Hot Concept, it’s written by Charles Fleming. Yeah. And that’s great. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:34:24] That’s a wild book. It’s not an autobiography. It’s about him. Yeah, you’re right. Yeah. 

Paul Scheer [00:34:28] And it’s and it’s. And it’s a great book. And and that all kind of figures into this whole mix. It’s really interesting. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:34:35] And it’s like he’s super connected to, like, Brad Gray and all these, like, John McTiernan ends up going to prison because of the Pellicano case. The director, John McTiernan. 

Paul Scheer [00:34:45] Isn’t part of this like the whole thing and this is like a very inside Hollywood thing, but it’s like. Garry Shandling sued his manager because his manager was taking Brad Gray was taking his money from his TV show. And Anthony Pellicano, I think, was like put on Garry Shandling, I think even. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:35:03] Yeah. Oh, yeah. It’s really good. And I mean, it’s very I will say it is very inside Hollywood, but it’s very fun because he portrays himself as a very kind of gangster esque kind of Tony Soprano kind of figure. You know, so he’s a character. So even though. Yes, it’s a lot of behind the scenes Hollywood stuff, it’s a very fun, pulpy story. And he is just so charming and compelling as well as everybody’s stories around him. It’s very interesting. 

Paul Scheer [00:35:34] Well, you know, I don’t know if you’ve ever read this, but I just finished this book called Monster. And, you know, I think we’ve both talked about Joan Didion on this show before. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:35:45] Sure. Right. 

Paul Scheer [00:35:46] And so this is written by her husband. Oh, yeah. And basically they wrote a bunch of screenplays together. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:35:54] John Dunn. Right? 

Paul Scheer [00:35:55] Yeah. John Dunn. And and this is about the ten year process of them writing a Robert Redford Michelle Pfeiffer movie called Up Close and Personal. And then, you know the. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:36:07] Oh, wow. So is the Monster in the title, Redford? 

Paul Scheer [00:36:12] No, oddly not, like, I think the monster is the script. Oh, okay. You know, and it talks about all. But Anthony Pellicano is referenced there, too, because it’s also in the mix of they work with Don Simpson for a little bit. Yeah. Don Simpson dies in a pivotal part of this book, but it is probably the most insightful book I’ve ever read about Hollywood screenwriting, because it’s eight years from when they got the assignment to when the movie got made. They tried to leave it multiple times. They like, you know, down for it, like in the edit, you know, talking to Robert Redford, telling Michelle Pfeiffer like and then also the other movies that they’re trying to make during the time it’s. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:36:53] A movie that like is doesn’t exist in the parlance of the Blank Check podcast like it is. That’s a movie that really does not exist. It has those two huge stars written by like titanic writers of their time. Yeah. And it is a it it has no cultural relevance. 

Paul Scheer [00:37:10] Well, it’s so interesting because it was originally based on the life of Jessica Savitch, who is this interesting reporter who died of a cocaine overdose. She was pretty like controversal. She kind of rose up and she had a very kind of messed up life. And right out of the gate, Disney was like, hey, we don’t want you to do any of the drugs or sex stuff with her. So then they were like, Well, we’re making a movie about Jessica Savage, but we can’t do that. So then it becomes like this other thing and everyone’s like, it’s I think you would love it. It’s a great podcast. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:37:44] That sounds great. I love it. 

Paul Scheer [00:37:45] I’ve been recommending that a lot. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:37:46] Ooh, very cool. 

Paul Scheer [00:37:47] Okay, so I got my New York Times presents. Anything else that you. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:37:50] Yeah, I’ve got a couple of things that are actually really great. One of my I’ve brought it up a number of times, but one of my favorite comedies of the last bunch of years is Jamie Demetriou’s show Stath Let’s Flats. Yes, he has on Netflix a special out that just came out. That’s just a sketch special. It’s just as a series of sketches. As a special It’s called A Whole Lifetime. 

Paul Scheer [00:38:15] Okay, I saw that. Yeah. Okay. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:38:16] It’s fucking fantastic. It’s like I will say, like, all sketch shows or, like, all sketch based comedy. It’s like some some sketches hit for me, some didn’t as much, but pound for pound. Great. It’s overwhelmingly fantastic. 

Paul Scheer [00:38:31] Oh, I’m so excited. He was so good on the After Party. The The Lord and Miller show. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:38:38] He’s great in Fleabag. He’s great. And his sister is Natalie Demetriou from the What We Do in the Shadows and who’s also in Stath Lets Flats they’re both just I think, so supremely talented. It’s fucking nuts. 

Paul Scheer [00:38:54] Oh I love it. Do you, By the way, have you been watching Cunk on Earth? 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:38:57] I watched a couple of Cunk on Earth. It’s very funny. 

Paul Scheer [00:38:59] I thought it was very funny too. Yeah, Yeah. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:39:01] I like that. I like that. I watched and I also watched. Just watched all of the new season of Party Down with friend of the show Adam Scott. 

Paul Scheer [00:39:09] Adam Scott, by the way. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:39:10] And Ken and everybody, great. 

Paul Scheer [00:39:11] We got to say and Jennifer Garner who is. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:39:15] Holy cow. 

Paul Scheer [00:39:16] She’s so funny. I just did a movie with her and she is the coolest and nicest and but also just incredibly funny. Like, she’s just got it. Like she figured it out. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:39:25] Yeah, I thought she was great in that season. I really. I really enjoyed her. 

Paul Scheer [00:39:29] I will say this for those of you wondering about the upcoming Fast and Furious, you know, we are we’re going to be going back and we’re going to go forward. Unfortunately, Adam is not available in Los Angeles and we want to do the shows live. So we may have a special guest in here, too, to sit in Adam’s chair for some of these Fast and Furious conversations. We will get his take, but take. Yes. But I want to make sure. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:39:54] Just to let people know so they’re not caught. 

Paul Scheer [00:39:57] Yeah. We were even talking about. You know, I think he’s in such a intense schedule that he can’t even guarantee that he’ll be able to see the film in time.He’s working on a big show. It’s a big thing, you know. Get ready. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:40:11] Yeah. I’ve got a couple of other things to throw out here, but do you have anything else you want to toss out? 

Paul Scheer [00:40:15] I was going to toss out. Oh, my gosh. I just wanted to say that trailer wise. I’m excited. The Barbie trailer look great. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:40:25] I thought it was terrific. 

Paul Scheer [00:40:25] I thought it was great. I also thought that the the trailer for the new Spider-Man movie looks. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:40:32] I haven’t watched that yet. I’m not going to watch any footage from that movie. if I don’t have to, because I think it’s so stylized. I’m so curious about all the stylistic elements of it. That that’s what I’m kind of wanting to just be like, go in as cold as I can. 

Paul Scheer [00:40:51] I think that they do a good job of not telling you much plot in this Spider-Man movie, but I also feel like I think that that’s a good a good, good way to be. I think it’s a good way to be. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:41:02] I will recommend just because we’re talking animation, Neil Campbell and Andy Samberg Show Dig Man. Oh, yeah. Also related to the Indiana Jones of it all that we were talking about earlier. A hilarious Comedy Central animated show where Andy plays a character who is not unlike a Nicolas Cage National Treasure, Indiana Jones archeologist type hero who’s down on his luck. And it’s very funny and absolutely crazy and gonzo fun in that kind of a world of competitive archeologists all trying to one up each other. Very funny. And Andy is great. And our friend Neal Campbell. He created it and it’s fantastic. 

Paul Scheer [00:41:45] I really like that. And I love that kind of version, that character that Andy does. It’s really, really funny. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:41:51] And oh, and it made me. This past weekend I rewatched National Treasure. I had it on here in the afternoon. Oh, I watched one and two and also because Blank Check just did them as well. 

Paul Scheer [00:42:06] Okay, great. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:42:06] So I can I now I’m going to listen to those episodes and I was like, this is they’re just fun. They’re just dumb fun. 

Paul Scheer [00:42:13] It’s I have to watch. And I will say. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:42:16] In two Nic Cage goes like, really off the rails Cage. It’s yeah. 

Paul Scheer [00:42:21] I cannot wait. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:42:23] I’m excited for that Renfield movie, too. Where he is playing Dracula. 

Paul Scheer [00:42:26] I’m on board for that. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:42:28] I want to recommend something just because I know we’re recommending a lot of, like, big IP, Star Trek, Star Wars, Marvel, all this stuff. We talk about a lot of that stuff. I do want to recommend a very small movie that I watched that I thought was absolutely fantastic and I really want. Please, everybody watch. Rye Lane, R Y E lane. It’s a British rom com and it is absolutely fantastic. It is like it is the kind of rom com like I feel like we’ve talked about a bunch of the more recent rom coms, you know, the yeah, the Shotgun Weddings, the, you know, the Reese Witherspoon one. There’s been a bunch of them lately, but this is one that I feel like comes the closest to like the kind of rom coms that we loved. The back-in-the-day ones because it’s it’s actual young people having like a real chemistry filled. It feels a little bit like Before Sunset. Before Sunrise, rather. In that kind of way. 

Paul Scheer [00:43:26] This is great. All right. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:43:27] It’s on Hulu. It’s so good. It’s visually, I think, fantastic. And the performances are amazing and it’s just a sweet, cute rom com. That’s that’s that’s also bitingly funny, you know, in a way that I feel like none of those other movies are good at, at representing that kind of the comedy of the. Yeah, of course I feel like lately we’re getting like ROMs. 

Paul Scheer [00:43:47] Yeah we’re not that it’s like this it’s what happened in independent film you’re getting all these mumblecore movies that are neither dramas nor comedies and it’s like, Come on, guys, let’s let’s give me. Give me something. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:43:58] Yeah, come on, come on. Duplasses.

Paul Scheer [00:44:01] Come on Duplass! 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:44:03] I’ll also recommend Sharper. The con man movie. Julianne Moore, Sebastian Stan. John Lithgow Yeah, I think it’s on Apple. Is fantastic. Great. You know, Mamet esque, you know, just con man story, con con person story. You know, it’s like multiple cons, concurrent cons. It’s great. 

Paul Scheer [00:44:23] All right. I am excited about this. This is all. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:44:25] Are you listening to The Town that podcast with Matt, the Matt Belloni podcast. 

Paul Scheer [00:44:30] So I subscribe to. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:44:34] To puck? 

Paul Scheer [00:44:34] To Puck. I like Puck. It’s a, it’s kind of a bespoke news source, you know, where it’s like you can follow anything in politics or you can follow the stuff with Hollywood, you can follow. It’s very interesting. I’ve actually read some fascinating articles on there. And they’ve been great. You know, you get people it’s very inside baseball, whatever. But so I often read a lot of the recap of The Town, but I do. Yes, I do. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:45:01] I really like it. It’s a it’s a podcast. Again, it’s about it’s about Hollywood. It’s about the business of Hollywood, how it’s changing, how it’s collapsing, how it’s imploding. Stuff that sometimes we talk about or reference on the pod, so people might be interested in it, but it’s terrific. Then I will also say. 

Paul Scheer [00:45:17] The book that he recommended did he talk about that, the streaming wars book. I was going to I was going to be. So he recommends this book and I saved it in my it’s a free book and I believe it’s called the streaming wars. And it’s just a basically it’s an interesting like take not takedown but a yeah, an exposé about like how these streamers came to be and everything like that. It’s a really. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:45:41] I mean we’re really inside of a moment right now where things are so malleable and changing and shifting and places that, you know, used to exist don’t anymore. Places that used to host shows aren’t anymore. Yeah, there was that. The Kim Masters article in The Hollywood Reporter last week about Amazon was absolutely fascinating, stating again, this is not name if you’re interested in this kind of stuff. You know, again, we talk about it a lot on the podcast, but you know, a lot of the stuff, very deep dive, interesting stuff on how, you know, this business is really kind of changing and like I said, imploding and and building something new. It’s it’s interesting. 

Paul Scheer [00:46:19] The book I’m talking about it’s called The Streaming Book. It’s written by Matthew Ball. It’s completely free. I just type in the streaming book and it will pop right up. And it’s just full of like charts and graphs. And it’s kind of interesting to see just where we’re at. It’s interesting to see it. And I also will recommend, because I know that you and I. Well, no, I don’t know if you’re a such a big fan of Best Show or the Tom Sharp. I mean, I know, you know. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:46:41] Yeah. 

Paul Scheer [00:46:42] I mean, you know, if you’re a fan of that show, Jason Gore has a show called 108.9 The Hawk. And it is a morning morning show that he does. And I got to go on it this week. And it’s really funny. I’m a guy who sells hot sauce and hot tubs. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:47:00] So you’re on as a character. 

Paul Scheer [00:47:01] I’m on as a character. So I’m Trip and I sell hot sauce and hot tubs and and it’s just it’s played. Music stings everything. It’s like. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:47:15] A morning show, like a drive time radio show. 

Paul Scheer [00:47:16] Like a drive time Southern radio show. Yeah. And it’s really, really funny. And Jason Gore, I’m a I’m a fan of him and it’s a it’s a really it’s a fun show. So just 108.9 The Hawk, and it’s Jason Gore and Jeff Garlock. Those are the two guys who do it. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:47:34] And I’ll shout out, I’ve mentioned before, we’ve talked about Andy Daly’s Bonanza, Bananas for Bonanza. He’s now moved over. He was on the CBB world, Patrwon Feed. He’s now on his own podcast feed on Patreon called Andy Daily Podcast Project, where he does Bananas for Bonanza as well as all the other ancillary Andy Daly shows that are fantastic. 

Paul Scheer [00:47:59] So, so good. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:48:00] Absolutely worth if you’re looking to subscribe to something that’s just home runs all the time. Andy Daly, CBB World as well, also fantastic. 

Paul Scheer [00:48:06] Always good. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:48:07] With the Bob Duka podcast and Hey Randy and all that. 

Paul Scheer [00:48:09] And that college show that Seth does. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:48:12]  College town. Yeah, this book changed my life. The Lily Sullivan Show is fantastic. 

Paul Scheer [00:48:17] So good. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:48:18] I just want to mention that one of the animated shows that I’m a voice on called Housebroken is currently moved to primetime Sunday nights on Fox. So if you want to check out a cast that is myself and Sharon Horgan and Clea Duvall and Nat Facts and and Sam Richards and Tim Simons. It’s home runs. It’s a murderer’s row cast, very funny show about like a bunch of pets who are left home during the day and like, all the shenanigans they get into. 

Paul Scheer [00:48:47] Now, can I tell you some about this show? Yeah, it’s a very funny show. Yeah. People tell me all the time like, Oh my gosh, you’re so funny on Housebroken. And I think that these think I’m Tim Simons.. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:48:59] Because your voices sound similar? 

Paul Scheer [00:49:00] No, I don’t think that they do, oh they always are talking about you on housebroken. I’m like, I’m not on it. And I always have this guilt because they asked me to do a table read and I couldn’t make the table read. And then, I then the show was cast and God bless. And you know, I’m not on it, but it has come up so many times. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:49:19] That’s so weird. 

Paul Scheer [00:49:20] That I don’t know who people are confusing me for. Yeah, but there we go. But I know. And I watch the show and I love the show. It’s a great, fantastic show. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:49:28] Fantastic show. So please, Sunday nights watch Housebroken. We’re getting a primetime run and we need people to watch it. Please. 

Paul Scheer [00:49:35] I love it. All right, Well, great. Jason, this is, we got a lot we got a lot out in this one. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:49:40] We got a lot out. I think you’re going to like some of this stuff. 

Paul Scheer [00:49:42] I’m ready. All right. I’ll talk to you soon. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:49:44] Absolutely. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:49:45] Thank you, Jason. Thank you, John. Astonishing for that amazing theme. And again. Send us all of your themes to HDTGM@Earwolf.com. Now that we got The Specialist out of the way, let’s talk about next week’s movie. We are going from blokes with bombs to jokes that bomb. That’s right. We are watching the 2003 rom com View from the Top starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Christina Applegate, Mark Ruffalo, Candice Bergen and Mike Myers. Here’s a short breakdown of the plot. A small town woman tries to achieve her goal of becoming a flight attendant. There it is. Rotten Tomatoes gives this film a 14% score on tomatometer. And Jan Stuart from Newsday says you might need to recycle your popcorn cup as the flight sickness bag. As View from the Top, swoops nosedives between Mayer’s mugging and Bergen’s high comedy professionalism. Let’s take a listen to the trailer.

Trailer Audio [00:50:38] At Royalty Airlines. Welcome aboard. The stewardesses are friendlier. Would you care for some champagne? This ain’t your mama’s house. The pilots are faster. Captain. We are, Captain? He’ll be fine. Now poke him with a stick. And the nuts. You call these warm nuts? Are warmer. The View from the Top. At only a couple of near misses. But I’m feeling better about it. Rated PG 13. 

Paul Scheer [00:51:04] Okay. I’ve been obsessed with this film for a long time because Richard Ayoade wrote a book about this movie. It’s only about this movie. It is one of the funniest books I’ve ever read. It is 200 pages breaking down everything about this movie. If we could be one quarter as funny as that book, I will be thrilled that when we do our episode, it’s such a great book. I would actually recommend watch a movie, listen to the podcast, read his book. You can currently stream view from the top on Stars and it’s a good time to sign up for Starz right now because they had a free trial. Plus, you can watch Party Down the New Seasons out, so maybe you could just like kill two birds with one stone. Or you can just rent it on Apple TV or prime video or YouTube, or just go to Hoopla on Kanopy, which are digital media services offered by your local public library. All right. That is it for the show. Please remember to rate and review us. It helps if you listen on Apple Podcasts. Make sure you are following us. Visit us on Social media, @HDTGM. All of our amazing videos are made by Jess Cisneros and for commercial free access to the show and our entire archive and so much more. Sign up for Stitcher premium for a free one month trial. Use the code BONKERS and a big thanks to our producers, Scott Sonne, Molly Reynolds and our movie picking producer Avril Halley, our engineer Alex Gonzalez, and our publisher July Diaz. We’ll see you next week for A View from the Top. But before we go, we thought we’d share a bonus deleted scene from our Specialist show where we go down the rabbit hole into Steven Seagal’s career as a blues musician. Take a listen. 

Paul Scheer [00:52:31] This was supposed to be Steven Seagal’s chance to star and direct in a film. But he wanted $9 million, and the studio didn’t want to pay him that much, so they gave it to Stallone instead. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:52:44] The only way to make this movie worse would be Steven Seagal. 

June Diane Raphael [00:52:50] I don’t know. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:52:53] June, I’m sorry. Can you repeat? You don’t know? 

June Diane Raphael [00:52:57] I don’t know. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:52:58] Would you rather Steven Seagal in the shower? 

June Diane Raphael [00:53:01] Yeah, I think so. I think so. I think so. This was too. I just. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:53:07] I would have taken J.C.V.D.. 

Nicole Byer [00:53:10] Oh, yeah. 

June Diane Raphael [00:53:11] Oh, yeah, of course. I think that’s who I thought we were talking about. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:53:19] Paul could you pull up Steven Seagal, please. Just to remind June who she would rather be watching. 

Paul Scheer [00:53:28] All right, so this is maybe 94 Seagal. 

Nicole Byer [00:53:32] Yeah. You don’t want that man on the floor of the bathroom. 

June Diane Raphael [00:53:36] Yeah, I take that back. I retract that. 

Paul Scheer [00:53:40] Let me see if I can get a naked. No, no, he’s he’s not very often. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:53:48] Now that he’s a Russian citizen. I don’t think any of that stuff is online anymore. 

Paul Scheer [00:53:53] All right. 

Nicole Byer [00:53:53] Wait he’s a Russian citizen?

Paul Scheer [00:53:55] Oh, yeah. That’s a whole other thing. He’s writing books. He’s in Russia, is performing like Cajun music. 

Nicole Byer [00:54:04] Cajun music? 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:54:06] Oh yeah. 

Nicole Byer [00:54:06] He’s a spicy white? 

Paul Scheer [00:54:13] Mojo priest. 

Music [00:54:14] [Music] 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:54:30]  I’m going to say this right now. 

Nicole Byer [00:54:43] How truly wild. 

Paul Scheer [00:54:46] And so Putin made Russian citizens go see him in this giant theater. He’s never sold out. 

Nicole Byer [00:54:54] So, Vladdy Poots is like, “You all have to go see Steven Seagal?” They’re best friends Nicole. 

June Diane Raphael [00:55:01] Very upsetting. 

Nicole Byer [00:55:03] I just like if I have absolute power, I’m not forcing people to see Steven Seagal. 

Paul Scheer [00:55:09] That is absolute power to make people see Steven Seagal. 

Nicole Byer [00:55:13] You’re right. I can do whatever I want. 

Jason Mantzoukas [00:55:16] That was Emperor Palpatine’s plan the whole time. Once he has unlimited power, he’s like, we got to watch Steven Seagal Cajun Music.