S1: Hey, I'm Osman Farooqui and this is The Drop, a
S1: weekly culture show from the Sydney Morning Herald and The
S1: Age where we dive into the world of pop culture
S1: and entertainment. I'm here with Thomas Mitchell and Mel Cambry.
S1: How you doing, gang? What's up?
S2: We're doing good. Uh, Thomas and I have spent the
S2: morning poring through a book that's just arrived at my desk,
S2: for which we sent you a few excerpts as well.
S1: Yeah, this was weird. You refused to explain the context
S1: of this. You sent me some pages of what appeared
S1: to be people describing their sexual fantasies, and then underneath
S1: it was like their nationality, a a figure, which I
S1: think is what their annual salary and their star sign.
S2: Yeah, yeah. So this is Gillian Anderson of television and
S2: film fame has collected for a new book called Want
S2: a Lot of Fantasies? It's a very thick book, and
S2: I actually didn't even notice until Thomas pointed out that
S2: the cover of it had been personalized for me. So, um, yeah,
S2: we've had a lot of fun with that this morning.
S3: It has been. Yeah, I mean, it's of all the
S3: ways to write a book, collecting someone else's letters and
S3: putting them together, uh, is the easiest way to do it.
S3: So props to Gillian.
S1: So did she like, solicit? Did she do a call
S1: out or something?
S3: I guess she set up like a Gmail, I don't know,
S3: but like, she writes like an introduction and she puts
S3: her own fantasy in. But it's anonymous, so you don't
S3: know which one it is. But oh.
S1: So her fantasy is in there, but you don't know
S1: which one.
S3: It is. Correct. But like, I mean, let's be honest.
S3: Huge missed opp not calling this the sex files.
S2: Yeah I mean what true.
S3: Uh, but yeah. So she can do it all people.
S3: I mean, I guess since sex education, she's. And, you know,
S3: I don't know if you guys follow her on Instagram,
S3: but she's very, like, you know, sex positive. So I'm
S3: sure the book will do well.
S1: She loves books as well, right? She's always sharing books
S1: on her Instagram.
S2: True. I actually think erotica is making a comeback. I mean,
S2: I haven't really thought this through, but I think, like,
S2: you know, how there's been a very sex toy positive
S2: movement of late and all the influencers talking about the
S2: sex toys and launching brands, and you don't need to
S2: tell us twice. Yeah, I think I've seen a few
S2: posts in Facebook groups and the like about women searching
S2: for erotic fiction to read purely for the purpose of.
S1: Posts in Facebook groups. What sort of Facebook.
S4: Groups are you in?
S2: I am addicted to life. Uncut.
S1: Are you joking?
S4: I can't believe you're shouting out this podcast. Okay, no.
S4: Are you.
S1: Is this a joke?
S3: This is all the.
S4: Time I.
S2: Love. I'm addicted to the Facebook group because the voyeurism
S2: I get and the way that like these kind of
S2: high falutin, feminist like feminist concepts play out in Facebook.
S2: The disputes, the discussions, the is it a red flag?
S2: Are you being watched? It's incredible. I think it's such
S2: like it's social anthropology for me.
S1: Okay. I'm I'm, I'm I'm flummoxed. I'm flabbergasted. Right. I
S1: do you listen to life uncut regular.
S2: No no no no, I'm just about you.
S1: Just. You just consume it through the Facebook.
S2: Yeah. I'm just about seeing people crowdsource information for their problems.
S1: That's interesting. I mean, look, I think you're probably right
S1: about the yearning for erotica. We've discussed many times with
S1: this podcast the crisis that young women are in, in
S1: society right now. It's a crisis. The flip side of that. Right?
S4: Yeah.
S2: So maybe, uh, maybe I'll write this piece, but maybe
S2: want is kind of the outcome of that.
S3: Well, I think that what we should really do, the
S3: natural evolution of this chat is to obviously start a
S3: drop Facebook page, and then our fans can talk about
S3: these things on the page and they can share their fantasies.
S1: Yeah, etc., etc..
S3: They can be anonymous or not anonymous, and I'll compile
S3: them and release it under the.
S1: Profit off of their ideas.
S3: Obviously the book will be called The Sex Files. Now
S3: that I've trademarked that.
S4: Perfect.
S1: Um, hey, did either of you guys make it to
S1: Charli Xcx's birthday party in LA over the weekend?
S3: Yes, I did, I was actually, uh, so I was
S3: at Moorfield Bowling Club in Rockdale in Sydney's south. But
S3: after that, I flew over the 14 hours to LA, uh,
S3: and partied with Lorde and the rest of the Brat Pack. Uh,
S3: it was great. It was loose. Um, and it was
S3: everything you imagined. Sadly, Mel couldn't make it.
S2: No, I'm kind of getting a bit intimidated by the
S2: Brat Pack. Like they're starting to be a bit of
S2: an aura of cool girls. It. Girls, you're.
S4: We're in the Taylor Swift. Sort of like girl gang. Yeah, yeah.
S2: Which, I mean, obviously I love girl power, but, uh,
S2: there's something I don't know. It's starting to make me
S2: a bit intimidated, and I don't know, eh, I don't
S2: think I would get the invite, but also, I don't
S2: know if, if it's my kind of scene. Also, something
S2: about them all playing Charli Xcx's songs all night is
S2: feels very odd to me.
S1: Yeah, I wondered about this, actually. I had a friend
S1: who went to this party and I didn't really clock
S1: what was going on. They were posting Instagram videos and
S1: I was like, oh, cool. Like Charlie's hanging out with
S1: Lorde or whatever and didn't really think too much about it.
S1: I think it was maybe Friday or Saturday, our time.
S1: It wasn't paying a lot of attention, and then like
S1: the next day, it's the most viral videos ever. And
S1: I'm like, oh shit, I kind of missed a trick
S1: on that one. Probably should have screen recorded it and
S1: sent it around, but I think I found that also
S1: a bit odd that this was sort of like, seem
S1: like this kind of intimate party with all of Charlie's
S1: cool friends, but was clearly designed to be consumed on
S1: social media. My Intel is that there was like multiple
S1: like layers to this party. There was this earlier in
S1: the evening event with paparazzi and others at this bar in, uh, in,
S1: in LA, I think near Los Feliz or Silverlake, something
S1: like that. Um, and that was all consumed. And then
S1: it sort of kicked on into a more private sort
S1: of situation, which wasn't just them singing their own songs,
S1: because even though it's kind of cute, I guess I
S1: felt a bit weird to just be like, hey Billy,
S1: let's sing our song together now.
S3: And like, they were up on a little stage together,
S3: were they? And it just reminded me of that, you know,
S3: like when you're younger and you would go clubbing and
S3: there'd always be like the hot people would be on
S3: the stage, and then the more ugly people would be
S3: down the bottom and they're kind of wanting to get
S3: up there. And it's like space is tight and you're
S3: waiting to see, like if there's a natural spot for
S3: you to jump up. And sometimes, like the action of
S3: getting from the ground to the stage is really awkward.
S3: And then if the people on the stage are really attractive,
S3: you're like, well, I can't get. That's exactly what it
S3: felt like. Yeah. Having been in that position before, Thomas.
S1: You and I have actually been in this position together.
S1: I don't know if you remember this. One of our
S1: Melbourne nights when you visited, we went to the old
S1: bar and there was little stage there, and there was like, damn,
S1: we were jumping up there. We were the hottest. I
S1: was gonna.
S3: Say, yeah.
S4: We should get.
S2: Why did you want to be on the stage?
S3: That's just where the night led us. And.
S1: Um, before we get into the, uh, the guts of
S1: the episode, one thing I just wanted to mention briefly,
S1: we've talked a fair bit on this podcast. We had
S1: a whole episode, in fact, about the crisis in Australian
S1: music and the lack of chart success a lot of
S1: Australian acts were having. I just wanted to mention quickly
S1: in that realm, there's been a big win for Australian music.
S1: In the past week. Lime Cordiale have actually scored the
S1: first Australian number one album on the Aria charts. This year.
S1: They're Sydney band. Their record is called enough of the
S1: Sweet Talk. It's actually the first number one Australian number
S1: one since Troye Sivan in October last year. It's a
S1: good result for them, and it's a good sign that
S1: Australian music is still beating its heart somewhere. I got
S1: to say, you know, no disrespect to the band, I'm
S1: not like a big Lime Cordiale fan, but I am
S1: happy for them that this album went to number one.
S1: It seems like they've put a lot of work into it.
S1: They were doing a lot of live streams and events
S1: and gigs, and I certainly was getting a lot of PR,
S1: marketing emails about this band. So everyone was working overtime. Um,
S1: Aria is certainly celebrating it. I think they're very conscious
S1: of the criticism that the charts are under from people
S1: like us, and they're like, look guys, we did it!
S1: Lime Cordiale went number one. Everything in Australian music is okay.
S1: I'm not sure I'm willing to say the crisis is over,
S1: but I think given that we talked about sort of
S1: the atmosphere and some of the negatives, it was fair
S1: to mention this little thing that happened as well.
S2: Yeah, I would not have seen them going to number one,
S2: but um, good on them. And they have, as you mentioned,
S2: I've seen like their social media campaign and the like
S2: has been pretty extensive. So I'm glad it's paid off.
S3: Yeah. With a little help from, uh, Stringer Bell. So getting.
S3: That's true.
S1: Yeah. Idris Elba has collaborated with them.
S3: Yeah. Yeah. It's very funny how Idris Elba just like,
S3: does that. And we all just like, oh, what a
S3: fun hobby for him.
S1: It was a bit weird when he came. He was
S1: living in Australia for a bit and then someone in
S1: music Land was like, oh, he's collaborating with an Australian band.
S1: You'll never believe who it is. And I'm like, well,
S1: this is a guy who's like been part of like
S1: the jungle house scene in the UK. And I was like,
S1: you know, maybe. And they were like, oh, they're recording
S1: in Western Sydney. I thought, maybe he's doing like some
S1: intros for a drill group. And they're like, no, it's
S1: a Lime Cordiale. I was like, okay, you're right, you're right.
S3: I didn't see it.
S1: Coming, did not see that coming. Um, all right. Today
S1: on the show, we are in the middle of the
S1: biggest television event, comes around every four years. It is
S1: the Olympics. All three of us are big fans of sport.
S1: The Olympics in particular. We love the athleticism, the narratives,
S1: the heartache, even the nationalism that it evokes in three
S1: otherwise quite cynical people. I'm really excited to share our
S1: favorite moments and characters of the Paris Games so far.
S1: There's also back in the land of pop culture, been
S1: some very big blockbuster movies we haven't had the chance
S1: to chat about yet. Two in particular Twisters and Deadpool
S1: and Wolverine. Are they any good? What do they tell
S1: us about the state of cinema and culture? You'll find out. First, though,
S1: I wanted to talk to you guys about some exciting
S1: news in the land of television. So on Monday, the
S1: second season of House of the Dragon wrapped up. It's
S1: a very, very, very popular show that none of us
S1: are watching, which seems like a problem considering the jobs
S1: that we do and what we talk about on this
S1: podcast every week. But, um, more importantly, HBO on Monday
S1: dropped a teaser trailer highlighting some of their next big shows,
S1: and a few of them got me very excited. I
S1: thought it'd be fun to whip through, get the folks
S1: hyped up for what is coming out on HBO over
S1: the next 12 months. First thing they dropped was yet
S1: another kind of Game of Thrones related spin off. It's
S1: a show called A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. It's
S1: apparently set in between the timelines of House of the
S1: Dragon and Game of Thrones. My guess is you guys
S1: have no interest in this one either.
S3: Yeah, that definitely didn't get me, like, excited to become
S3: a Game of Thrones fan.
S2: Yeah, probably. Probably not. First on my must watch list. No.
S1: We also saw some footage from the second season of
S1: The Last of Us, which cleaned up at the Emmys
S1: in the drama category this year. I don't think we
S1: talk much about this show. Are you guys into the
S1: Last of Us stuff at all?
S3: Yeah, I really liked it. I also played the video
S3: game and so like I was bedded in for it
S3: and I thought actually in this like kind of sizzle
S3: reel that HBO put out, The Last of Us got
S3: the most love. I thought that obviously that's like where
S3: HBO is like hedging their bets. It's such a big,
S3: you know, kind of like IP for them. Um, yeah,
S3: I thought it looked very good. A single tear going
S3: down Pedro Pascal's face like, fucking sign me up.
S2: Yeah, I like The Last of Us. I thought it
S2: lost its way a bit in in the first season,
S2: but Pedro Pascal. I'm here for him.
S1: And speaking of IP, there are a couple of big
S1: IP spinoffs. There's the Penguin, which is the Batman related
S1: series starring Colin Farrell. I'm kind of in the back
S1: for this one. I'm excited. Thomas, you and I were
S1: talking about these Matt Reeves Batman films, and Colin Farrell
S1: was in that, and they were really good. So the
S1: first one, The Batman with Robert Pattinson, was really good.
S1: I'm excited for the Penguin. Yeah, I'm.
S3: Super excited for that. That's a great character. And Colin
S3: Farrell I love. I thought that like he didn't get
S3: as much to do in the movie, I think. Is
S3: it John Turturro? He kind of stole that film?
S1: Yeah, that was kind of a lot of bad guys
S1: in that movie. You didn't really get a sense of
S1: what the Penguin was going to be like in this universe.
S3: Yeah, but this has been flagged for ages and I'm like, super,
S3: super keen for that. Um, and, you know, we love it.
S3: We love a bit of prosthetic.
S1: Melanie vibes on Colin Farrell as the Penguin.
S2: Yeah I'm excited for this. I'll give it a crack.
S4: So I mean, I guess he's been convincing, but.
S2: Excitement levels aren't super high. But you know, if done well,
S2: I'm open to it.
S1: No, that's a lot. You're allowed. I bet your excitement
S1: levels are off the chart for June Prophecy, the prequel
S1: about the Bene Gesserit sisterhood in the June universe. Come on,
S1: let's go!
S3: The trailer was only a minute 30, and I fast
S3: forwarded through that bit.
S2: How much more Dune do you want, Osman?
S1: No, I'm not really that excited about this. That they
S1: actually released a trailer, I think, a few months ago,
S1: and it didn't really work. Like the Dune films are
S1: great because Denis Villeneuve.
S2: We'll come back in five minutes.
S1: What happened?
S4: Just. I could hear you. I could feel you jigging
S4: up for a June chat.
S1: The June films are good because Danny Villeneuve knows how
S1: to make great movies, and there are some great stars
S1: in them. When you remove both of those things and
S1: it's just some sort of like, complicated sci fi storyline,
S1: I don't feel that excited about it, but happy to
S1: be proven wrong.
S4: Hopefully it's good. Will there be.
S2: Sandworms?
S1: That's a great question. Yeah. Does that make you more
S1: or less excited?
S2: They were like the highlight for me of the Dune film.
S4: As it.
S3: Would be like a bit of a mandalorian type thing
S3: where like, you know, just ends up being a disappointing
S3: addition to the film world.
S1: I think that's quite likely. I think that's quite likely. Yeah.
S1: I mean, this is this era that HBO is in
S1: with the Warner Brothers Discovery merger. Everything is being like
S1: mined for every potential prequel, sequel, behind the scenes TV
S1: thing you could do. I think that the lesson from
S1: all the Star Wars and Marvel shows is that has
S1: a pretty short shelf life. People aren't into it. It's
S1: sort of weird to see HBO getting into it. Uh, ultimately,
S1: I just hope that things that are being made are good.
S1: I hope they're good. I remain skeptical about Dune prophecy,
S1: but one that I think you guys will be very
S1: excited about. We got our first glimpse of the White
S1: Lotus Season three set in Thailand. They've been filming in Bangkok, Phuket,
S1: Koh Samui. What is the hype meter like for you
S1: guys on White Lotus Season three?
S2: Now we're talking.
S3: The hype meter is high. But like I mean glimpse
S3: really is exactly. Yeah.
S1: It's like it's like it's like the the length of
S1: it is the gap between the two runners in the
S1: 100 meter sprint. Yeah. It's very short.
S3: Exactly.
S1: Exactly like that. You like how I linked all those.
S3: Things I did? I was going to tell you up
S3: with one, but now you sort it yourself. But yeah, like,
S3: it was very it was like, you know, a long
S3: shot of, like a pool in Thailand and someone being like,
S3: what happens in Thailand stays in Thailand. And we saw, um,
S3: Natasha Rothwell's character.
S4: That's a big reveal that we knew that. Oh. Did we? Yeah, we.
S3: Did know that.
S4: It's a big reveal for you. For you? Yeah. Mel was.
S3: Shocked. Um, yeah, I think, I don't know, I like
S3: I'm starting to feel a little bit nervous about White
S3: Lotus Season three based on nothing other than just like
S3: it's really going to be a long time by the
S3: time it arrives, by the time we check into The
S3: White Lotus once more. And I don't know, like, the
S3: mix of casting doesn't get me as excited that we've
S3: got Michelle Monaghan, Parker Posey, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Jason Isaacs, Walton
S3: Goggins is cool, but I don't know something about all
S3: of the noise around it has made me apprehensive.
S1: I mean, we talked about this when we were talking
S1: about the bear. Season three. Season threes have this problem, right?
S1: Season one great show out of nowhere. Season two. You've
S1: managed to live up to expectations. Season three can you
S1: do it again? It's tricky. I think there's there's a
S1: lot of space for The White Lotus to like let
S1: people down with the expectations on it. Uh, yeah. I'm hopeful.
S1: I think Mike white has proven his ability to, uh,
S1: write good and smart television. I'm more curious about, like,
S1: in the universe of The White Lotus. How are these
S1: hotel chains still surviving? Like, are they not like people
S1: keep being massacred whenever they check in? Or is it
S1: not a kind of royal commission into what is going
S1: on with the White Lotus hotel chain?
S3: That that could be season three, maybe it's all it's
S3: going to be a courtroom drama.
S4: But I kind of like because.
S2: I think when the second season finished, he spoke about
S2: how that season was predominantly about sex. The first one
S2: was about money, and he thought this one was going
S2: to be about eastern religion and spirituality, which I think
S2: is a pretty ripe area for for satire and exploration.
S2: I think it looks great. There was a bit of
S2: my Thai or boxing in the clip. Did you notice that?
S2: And then also I it looked very hot and I
S2: really like shows where like the heat rises and as
S2: as the tension does as well. I know that's a
S2: niche area, but, um. Yeah.
S1: Um, I'm lucky I got my Thailand trip in last
S1: year because I feel like this is going to send the, uh,
S1: interest in travelling to to Thailand off the charts. So
S1: strong recommend to get in before, uh, the show comes out,
S1: I think.
S4: I mean, I.
S2: Think people have always gone to Thailand, haven't they?
S3: No, but there is a there is a white lotus effect.
S1: There's a white lotus effect. People have always gone to
S1: Hawaii and Sicily, but there's like, you know, search interest
S1: and prices have increased astronomically after these shows are released.
S1: All right. Let's talk about the Olympics. I want to
S1: talk about our favorite moments, the funniest things you've seen,
S1: how you feel. These games are ranking amongst previous Olympiads.
S1: But I want to ask first, how locked in are you? Like,
S1: what is your viewing experience been like for the last
S1: couple of weeks? Are you watching every day? Are you
S1: just doing the highlights? Are you flicking through all the
S1: different channels on stand? You know, on stand you can
S1: actually watch, like the broadcasts from different countries. You can
S1: watch how Indians and French people are watching it. What
S1: are you guys doing? What's your Olympic consumption habit like?
S2: I it's all I'm watching at the moment. When I
S2: come home, it goes on in the background. Um, and
S2: then I'm putting on the highlights in the morning. The
S2: timing is a bit hard. I'm like, I'm really struggling
S2: with that. Can't kind of catch everything live. So you
S2: kind of miss out on the excitement. But, um, yes,
S2: I'm flipping between them all. I quite like going to
S2: the nine main broadcast as well, just to see what
S2: they're scattering through. But then if I'm particularly interested in something,
S2: I'll head across to Stan and their all sports section.
S4: Yeah, right.
S3: Is that because you get a lot of James Bracey
S3: on nine now.
S4: Or he's.
S2: A great broadcaster. It really steals the show.
S4: I would say.
S3: I'm pretty locked in. Uh, it's also kind of coincides
S3: I think, with a pretty like it's not a lot
S3: on TV right now. It's kind of good that you
S3: can just watch the Olympics. And I'm mainly watching through
S3: the Stan app. It does make it hard. Like I,
S3: I've talked about this before with you, I derive a
S3: lot of my enjoyment of like watching sport, watching it
S3: live and having so much stuff on delay, or especially
S3: like at our night time, you don't get heaps of
S3: like gold medal. Like the finals aren't often at that
S3: time so early in Paris. So that's been kind of tricky.
S3: But I think like it's it's still basically all I've
S3: been watching. And as is the case with most Olympics,
S3: I find myself like, you know, once the swimming is over,
S3: like really getting into the more niche sports like.
S1: Yeah, yeah.
S3: So yeah, it's been very it's been the Olympic experience
S3: I was after, I would say.
S1: Do you have a favorite kind of niche sport that
S1: you've stumbled onto or that you're enjoying watching in the
S1: late hours?
S3: Yeah, we were talking about the three on three basketball.
S3: I think that's really odd to watch. And I've watched
S3: a lot of the pommel horse.
S4: Yeah, that was very the three on three.
S2: Basketball was very confusing to me, but.
S4: It's a wacky.
S1: Sport. How is there real basketball. And then also this
S1: fake version of basketball.
S4: And who.
S2: Are they like? They're not NBA players I know, but.
S3: And how do they get into it.
S4: Yeah exactly.
S1: Yeah. Yeah. Countries that like like the Netherlands is really
S1: good in it. I've never seen like the Dutch be
S1: involved in like the NBA or anything.
S4: Yeah.
S2: And I quite like I have got into the canoe slalom.
S2: Thank you. Um clearly.
S4: The Fox.
S1: Sisters. You're into the Fox Sisters. Well, are they kayakers?
S2: I guess I'm into the one where the one that
S2: Noemi or Naomi? Just one. I like the drop. Yeah,
S2: I like the intensity where they kind of plummet out
S2: of that thing down into the rapids. And actually, Thomas
S2: and I were talking this morning about whether I could
S2: just take my canoe, which I don't have yet to
S2: the regatta here and, like, have a crack at it. Yeah.
S3: Well, we were told by our esteemed sports reporter, Vince Rugari,
S3: that the Fox family, the mother is French. Um, and
S3: they were about to move back to France in the
S3: year 2000, and they decided to stay in Sydney because
S3: the big centre was built in Penrith, and then they
S3: obviously started training and then bang two Olympians into one family.
S1: And the mother is French. She was an Olympic canoer
S1: or kayaker for France and the dad was a British
S1: canoe or kayak, whichever one they do. Yeah. So the
S1: second generation.
S3: Yeah, yeah. So I mean they basically couldn't lose. But yeah,
S3: it's been very fun. Not a great like I mean
S3: in the last 24 hours, both the boomers and the
S3: Greek national team lost in basketball. So I feel doubly devastated.
S1: Yeah. That Greek lost to Germany was tough. Yeah. And
S1: I mean, like, again, when did Germans start playing basketball? Yeah,
S1: but they're really good.
S3: They won the last world championship, apparently. Oh did.
S1: They okay.
S3: Yeah. They didn't come out of nowhere. But and the
S3: boomers obviously had a devastating loss to Serbia. It's like the.
S1: Worst named team in history.
S3: The boomers I don't know the Jillaroos. The female Australian
S3: rugby league team is pretty bad.
S1: Yeah, it's not good though.
S2: We have been talking because I am considering getting an
S2: Olympic rings tattoo and.
S4: Wow.
S1: Okay, this.
S3: Is actually an Olympic.
S4: Fever. Not actually.
S1: The sweating. You're sweating out that Olympic fever.
S2: Yeah, but obviously then people would think I'm an athlete.
S2: And so.
S4: Because you only.
S3: Get them if you've been at the Olympics.
S4: It's actually it's not.
S2: A rule.
S3: No. But like that's what I'm in support of this
S3: decision because people you would really put people in two minds.
S2: But then people would have to be like, what sport
S2: did you. Yeah.
S4: What sport do.
S1: You reckon people would assume you entered?
S4: Well, if you.
S1: Had an Olympic ring, I've got an obvious answer to this.
S2: Thomas suggested that I could probably get away with skateboarding,
S2: which I don't really know.
S1: That's ridiculous. I mean.
S3: Just physically, though.
S1: Like, I was going to say equestrian.
S4: Equestrian.
S2: Really? Okay, okay. Midnight shadow or whatever. that or shadow.
S1: I've got a related question for you guys on this one.
S1: I'm springing this one on you. So you've not been
S1: prepared for this. If you had 12 months to prepare
S1: to try to qualify for an Olympic sport, which one
S1: do you think you'd have the best chance of making
S1: it in?
S3: I find it offensive that you say I'm not prepared
S3: for this, as if I don't fucking have this conversation
S3: with myself every single day. Um.
S4: Well, look.
S3: There's a few answers I could give you. I think
S3: I'm pretty close to being able to compete at football anyway,
S3: so we'll take that off the table. Like for the olyroos.
S1: Okay, so that, I mean, you're too old to.
S3: Be the only three overage players.
S1: Okay.
S4: Please.
S1: So you think you could be you think you're one
S1: of the three best football players in Australia?
S3: I think it's I'm in the mix. I should I
S3: should be in the chat. No, I, I've had this
S3: conversation a lot with people in the office. I reckon
S3: that the best chance sport that most of us as
S3: non-athletes could have, like in terms of what the skill
S3: level is and how quickly you could get to a
S3: level that you could probably at least, let's say the
S3: parameters are you can compete without making an absolute fool
S3: of yourself. Beach volleyball, I think.
S2: Yeah, Thomas has flagged this argument and I think it's
S2: quite disrespectful to the sport of volleyball.
S1: I agree. I mean, like firstly, you've got to have
S1: great dexterity in the sand.
S4: You have to be very careful.
S1: You've got to be great reactions. You've got to be tall.
S1: You've got to know.
S3: Like if we accept that all answers are going to
S3: be kind of disrespectful, like they're all going to be
S3: really hard sports. I'm just saying I think that's the
S3: one that most that's fair. That's fair, normal people. And
S3: if you.
S1: Had 12 months to do it, you could probably get
S1: pretty good. Yeah.
S3: Like because I mean like I couldn't get I couldn't
S3: run fucking ten flat in 12 months in 100m.
S2: I reckon I'm 100% table tennis.
S4: Like, no way. I'm absolutely getting.
S2: Into table tennis. I reckon I'd be top 100 in
S2: the country.
S4: Have you watched?
S2: I have a lot of it, and I think I
S2: have like. I think that's the sport for me.
S3: I think if we're being serious, I reckon beach volleyball
S3: is actually a good answer.
S1: I've got a better one than both of you. It's
S1: sort of in the middle, in fact, of both of
S1: these sports. What do you get when you combine beach
S1: volleyball and table tennis? Badminton.
S4: Oh, I love badminton.
S2: Yeah, I considered that as my other like I.
S1: Like because I played a bit of badminton growing up
S1: and I really liked it. And also think about it,
S1: you got to have a bit of stamina, but the
S1: courts aren't that big. You're not going to get exhausted.
S1: And it's kind of just like flicks of the wrist
S1: and like leans in. It feels like if I just
S1: played badminton, if I took a year off work and
S1: just played badminton every day, I would be in the
S1: Olympics like I do think that would happen.
S4: I like that the racquet.
S2: Is so light for badminton.
S4: I think we're missing.
S3: A very obvious thing here is if the three of
S3: us took a year off, we could go in three
S3: on three basketball.
S4: Wow, that would be good stuff.
S3: So like anyway there's like watch out la.
S1: Um, and so where do you guys reckon. Look I
S1: think the obvious answer is the Sydney 2000 Olympics are
S1: like the greatest Olympics of all time.
S3: Obviously. Athens 2004.
S1: Athens 96, 1896 was a good one. Um, how are
S1: you guys finding the general vibe about Paris? We're talking
S1: about the time zone. Like. I like you guys. It's
S1: kind of all I'm watching. I kind of come home
S1: from work and cook dinner and I'm like, oh, I'm
S1: doing a I'm doing a industry season two rewatch in
S1: advance of season three, but that's just been put on
S1: the back burner. I'm just like, what is on right now?
S1: I've been watching like the, the show jumping, the the
S1: slalom stuff, the skateboarding. It's all so fun. And I'm like,
S1: it's only on for a few more days, so I
S1: may as well just watch this. Time zones make it tough.
S1: There's some amazing kind of stories and wins, but how
S1: do you guys think the Paris Games compare to, you know, Tokyo,
S1: the Covid games? What do you feel the rankings are?
S2: I think Paris is fantastic. Particularly Tokyo was very weird, um,
S2: Olympic Games without much of an audience that any of
S2: the events. Um, I like the vibe in Paris. I
S2: love that they're making great use of the city, um,
S2: in all of their things, like the marathon's going right
S2: through it, the cycling, all of that.
S1: They're all getting E coli from swimming in the sand.
S1: You know.
S2: You gotta you gotta you gotta take your you gotta
S2: take that, um, the like the volleyball is under the
S2: Eiffel Tower. Um, and I loved the Tour.
S4: Eiffel, the Olympic.
S2: Opening ceremony. I thought they did a great job. I
S2: thought that was very fun. I'm glad it wasn't in, like,
S2: a stadium.
S1: Yeah, I like the use of, like, European electronic music. Yeah,
S1: like just throw out there, just piping it in through
S1: the stadium whenever there's athletic heats. That is a fun
S1: thing that they've done these games.
S3: My parents in law are still talking about the opening
S3: ceremony in the family WhatsApp, still up in absolutely up
S3: in arms.
S1: Over over that. The thing with the guy that everyone
S1: thought was a last Supper, right?
S4: Yeah. And I was.
S3: Like, why didn't we stop talking about like a week ago?
S4: But how did they feel.
S2: About the boats? Because people were very upset too, that the.
S1: I also I didn't like the boats. Actually, I got
S1: to say.
S3: I didn't mind that. I think generally like the Paris
S3: Games has been pretty good. Uh, like I do think
S3: it is, even though it's like, yeah, it's great to
S3: have crowds and stuff. I in my opinion, Time Zone
S3: does make a big difference. So we had like Beijing
S3: and Tokyo and they're like very friendly time zones. And
S3: like I really I actually really enjoyed the Tokyo Games
S3: because like obviously it was the weird Covid thing, but
S3: it was good to have like a collective experience that
S3: we could all, like, lock in on. And yeah, it
S3: was good to be able to watch like actual finals
S3: at good times with your friends and stuff. Whereas this like,
S3: you know, it's like you're up really late or up
S3: early in the morning, like watching, you know, the Stan
S3: recap of what happened. So I don't know, it's kind
S3: of like it's felt like a, a funny games to me.
S3: But I do think it's also as these things tend
S3: to do anyway, it's produced a lot of great, like
S3: I've enjoyed the content around the games outside of the
S3: sport too.
S1: Yeah, well, let's talk a little bit about that because
S1: there's been some, some athletes, some, some celebs who've made
S1: their presence really felt at these games. The kind of
S1: chat out of the village is always really funny to me.
S1: Apparently a whole bunch of athletes have just, like left
S1: the village and are staying in their own accommodation. There
S1: is no air conditioning in the village, which seems crazy
S1: like I know that we're all trying to save the
S1: environment or whatever, but like you're doing the Olympic Games
S1: like that's out the window, like thousands of athletes you're
S1: flying horses in from all over the world, like get,
S1: get rid of any idea that this is going to
S1: be sustainable and just let these athletes have aircon in
S1: summer in in Paris. That's crazy.
S2: Are they in old. I actually haven't I'm not so
S2: across this scandal. But are they in old buildings. Is
S2: that why that they're in kind of stately?
S4: I think they built it.
S1: I just think they're trying to like, reduce energy use, essentially.
S1: And some of the food, apparently they're running out of
S1: like protein, which seems like a mistake because these are
S1: athletes and that's basically all they eat.
S3: Yeah, but that someone had to like Cater Gina Rinehart's
S3: crews for the gold medal winners. So that's where all
S3: the protein has gone. I find I found that a
S3: very odd thing to do. Like, I, I don't know
S3: for everyone that is there that didn't win a medal.
S3: It's an Australian. Wouldn't you be like, fuck these guys
S3: on the winners?
S1: I mean, yeah, Rinehart's involvement in Australian swimming is crazy.
S1: She's like basically owns it now. I think she's big time.
S1: Sportswashing donated a lot and she, uh, has very strong
S1: views about how I think she wanted Dawn Fraser on
S1: the board. She really loves Dawn Fraser. Um, and yeah,
S1: I agree, it's sort of odd to be like, I'm
S1: going to take all the people who won on this cruise,
S1: the ones who lost, like, sorry, go eat your salads
S1: in your hot Olympic village.
S3: As your salad wilts in front of you. Uh, I
S3: think generally there has been some great storylines to come
S3: out of the games. Um, probably the most lovable figure
S3: is Yusuf Dikec, the Turkish 51 year old shooter who
S3: looks so much like a maths teacher of ours that
S3: we had at school, Melanie Kembrey. Um, he's been amazing.
S3: Just like and like the fact that two, you know,
S3: and then the South Korean Kim Ye-ji like the two.
S4: Sort of cool.
S3: Most popular stars are these kind of relaxed, casual shooters
S3: I think is very.
S1: Funny. And that wasn't there. The, um, the Swedish guy
S1: who won the poll vote, like, imitated the Turkish group.
S1: That was.
S3: Cool. Did the shooting stance because it's just good when
S3: like it's I mean, it's such an internet thing to
S3: be like, we love this person who's just regular like us.
S3: And now he won silver medal.
S1: Oh, we got some categories that we're gonna talk about. Uh,
S1: which is gonna be real fun to share some of
S1: our highlights and favorite moments from these games so far.
S1: First one, the obvious one. The best sporting moment to
S1: come out of these games. Mel, what did you choose?
S4: Look, I.
S2: It was an early one, cross country mountain biking which
S2: also I think.
S4: I want to get into sport Have you really?
S1: Really impressive.
S4: Yeah, yeah. I want to like.
S2: Go off those jumps. And down there was like this
S2: rock fountain and amazing sport. I think I might get
S2: into it. Um, English writer Tom Pidcock. Um, he was
S2: about he was expected to win and was well in
S2: front and then at, you know, maybe just before halfway through,
S2: he got a puncture in his wheel. And then there
S2: was a very kind of haphazard wheel changeover. It was
S2: 40s behind, um, which is quite significant. And then at
S2: the very end, he managed to kind of duck in
S2: front of his, um, of of a Frenchman, Victor Koretzky,
S2: and win. And I just thought it was he just
S2: slow and steadied and made his way back and won
S2: the day.
S1: Great shot. And that was a great sport that you
S1: just don't see other than the Olympics.
S2: Yeah. Like I feel like they're often squirrelled away in
S2: kind of national parks. Like, I don't know any mountain bikers.
S4: Yet.
S1: Um, Thomas, what's your favorite sporting moment so far?
S3: Um, my favorite sporting moment, I reckon, is probably the
S3: 100 metre sprint. Um, obviously, you know, the world was watching,
S3: but I think because I watched sprint, the Netflix series, um, about.
S1: Yeah, a lot of people saying this, they got really
S1: hyped because of that series. Yeah, it's.
S3: Exactly the same. It's the drive to survive effect. Like
S3: you suddenly care about F1 results because you've watched the
S3: show and watching if you watch sprint like the second
S3: episode is dedicated to Noah Lyles, you get it's like
S3: the full Noah Lyles show. He's so you know like
S3: such a showman talks the talk and all that. And
S3: so like because I had watched all the journey of
S3: him and the other guys getting to this race I
S3: was like so locked in. And then of course like
S3: the insane finish that it was like the five one
S3: 1/1000 of a second. And I feel like, you know,
S3: that often happens in sprinting, like, and you hear it
S3: and you're like, oh, cool. It's always going to be close.
S3: But like really reading about, you know, like that, the
S3: way in which the finish is calculated and how close
S3: it really was, like the difference between him and the
S3: guy from Jamaica. Like it was it was it was
S3: an amazing kind of end to that storyline. And, you know,
S3: that's the big race. I think that a lot of
S3: people always watch, like the male 100m and the female
S3: hundred metres sprint and like both delivered like pretty great
S3: ends to the story. Can I have.
S2: A hot take out of the athletics? But now I've
S2: also seen it in bouldering. In swimming, the false start
S2: rules I think are cruel.
S1: They're brutal, and seeing so many athletes disqualified because they
S1: just moved a little bit too early, and then they
S1: give them the red card and they're out straight away.
S1: It's quite heartbreaking. Yeah.
S3: Four years of your life and you're like, I flinched. And.
S3: But I guess if everyone got one false start, that
S3: would really fuck the race up because people would be.
S2: Everyone else gets to go and repechage and like these guys,
S2: why don't they get a second chance?
S1: Talk us through repechage.
S3: That was a word I did not know about three
S3: weeks ago.
S2: My God, I think about it all the time. I mean,
S2: my understanding of it is essentially if you don't qualify
S2: through your heat. And this is because certain heats are
S2: faster than others, you get a second chance and then
S2: if you win number one in that, you get to
S2: go through to the quarterfinals. Um, otherwise it's based on time.
S2: But don't you think we should have a repechage in
S2: more in more areas of life? Yeah, just a second. Yeah.
S1: Like taking a mulligan, you know? Let's just do it again.
S1: There was one funny, um, a US hurdler. Uh, Crittenden.
S1: Freddie Crittenden, I think is his name who I was
S1: watching who just, like, slow walked the hurdles. He was
S1: doing these tiny little steps and I didn't understand what
S1: what was going on. And then he basically was like, look,
S1: I wasn't feeling fit. I'm like, I may as well
S1: just go with repechage, where I can be the fastest
S1: among the losers. Then giving it all amongst all these people,
S1: I'm like, I don't know, that's the point of it.
S1: But respect for gaming the system.
S4: Yeah, but then he had.
S2: To race twice rather than.
S4: But he didn't really. He wasn't really racing the first time.
S4: The first time. Yeah. I thought that was a bit rude.
S1: Um, my favorite sporting moment. This is a bit of
S1: recency bias, but Orissa. True. The 14 year old, uh,
S1: from Cairns who won gold for Australia in the skateboarding,
S1: I was a bit skeptical of like skateboarding as a
S1: as a Olympic sport, but it's really fun to watch.
S1: I don't really understand why all the women are like
S1: 14 and all the men are 45. I don't know,
S1: something to do with men. Maybe there's more of a
S1: career in skateboarding, whereas women there isn't. Maybe. And so
S1: they have to get jobs and they have to tap
S1: out when they grow up. But it's very odd watching that.
S1: Huge difference. But the music is awesome. They just like
S1: blast hip hop and these kids do sick tricks. And
S1: it makes me think of Tony Hawk, Pro Skater. I
S1: just keep expecting to see this number in the corner
S1: go up as they are ollieing and grinding and stuff.
S1: It's really fun. I'm really stoked for her.
S3: I just, I don't know, like I don't want to
S3: diss a gold medal winner, but like 14 is just
S3: too young to be at the Olympics, I reckon.
S1: Like, well, she's she's become the youngest, uh, gold medalist
S1: for Australia. But there was a 14 year old gold
S1: medalist for Australia. She was part of Dawn Fraser's uh,
S1: relay team in like whenever 18 on Fraser. Yeah, yeah.
S3: I think I don't know, it's just like, maybe there
S3: should be a limit of 16, I reckon. Like, 14.
S3: Just feels like a bit too young to be, like,
S3: competing at the Olympics.
S4: What?
S2: Like what is your concern? Yeah. What are you worried about?
S3: I don't know, like, it makes me feel bad about
S3: what I was doing at 14.
S4: Okay. Yeah. Which was playing.
S3: Tony Hawk, basically.
S4: And like.
S3: Pausing different bits of American Pie, but like, I think
S3: it just feels like it's it's just not. She's so
S3: she is so young and like, she's got like so
S3: many more Olympics ahead of her now. I don't know,
S3: it just seems like it's like.
S2: A welfare thing.
S3: Kind of.
S1: It does feel weird that there is this one sport
S1: which just children are competing, and it's like a Dickensian.
S1: Now to the skateboarding, where, like Hungary, 13 year olds
S1: will compete against each other in quite a dangerous event.
S3: Yeah. And then and then, then you do have that
S3: weird thing where the men are really old and like,
S3: I'm like, is this like a weird Drake in charge
S3: at this point thing?
S4: Like, what's going on? All right, let's.
S1: Move on to our next category. Favorite. Best celeb moment. Thomas,
S1: you can go first.
S3: Um, yeah. There's been some good, good, like, star spotting,
S3: I think very much. I'm in favor of the flavor
S3: fave momentum. He's been basically at the women's water polo
S3: supporting the US women's team. But he's got like he
S3: he's just got big like supportive Aunt Energy. He's at
S3: every game. Like I'm pretty sure he's taken oranges and
S3: stuff for halftime. Like he's just he's so it's not
S3: like he's they're doing the like yeah, great photo op
S3: I'm here. You know like a lot of them are
S3: doing he's like at every game and like you know
S3: do we.
S1: Know why Flavor Flav is so I think he's like he.
S3: Like basically I think he befriended one of them at
S3: the last Olympics. And then they were like, we don't
S3: have much money. And he's like kind of become he's
S3: like brought money into the system for them.
S4: He's like, he's like.
S1: The Gina Rinehart of the US.
S3: Exactly. Yeah. And he's got a whole bunch of mining
S3: stuff and going on there. But yeah, like I thought,
S3: that's really cool. Um, and, you know, Flavor Flav is
S3: like a weird celebrity that still, he still got the
S3: big clock and stuff.
S4: Does he still wear.
S2: The clock out?
S3: I think so, yeah. I mean, otherwise, how do people
S3: know who he is?
S4: True.
S3: It's great. What about you, Osman?
S1: Um. Well, mine is is one where it was just
S1: a bit of a brief photo op, but it was
S1: such a funny, uh, combo as Tom Cruise and Greta
S1: Gerwig watching Simone Biles at the Athletics. I think, um,
S1: Christopher McQuarrie was there as well. The guy who's directing,
S1: it's like McQuarrie and cruise just go around together. It's
S1: like Mcquarrie's handler. They were together at the Taylor Swift concerts, like,
S1: all right, Tom, we can let you out in public,
S1: but Mcquarrie's got to come with you. It's so funny.
S3: That's a really weird relationship, I reckon.
S1: It's so funny. And, you know, it was great to
S1: see all these stars just, like, get behind Simone Biles,
S1: who's amazing and killed it. It was it was really
S1: cool to see. Yeah.
S2: She had a lot of celebrity supporters, like all the
S2: American celebrities are just watching gymnastics.
S3: She is very cool. Like like, obviously she's super famous
S3: now and everyone knows how amazing she is. But like
S3: to really come back from what was a pretty serious
S3: case of like the what do they call it, the.
S4: Twisties.
S3: In in Tokyo. Like, man, she came back and like
S3: fucking crushed it.
S1: It's incredible watching. It's like, how was with so much
S1: of this stuff at the Olympics, right? It's like, how
S1: do you do that? But something about the gymnastics in
S1: particular is just it's extraordinary to make your body do that.
S1: It's crazy. Um, Mel, your favorite celeb.
S4: Moment, surely.
S2: Snoop Dogg, I mean, he is the absolute hype person
S2: that I think we need at every Olympics. Um, I
S2: think like, obviously he's had lots of great moments dancing
S2: with Simone Biles, kind of hanging out at the tennis
S2: with Billie Jean King. He was mock fencing, wearing an
S2: American flag mask. But definitely the highlight was the equestrian outfit.
S2: Did you see him in Martha Stewart.
S4: And him and.
S1: Martha Stewart? Yeah. Got got all fancy. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. Wearing these little. And then he even was like
S2: he brought a carrot to feed the horse. Um, and
S2: he said, like he was quoted saying, I'm interested in
S2: the horses that dance. And I want to give them
S2: some carrots and apples. Great, man. Yeah.
S1: Yeah, absolutely.
S3: It's funny, he's over there as like, a special correspondent
S3: for NBC. He kind of did it a little bit
S3: at the last one, him and Kevin Hart. But like,
S3: I was trying to think because he's been so popular
S3: and the NBC president, he's over there in Paris and
S3: was like, we're definitely, obviously going to run this back
S3: in LA. No brainer. Like, that's Snoop's hometown. But I'm like,
S3: do we have who could have been our special correspondent
S3: for nine? We didn't send anyone fun.
S4: Scotty. Cam it's very.
S3: Good. Um, but, like, you know what I mean? Why
S3: don't we have someone over there, like a beloved cultural, like.
S1: A fun pop cultural sort of person? You got, Marc.
S1: We got, we got we got Tubby Taylor doing the
S1: the diving, which maybe people thought was that equivalent. Maybe
S1: for a certain kind of man of a certain age,
S1: it is. But who is the fun? You know why,
S1: Lime Cordiale? Why aren't they over there commentating?
S3: I'm not really sure who it could be.
S2: Do you think, Snoop Dogg? Because don't we not allow
S2: him into our country? Like, will he be able to
S2: come for Brisbane?
S1: I think we have previously banned him, but I think he's.
S1: I think he's allowed in.
S4: Yeah. Um.
S1: Yeah. Who would we send if we're talking about famous
S1: actors or. I mean, like, you know, Sarah Snook's been
S1: in London doing Dorian. Like, it'd be fun to cross
S1: to her if she was in Paris. People love her.
S3: No, you need someone that's, like, kind, like Snoop is
S3: good because everyone loves him. But he's kind of ridiculous.
S3: Him specifically being at the Olympics is a bit ridiculous,
S3: and that's that's a bit silly work. So you need
S3: someone that's kind of like, universally loved, but also their
S3: presence is kind of like jarring enough. Like, is that
S3: who remember that Chef Hughie?
S4: Oh yeah. He's he's got a YouTube channel. Very good.
S1: Yeah. Send Hughie to the Olympics.
S3: Send Hughie to LA. Let's get him chatting to people
S3: doing a cook up like he's kind of got the right.
S1: Or in fact, in fact, just on this, I can
S1: think of a number of like send po, you know.
S3: Yeah, yeah. Po would be good. Actually. Po would be great.
S3: Goodwin could probably do it.
S4: Yeah, or maybe like a classic.
S2: From Home and Away, Irene. Or someone like that.
S4: Oh, yeah.
S3: I mean, Ray Ma, I don't know if he's gonna make.
S4: The.
S1: Wrong network, folks.
S4: Wrong network.
S1: Let's just go through Nine's properties and see who works.
S1: We should have declared. And in fact, we can declare
S1: it now that nine is the broadcast partner of the Olympics.
S1: It also owns Stan, and it also owns us. Um,
S1: this is not a sponsored segment. We just love talking
S1: about the Olympics. But, uh, we should just mention that
S1: all the things we've been talking about were on channel nine. Uh,
S1: the last category. We've got, uh, funniest moments. A lot
S1: to pick from in a very funny, uh, very funny
S1: game so far. There's one. Um, I don't know what
S1: you're going to choose, Thomas. I hope you're going to
S1: choose this one. If you don't, I'm going to have
S1: to give it an honorable mention. But what is your
S1: funniest moment of the game so far?
S3: Are you talking about the BD, the pole vaulting. Yeah, baby. Yeah, yeah.
S3: Anthony Ammirati I mean, he's the game's biggest loser, isn't he?
S3: I guess, uh, look, this is a story that seems
S3: designed for the internet. Uh, he obviously was looking to.
S3: He was. I think he was jumping to qualify for
S3: the final Italian, uh, sorry, French pole vaulter. And he
S3: he went and did his jump. He ascended as the
S3: plan was, uh, he cleared. I mean, the top half
S3: of his body cleared the pole, uh, but sadly, his
S3: personal pole did not, and in slow motion for the
S3: entire world to see on repeat. He knocked the pole
S3: down with his enormous bulge. Uh, yeah. It's been it's
S3: been like a pretty fucking funny story. Our colleagues over
S3: at pedestrian have gone to town on it. It's like,
S3: you know, they've probably written about 30 stories on it. Wow. Um,
S3: there's lots of, like, he's been, I think. I think
S3: he's been offered $250,000 from OnlyFans to get his giant
S3: baguette out. That's a quote, by the way. Not me
S3: saying it. Oh my God. Uh, yeah. I mean, look,
S3: it's been it's been a very funny story and it's
S3: just the kind of Olympic moment that dreams are made of.
S1: Yeah, I feel I feel sorry for him not qualifying,
S1: but also, you know, he would have had a great
S1: time at the village that night. You know, it's like, hey, Anthony,
S1: did you, did you medal, did you get into the finals?
S1: And he's like, no. But do you want to do
S1: you want to know why do you want to see why?
S1: Like he's got an obvious sort of set up there.
S2: I actually think this is set him up well for
S2: the future. Like he's probably going to do better now
S2: post Olympics than he would have, you know.
S1: Yeah. If he just remembers to wear underwear, he should
S1: do very well.
S3: No, but he wasn't going to win. So like, you
S3: may as well, you know. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. You may as well emerge like as a character
S1: out of this. Exactly. You know. Yeah. And speaking of
S1: characters who've emerged, Mel.
S4: No.
S2: Mr. Pommel.
S4: Horse. Yes.
S3: Steve and Nadia Rossi.
S4: Yes.
S2: The 25 year old American gymnast who has a very
S2: unique talent, the pommel horse. Um, a lot of the
S2: other gymnasts compete in all kinds of different things, the
S2: bars and the floor and whatnot. But he is just
S2: the pommel horse. And there was this, like, amazing footage
S2: of him just having a little nap because he had
S2: to wait hours before his event. And then also he
S2: kind of took his glasses off at the moment before
S2: he got on the pommel horse, took his glasses off.
S2: It was kind of a Clark Kent moment. Um, he
S2: just seems fun. He won two bronzes. He likes doing, um.
S2: He likes doing Rubik's Cubes.
S1: Yeah, I saw him doing the Rubik's Cube in between, like,
S1: waiting for his thing. That was good. He's pretty good
S1: at it. He's like, oh, no, I screwed it up.
S1: And he did it. He still did it in like
S1: 13 seconds. Yeah, yeah.
S4: And he's like, he's like.
S3: Naturally cross-eyed and stuff. Like he's again, he's got that
S3: relatable energy that we like look for in the Olympics.
S3: It's like, okay, cool.
S1: I mean how good are the Olympics? Seriously? Like just
S1: thinking about so good, these weird characters, it's the best,
S1: it's the best and the whole world. Like we talk
S1: about this with television, right? We've talked about this so
S1: many times. What are we all watching together? What are
S1: we talking about? What are we sharing memes about? What
S1: are we messaging each other about? What are we talking
S1: about at work, at the water cooler, in the coffee
S1: line with random people on the tram? Nothing. But then
S1: the Olympics comes around every four years and we're all
S1: talking about pommel horse guy, pole vault, dick guy, you know,
S1: Tom Cruise and Snoop Dogg. It's so good. It feels
S1: like for the first time in so long, we're all
S1: in this together as human beings on this small, fragile planet.
S1: It's it's quite special. It is special.
S3: And that's why I find it so weird. Like, last night,
S3: I texted a friend of mine, uh, also second generation Greek,
S3: and I was like, are you watching the Greek basketball?
S3: And he was like, nah, I'm not watching the Olympics.
S3: And I was like, what the fuck is wrong with you, man? Like,
S3: I've already got some question marks about this friend of mine.
S3: He's got weird viewing habits.
S1: Your friends are the.
S3: Worst, I know. But like, I was like, so you.
S3: And then I had to, like, double down. So I
S3: was like, so, have you been putting the Olympics on
S3: in the background? He's like, not really. Like I was like, oh,
S3: but why? And he's like, I don't know. Just like
S3: I was like, do you have Stan? He's like, yeah,
S3: I got Stan. But he's just like no interest. And
S3: I'm like, but then that's why I was like, am
S3: I is are there people out there who really aren't
S3: watching the Olympics? Cause I feel like in my life
S3: and my echo chamber, most people are watching it.
S1: Well, the emails we get from channel nine every day
S1: are like, you know, 400 million Australians have tuned in
S1: last night. So I think a lot of people are.
S1: I don't think we're the weird ones here. I think
S1: a lot of people are watching. Okay.
S3: Long live the Olympics.
S1: Um, my my funny moment. This is from really early on,
S1: and I think it's faded from a lot of people's minds.
S1: I think it was like just pre the game starting
S1: Canada was busted, their women's soccer team using drones to
S1: spy on New Zealand or they were up against in
S1: the group stages and they would dock like six points.
S1: So they were basically out of the competition straight away.
S1: And I'm like, that's such a crazy thing to do.
S1: You think you're going to get away with it?
S3: And also, shit is your team. If you need to
S3: spy on New Zealand, like New Zealand, are not good.
S1: New Zealand weren't favourites at all for that one, and
S1: it was really funny because the New Zealand team spotted
S1: like one drone and then when the Canadians apologised, their
S1: statement was like, we're sorry for all the drones that
S1: we've used to spy on you.
S4: Like what? How many.
S1: Multiple drones? Um, all right. To round out our Olympics convo,
S1: I want to ask. There's a few days to go
S1: before the closing ceremony. Anything you guys have your eyes on?
S1: Anything you're particularly excited to see in the. In the
S1: time we've got left to enjoy this special moment.
S4: I'm.
S2: Looking forward to the marathon. I quite like sporting events
S2: that you can just put on for hours. Um, and
S2: the commentary is kind of lulls you through it and
S2: there are highs and lows, so I'm really looking forward
S2: to the marathon. Also the basketball. I've just been loving
S2: watching the US team. Like what an incredible team KD,
S2: Steph LeBron A.D um yeah I've every time I watch
S2: it it's so fun.
S4: It's so good.
S3: Yeah it's got big like year 12 kids versus year
S3: seven kids energy with the kids, which are fucking like, yeah, it's.
S1: Space Jam in real life.
S4: Basically is monsters I like.
S3: It's been very rumored that the great Tom cruise will
S3: appear in the closing ceremony, so I feel like that's
S3: really like been in the back of my mind. I'm like, well,
S3: now I have to fucking stay up and watch it
S3: and see what he does. Like what?
S1: He's gonna jump off the Eiffel Tower 100% Amazing.
S3: He's gonna he's gonna like, there's going to be anthrax
S3: at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower or something. He's
S3: gonna have to jump off the top of it and, like,
S3: snort it all up and spit it into Snoop Dog's mouth, who, like,
S3: then dive under the sand and then it'll explode or whatever.
S3: But yeah, I'm keen to see what they do. Obviously
S3: the opening ceremony was like very controversial and divisive, but yeah,
S3: I'm keen to see how they and maybe Snoop will
S3: be involved given they are handing it over to LA.
S1: Yeah, well that's the rumour with the Tom cruise thing, right?
S1: They always do this thing at the closing ceremony where
S1: they sort of pass the baton on. And Tom cruise
S1: could be that bridge between Paris and LA. He could
S1: jump out of something in France like the Eiffel Tower
S1: and land in LA. That could be really cool. And
S1: I think if he does, I mean, the whole world
S1: is watching this. It's going to make the next Mission
S1: Impossible movie like the biggest film of all time. If
S1: Tom cruise becomes this, like, Olympic hero as well.
S3: That should be we should start doing more tie ins
S3: like that. So then the next Mission Impossible movie is set,
S3: like during the Olympics in LA, because obviously this whole
S3: Olympics was just like a marketing ploy for Emily in Paris,
S3: which starts next week.
S1: It does start like three days.
S4: After there was not.
S2: Enough Lily Collins. Like, I don't think they took enough
S2: advantage of her in this. Like she should have been
S2: courtside at everything wearing the ridiculous Emily outfits.
S3: I think it's because people know that she's like, it's
S3: not very cool That's my impression.
S1: I think also, so like Ariana Grande has been doing
S1: a lot of stuff. I think that's because Universal's got
S1: wicked coming out and universal has NBC, which is the
S1: broadcast partner. Netflix is a bit on the outs, I guess,
S1: as not a streaming partner. Um, my thing I'm excited about.
S1: So Arshad Nadeem, Pakistani javelin thrower, he qualified this week
S1: to make it to the finals. He qualified third. Uh,
S1: He won gold for Pakistan at the Commonwealth Games a
S1: couple of years ago, was Pakistan's first gold since 1962.
S1: I think this is Pakistan's only chance to like medal
S1: left at these games. I'm really excited about this. He's
S1: he's in the finals for the javelin. 4:30 a.m. on Friday.
S1: I will get up. It'll be very exciting if he
S1: gets something. You know, the little country that could.
S3: That's very. That's exciting. Have they got any medals at
S3: all yet?
S1: No, no.
S3: So they're below both the Fox Sisters on the medal.
S1: Yeah yeah yeah yeah, yeah. Um, and look, the last
S1: thing I thought we could do is just go through
S1: all 32 Olympic sports and rank them.
S4: Yeah. Perfect.
S1: You ready to go?
S4: Okay, good. Um.
S3: So breaking one? Obviously.
S1: No, I we can leave out Olympic convo there. Yeah.
S3: Very good. Long live the Olympics.
S1: All right, so after a slow start to the year
S1: that had some parts of Hollywood kind of losing their
S1: minds that movies were over, no one wanted to see them.
S1: Movies are actually back team. In the past few weeks
S1: there have been some big big releases. Turns out the
S1: biggest film of the year is surprisingly Inside Out two.
S1: It's made 1.5 billion USD so far. That actually makes
S1: it the 10th highest grossing movie in history like of
S1: all time. That's wild. Um, but we're not going to
S1: talk about Inside Out two. We're going to talk about
S1: two other big blockbuster films that have come out in
S1: the last month, twisters and the latest installment from Marvel,
S1: Deadpool and Wolverine. Let's start with twisters, because the Deadpool
S1: convo may result in me having an aneurysm and being
S1: unable to complete the podcast. So this is a remake
S1: of the 1996 disaster movie starring Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton.
S1: The new one stars man of the moment Glen Powell,
S1: Daisy Edgar-Jones and Anthony Ramos. It's directed by Lee Isaac Chung.
S1: His big budget follow up to 2020s Minari, which got
S1: a couple of Oscar nominations. The story follows clashing groups
S1: of storm chasers who are investigating a tornado outbreak in Oklahoma.
S1: You've got Daisy Edgar-Jones and Anthony Ramos as the kind
S1: of more scientific, methodical storm chasers. Glen Powell is this
S1: cowboy YouTube streamer who's kind of clashing with their approach.
S1: There's also a subplot in there about dodgy real estate
S1: agent who buys up land and takes advantage of the
S1: good working class folk of Oklahoma. My kind of salt
S1: of the earth people, Melanie, uh, who are being impacted
S1: by these tornadoes. But basically, basically, this is a big
S1: dumb disaster film, big budget, lots of fancy tornado effects,
S1: lots of mayhem and destruction and some funny stuff as well.
S1: I got to say, I had a good time with twisters.
S1: This is a really fun in cinema experience. I thought
S1: the action was pretty thrilling. There was a lot of tension.
S1: The opening sequence does a really good job of setting
S1: up the stakes and making you, like, feel that stuff
S1: matters in this otherwise kind of silly film. Um, there's
S1: some good performances I'm keen to talk about how you
S1: are feeling about Glen Powell at the moment. Thomas. Um,
S1: and there's a bit of heart to the film as well.
S1: And it had a really fun I don't want to
S1: give too much away, but like the climactic scene is
S1: in a cinema theater, which is really cool to be
S1: in a theater and kind of watch that experience happen.
S1: It was really fun. What more do you want from
S1: a movie? I don't think much. What did you guys
S1: think about twisters?
S4: Look. I'm sorry. Oh, no. Oh, no, we get it.
S4: You really like.
S3: Glenn? Paul, bro.
S2: It was just a bit too much weather for me, really.
S2: There has been too much leaves and dust and wind
S2: and chat about the weather, which famously I don't love doing. Um,
S2: I think like to me this felt like was this
S2: made in 1994? Like there was something very nostalgic about
S2: this which made me agree with that.
S1: I think that's what made.
S4: It good for you.
S2: And but for me, I know it was kind of. Yeah,
S2: I thought it was quite boring, really was how I
S2: would describe it. Quite boring. And I thought the casting
S2: was a bit odd. And mainly I was devastated that
S2: Lee Isaac Chung, who did Minari, which was this beautiful
S2: family farm drama, has done this. It seemed like a weird, like,
S2: you know, it didn't quite seem like he was. I mean.
S1: This is also a family farm drama. There's a family
S1: farm that is.
S4: Key.
S1: To the story.
S4: That's true.
S2: Um, look, was it is it a good time? Sure.
S2: I'd watch it when it hits the streamer and you're
S2: at home with nothing else to watch, and the Olympics
S2: is over. But I don't know. I just found it
S2: quite boring and predictable and just it hit all the
S2: kind of tropes of a disaster show, and I don't
S2: think it did anything that particularly new and interesting. Um,
S2: so I'm.
S4: Sorry, I respect.
S1: I respect your opinion on all things, Malin. I respect
S1: your opinion on this as well. But I think sometimes
S1: you've just got to evaluate something for what it is
S1: and what it's trying to do. Right? Like you saying
S1: a bit too much, whether about a movie called twisters,
S1: I feel like is an unfair.
S4: Criticism to make.
S3: Yeah, that's probably fair. And, you know, I know, but.
S2: I think what that suggests is the heavy handedness of
S2: the show. That's what that.
S4: Movie called twisters about, about twister. Yeah.
S2: It was heavy handed that a storm was brewing. Look, I.
S3: Like Jurassic Park. There's a lot of fucking dinosaurs in
S3: that movie.
S4: Yeah, we know they're there.
S2: You don't have to tell us repeatedly that. Oh, a
S2: storm is brewing.
S3: I mean, look, I, as you know, love talking about
S3: the weather. You do whenever there's, like, even a I can.
S3: I've got a bit of a Daisy Edgar-Jones about me
S3: and that I can sniff rain a mile away.
S1: Wow.
S3: Oh, wow. Um, I really like I enjoyed this. I
S3: think maybe if I'm translating males insane take on the film.
S3: It's getting very good reviews, and I think maybe the
S3: reviews are like overselling really what it is, I enjoyed it,
S3: I didn't think it was like groundbreaking to me. It
S3: had a lot of like. And I even think this
S3: is the case with Chung and especially Daisy Edgar-Jones. I'm like,
S3: have these guys signed like some three picture deals with
S3: a big studio? And this is like they're both ticking
S3: off maybe the last one before they can go and
S3: do like something they want to do. I think it
S3: was a fun time. I mean, like Luke Combs wrote
S3: a song, Ain't No Love in Oklahoma, like this is
S3: this hits all the spots I needed it to hit.
S3: And I had a really fun time and. And I
S3: actually thought Anthony Ramos stole the film.
S2: Well, yeah, I completely agree.
S1: Yeah, he was great. I mean, Daisy Edgar-Jones, I don't,
S1: I don't dislike her, but she has like she's a
S1: one note performer a lot of the time in these
S1: kind of big budget things. And she was not that great.
S4: In this film.
S2: She was not right for this film. Like, her acting
S2: style is so bad.
S4: She should have been Sydney Sweeney.
S5: Yeah.
S3: But I mean, that's just worth chatting. We can revisit that.
S3: But you say she's one note. I'm sorry, Glen Powell. Firstly,
S3: he's basically just morphing into Matthew McConaughey. Like in front
S3: of our eyes.
S1: Look, look, let's do the Glen Powell thing. Because I've been.
S3: I've been you know, I've been edging.
S4: I.
S1: I, I like whooped in the cinema when he came
S1: out was wearing the cowboy hat I, I, I like
S1: Glen Powell. You guys know that I like Glen Powell
S1: I think he's quite charming. Quite fun is good for
S1: these kinds of movies that are not taking themselves that seriously.
S1: And he can have chemistry with a whole bunch of
S1: different people. But I will say he is the same
S1: character in like the last five things we've seen him in,
S1: I think. I think hitman sort of pushed it a
S1: little bit, but this Glen Powell could have been the
S1: guy from anyone but you, right? It could have been
S1: the guy from Top Gun Maverick, and I don't mind it,
S1: but I would love to see him push himself a
S1: little bit in something.
S2: Yeah, I thought he was probably the best part about
S2: the film in terms of the others. Yeah, particularly compared
S2: to Daisy. Um, I thought he had. He was very
S2: charismatic and funny. He had that kind of movie star
S2: thing that he was leaning into. I thought I liked
S2: him in this.
S4: I think he's I agree.
S2: With you that. Yeah, he's I think he's.
S4: Got he's just.
S3: Like there's been a it's been a lot of Glen Powell.
S3: All these things have come out in like 12 months
S3: kind of it's been like hitman, anyone but you and
S3: now this. And they're all like being kind of big.
S1: Talking less than 12 months. Yeah. Anyone but you was
S1: December last year.
S3: So like that's a lot of Glen Powell uh, in
S3: a short amount of time.
S1: Well people this is the thing. People love it. Like
S1: this movie is doing quite well. Interestingly, it's doing very
S1: well in America and not that well elsewhere. I interested
S1: to get your thoughts on that. Like it is a
S1: very American movie, I guess, like country music and Oklahoma
S1: and a lot of chat about Oklahoma! Uh, I, I
S1: find it weird that it hasn't had a big marketing
S1: push elsewhere because, Thomas, you and I enjoyed the movie.
S1: It's not like I need to have first hand experience
S1: of tornadoes to understand that this movie is fun.
S3: Yeah. It's weird. I mean, it is very American. A
S3: colleague of ours said before the podcast that it was
S3: part of the rise in conservative filmmaking, which is why I.
S4: Kind of.
S3: Loved it so much.
S2: Yeah, I do kind of agree with that. Do you.
S1: Think so? Okay, I've got a totally different read, but
S1: tell me, tell me why you think that, Mel.
S4: Well, I think.
S2: It's very it is a regionally specific, which I don't
S2: think necessarily makes it conservative filmmaking, but just the whole
S2: shtick of it felt to me. And I guess that's
S2: what I'm saying when I think it felt like a throwback.
S2: There's something there's a bit of a Northmen.
S3: What was it?
S1: Richmond.
S4: North of Richmond.
S3: North of Richmond, about it.
S4: Vibe to it.
S2: And I know other critics are saying that the failure
S2: to mention climate change was odd. I mean, I don't
S2: think it needed to be spelled out, but it was
S2: that kind of there was just that, that kind of
S2: nostalgic vibe of it that really kind of made me
S2: see it as a conservative film.
S1: That's interesting, I think. I think there is an element
S1: of truth to that. I think it was probably a
S1: deliberate decision to not use the words climate change, to
S1: not make this a culture war object and just make
S1: this film make heaps of money in the Midwest. Right.
S1: Like I think they probably deliberately had that conversation. But
S1: at the same time, I do think it's interesting that
S1: the main villain of this movie is a southern, you know,
S1: corrupt politician, real estate agent who pretends to be on
S1: the side of working people but is actually swindling them
S1: to enrich himself. It's a kind of Trumpian sort of
S1: a character there, I think. It sort of fits into
S1: this idea of like, well, is it is it on
S1: the side of like working class white Americans, which is
S1: like what Oklahoma is? Yes. Does that automatically make it conservative? Like,
S1: should progressives just cede the entire ground of storytelling about
S1: white people in rural towns to the conservatives? I don't
S1: think something that is about farms and about that part
S1: of America needs to automatically be dubbed conservative. That's that's
S1: kind of my no.
S4: I think that's fair, but that's true.
S2: And I'm also, I guess, speaking conservative stylistically as well.
S4: I do think.
S3: Though, at the same time, you've got the like attached
S3: to the villain is the kind of like classic think
S3: tank scientist, like with Anthony Ramos and their project, whereas
S3: the hero of the movie is like swashbuckling tornado wrangler Glenn.
S4: Cowboy hat.
S2: Wearing cowboy.
S3: Hat like kicks the door down of the tornado and
S3: steps right into that motherfucker. But like, you know that
S3: he kind of appeals to a certain like, again, I
S3: don't think you can. Like, it's a good.
S1: No, it's a good point. It is a very like
S1: the elites are the bad guys, these fancy people with
S1: their start up funding and they went to their universities
S1: versus the like, you know, YouTube guys, we're here to
S1: take down mainstream media and.
S3: Like that whole exactly like there's even a conversation where
S3: it's like, what degrees do you guys have? And like
S3: they're like, we don't have none, but we just fucking
S3: love having fun. And like, it's all. So there was
S3: like that divide was like an undercurrent in the film.
S1: But also the Glen Powell crew was like the most
S1: diverse crew of of them all, as well as layers
S1: to this movie, you know. Um, and I do feel
S1: like we're joking about the Minari thing. I do feel like, look,
S1: this is the big budget movie that Lee Isaac Chung
S1: came in to, I think quite late on after another director, uh,
S1: kind of that, that they had to bow out there.
S1: There is a whole, like, family drama on a farm
S1: in the middle of America plot, which I feel like
S1: he has some of his fingerprints on, which is a
S1: little bit of a nod to Minari. That's true.
S2: But do you like, will you ever think about this
S2: film again or watch it again? Like, to me.
S4: It just felt like I might watch.
S1: It again. I don't think I'll think about it, but
S1: I don't think the film wants you to think about
S1: it again. I think the film is there, like have
S1: a really fun time. If you can't watch it in
S1: a cinema, watch it on a big screen with good
S1: sound and you'll kind of be a bit thrilled. And
S1: I think the film does know it is kind of silly,
S1: like the ending of the movie in particular is so
S1: like just like absurd and almost it almost feels like
S1: a blooper reel, really, of the movie. And I like
S1: that too.
S2: Yeah, you're right, that part does kind of save it
S2: a bit, because otherwise I would say it should be
S2: more silly. Like it needed to be funnier and sillier
S2: and more self-aware.
S4: There is such a.
S3: Thing as being too self-aware and too silly.
S1: Oh, that.
S4: Means.
S1: It's time for the big one. In just a few weeks,
S1: this film has become the highest grossing R-rated movie in history,
S1: surpassing Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. Believe it
S1: or not, it is, of course, Deadpool and Wolverine, starring
S1: Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman. It's the third Deadpool film,
S1: but it's the first one since Disney bought 20th Century
S1: Fox in 2019, a corporate merger that occupies a weird
S1: amount of time in this actual film. I'm kind of
S1: torn on how to talk about it. I think the
S1: fact that it's like very popular means that we should
S1: just talk about it as a movie first, evaluate it
S1: on its own terms, and then we can discuss how
S1: it fits into the broader cinematic landscape, the Marvel Universe,
S1: and the future direction of human society. Um, Mel, you
S1: watch this movie, but you also told us that you've
S1: never seen any other Deadpool films or any X-Men films
S1: or any Marvel films.
S2: It feels I know it felt like I wasn't sure
S2: whether I should make that confession, but it also felt
S2: essential to my viewing experience. Um, look, I'm really. I
S2: think I really ride for Batman. I mean, I have
S2: seen Spider-Man, Kirsten Dunst, Tobey Maguire.
S1: Okay, so none of those. Also, Spider-Man is a marvel movie.
S4: Batman is not a DC.
S2: But yeah, I think Spider-Man is probably the biggest engagement
S2: I've had with Marvel. But X-Men.
S1: And that was the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man, which is not
S1: a marvel production, in.
S2: Fact. Well, there you go. So a Sony.
S4: Production. I was coming.
S2: Into this very cold.
S1: Okay, great. No, I think it's I'm not making fun
S1: of you. I think that makes you a normal person. Unlike, uh,
S1: you do those like Thomas and I, um. And it's
S1: just good to lay out, you know, our respective levels
S1: of engagement and connectedness to this world. Mel, could you
S1: explain the plot of this movie for us?
S2: I can now, I have written when I watched it,
S2: I went into it cold. Right? Like I didn't Google
S2: who is Deadpool or like anything. I didn't read any
S2: reviews because I wanted to have the full experience. And
S2: this is kind.
S1: Of I'm so.
S4: Excited.
S2: What I took away was a wise cracking man in
S2: a suit that hides a skin condition, and I think
S2: can time travel and wants to join the Avengers. Um,
S2: but Tom Wambsgans from succession, that was great, tells him
S2: that he has to destroy the universe because Wolverine has died,
S2: and for some reason the world can't continue without him.
S2: I don't know why. Then he steals some kind of
S2: device and he goes to resurrect Wolverine. And then there
S2: was just a time pad, a void, an alien lith,
S2: a nice Paul Dogpool juggernaut. Pyro. That's how that's really.
S2: I didn't really know what was going on. Um, and
S2: to be honest, I'm not that sad. I didn't see
S2: the other Deadpools did I do well?
S1: Incredible, incredible, incredible summation of the plot. If you.
S4: Had wrote.
S1: My own, I wrote my own notes to help explain.
S1: But they're basically word for word. What you what you
S1: just said. That's basically the plot of Deadpool. Uh, before
S1: we talk about it more. Yeah. Your take on the movie, Mel,
S1: as someone who came in cold yay or nay?
S2: Um, probably. Yeah. There were too many. Yay! Oh, nay. Sorry. Nay. Yeah. Um, two.
S2: Like top note takeaway. Too many one liners. Just take
S2: a break. And just like too many dick jokes. Why
S2: were there so many dick jokes all the time? Constantly.
S3: Well, Deadpool is like in the comics, meant to be
S3: almost like he always flirts with like, what his sexuality
S3: is and stuff. Um, and they kind of explore that
S3: in the other films. He's, he's basically meant to be
S3: like juvenile and stuff, but I, I mean, I loved
S3: the first Deadpool movie, was happy with the second one.
S3: This I just had such a bad time. Like I
S3: thought it was Ryan Reynolds. Talk about one note actors
S3: Ryan Reynolds just doing Ryan Reynolds, but it was too much.
S3: And then Hugh Jackman like Logan, I think we can
S3: all agree when I say all, I of course mean
S3: Osmond and I because you haven't seen it. One of
S3: the great comic book films.
S1: Yeah. James Mangold tackling this character at the end of
S1: his kind of natural life, a meditation on dying and
S1: death and legacy. Really, really beautiful film.
S3: And they kind of pick up threads of that in
S3: Deadpool versus Wolverine, and in a way that is to
S3: its own detriment, because it feels like Hugh Jackman is
S3: acting in his own movie.
S1: Yeah, he's he's in a different movie, man.
S4: It's it.
S3: Is crazy. I and then like, just all of the
S3: I mean, yeah. Tom Wambsgans, Matthew Macfadyen basically playing Tom Wambsgans. Uh,
S3: I don't know, it was all a waste.
S1: What a waste of him.
S3: I know, I know, it was all very confusing. There
S3: were a few like, you really have to have your, like,
S3: Marvel lore down pat for this in order to fully
S3: appreciate all the gags. I don't know, Osman. I mean,
S3: obviously as someone who lives and breathes Marvel, but like, seriously,
S3: you would you would have had context for every joke.
S3: Pretty much. Yeah. Did it annoy you?
S1: Let's talk about that. Just just to quickly do the
S1: plot in a way I think that helps people understand it,
S1: but also explains how ludicrous this plot is. So Deadpool
S1: is living a boring life after interviewing and failing to
S1: make it as an Avenger. As you put Mel, he
S1: gets kidnapped by the Time Variance Authority, which is led
S1: by Matthew Macfadyen from succession, and he's told he can
S1: become an Avenger, but he has to watch his universe
S1: and all the people he loves die. So he decides
S1: instead to team up with Wolverine from a different universe
S1: and wreak some havoc. But instead he gets sent to
S1: this place called the void, which is ruled over by
S1: Cassandra Nova, who was Professor X's twin sister, played by
S1: Emma Corrin in The Void. He meets all these leftover
S1: superheroes from 20th Century Fox films before the Marvel Cinematic
S1: Universe exists. There's lots of fights, lots of jokes, and
S1: he tries to battle his way out of the void.
S1: I think even from that summary, you can sort of
S1: get a sense that if you are not just across Marvel,
S1: but you're across the movies that came before Marvel, the
S1: Jennifer Garner Elektra film, the Wesley Snipes Blade film, the
S1: fact that Chris Evans before he was Captain America, was
S1: the Human Torch in the 2005 Fantastic Four film. If
S1: you know the comic book lore, that professor X had
S1: a twin sister who tried to strangle him in utero. Like,
S1: you have to really know a lot of stuff for
S1: a lot of these gags to land. And then if
S1: you are not one of those people, you have to
S1: just love Ryan Reynolds, and you have to love his
S1: shtick and his his kind of witticisms for this movie
S1: to work. Now, the weird thing is, none of us
S1: really enjoyed this movie. This movie's gotten pretty good reviews
S1: and has made a shit ton of money, and I'm
S1: fascinated as to what that like audience is. Who's in
S1: the bag for this? Because on one hand, like we
S1: just said, you need to have this knowledge. I think
S1: that goes 25. In the case of like blade, nearly
S1: 30 years of film and comic book history and the
S1: music choices, right, are these big nostalgia hits to these,
S1: these big music set pieces NSYNC, Bye Bye Bye, Madonna,
S1: Like a Prayer, all this stuff that like, scratches your
S1: brain if you're an elder millennial or a gen-xer, but
S1: then the jokes and the style of the movie seem
S1: like they're designed for 17 year old boys who presumably
S1: don't have that. That's just dick jokes, Dick jokes, more
S1: dick jokes, and really cartoony action that doesn't look particularly good.
S1: Like Shawn Levy, who directed this movie, is not a particularly, like,
S1: great filmmaker. Um, David Leitch, you know, who's a pretty
S1: good filmmaker. He did the second one. The first Deadpool
S1: was pretty good. I can't understand who this movie is for,
S1: and I'm more flummoxed about the fact that it has
S1: been so successful, given that I don't understand who it's for.
S3: But I think that, uh, the success I reckon has
S3: come down, this movie almost seems like it was made
S3: for the ensuing press trip, which has seen Ryan Reynolds
S3: and Hugh Jackman go all over the world except Australia, weirdly.
S3: But they did like Asia, South America, obviously the states,
S3: Europe they like. There's this whole even before this movie
S3: came out, we've known that they've got this like kind
S3: of like buddy cop thing going on where they're like
S3: funny friends and like, he's really serious and Ryan's really
S3: silly and like, he's so handsome and blah, blah, blah.
S3: And it feels like the movie has been has come
S3: alive in the press tour almost. And the press tour
S3: has fed into like a desire to people want to
S3: go and check it out like it was always going
S3: to do well, but it's done so well. I don't know,
S3: it just feels like it's hinging on the off screen
S3: relationship of the two leads, which are two pretty universally loved,
S3: like famous actors.
S4: Or do you.
S2: Think also that maybe people who love Deadpool one and
S2: Deadpool two are just going along because they were attached
S2: to the franchise when it was a lot more original, i.e.
S2: the first one, so that they're committed to it and
S2: will still go along.
S1: I think. I think those are both really good points.
S1: Like the first two Deadpool movies were very popular, right?
S1: So people will see the third one, plus people who
S1: just like, like the Marvel movies and remember Wolverine, who
S1: was in the X-Men movies that were really good will
S1: want to see them. So there is a lot of
S1: just like mining nostalgia. And I think, Thomas, that's also
S1: a really good point. I mean, Deadpool as a character
S1: in the comic books and in the movies is very
S1: meta like he breaks the fourth wall a lot. So
S1: Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman having fun in real life
S1: sort of feels like they're doing it in the movie.
S1: And this movie, more than any of the others, is
S1: so matter. Like like he talks about Hugh Jackman being
S1: in this movie a bunch. It references so many things
S1: in real life. I mean, one of the jokes I
S1: did laugh at, I think was the only one I
S1: laughed at is Reynolds making a Gossip Girl gag about, like.
S4: Also related.
S2: To.
S4: Dicks. Yeah, yeah. It was also.
S1: Related to dicks. Yeah. He's married to Blake Lively. Who?
S1: Did you guys recognize her popping up in the film? Well, only.
S3: Because I knew from the press tour that she was
S3: in the movie. Yeah, but then there was a very
S3: funny joke about Hugh Jackman being divorced. Did you guys
S3: catch that one?
S4: I enjoyed that.
S1: And also, all the funny ones are the ones we
S1: love about, like celeb goss. Um, Jennifer Garner making a joke.
S1: You probably didn't get this one, Mel. Uh, so Elektra,
S1: who Jennifer Garner plays, is in like, the same sort
S1: of universe as Daredevil, who was a, uh, character, and
S1: Ben Affleck played Daredevil, right? Obviously, Jennifer Garner and Ben
S1: Affleck were an item for a while. And so there's
S1: a gag where they're like, oh no, where's Daredevil? And
S1: she's like, don't worry about him. He doesn't need to
S1: be around.
S4: Which was pretty good. That was the.
S2: Part of it that I most like was like the
S2: meta commentary on Warner and Marvel, even if I didn't
S2: get the kind of lore of some of the Marvel details.
S2: But the commentary on the Hollywood industry and super superhero franchises,
S2: that was definitely the best part. But yes, there was
S2: not enough of that to sustain it for me.
S1: Yeah, and I wondered, like, there's people who love this movie.
S1: There's people I know and who I like, and I
S1: trust their opinions who really like this movie. One of
S1: the things that left me feeling like quite bitter about
S1: it was the joke is kind of on fans of
S1: these movies, in a way. It's like they're making jokes
S1: about how Marvel is at a low point that that
S1: mining so much nostalgia and they're making so much fun of. Thomas,
S1: you said Logan was one of the best superhero movies ever.
S1: I totally agree, they kind of destroyed the legacy in
S1: a way. Like they literally talk about that movie and
S1: that character so much. And even the return of Hugh
S1: Jackman after that movie gave him such a poignant and
S1: beautiful sendoff suggests that none of this stuff really matters.
S1: So it's like, hey guys, come and pay money and
S1: watch these stories that are supposed to be about have
S1: this kind of emotional core or some resonance to your life.
S1: But actually none of it matters, because any time we
S1: want to make some more money, we'll bring back dead
S1: characters and we'll make fun of you for believing in
S1: that stuff in the first place. If people like it, like,
S1: good on them. But it does feel profoundly cynical. And
S1: I wonder how many times you can get away with
S1: getting the gang together, making heaps of fun about it,
S1: rinsing people for their hard earned cash, and then walking
S1: away and patting yourself on the back. You can't do
S1: that too many times. And I wonder if, even though
S1: this is such a financial high point for for for
S1: Marvel Disney bringing this all together, I wonder if, like
S1: the next ones could struggle because you just kind of
S1: can't rip your brand apart like this and mock it
S1: and expect people to keep turning up. But maybe I'm wrong.
S1: Like Marvel fans are weird and they might keep turning up.
S4: Do you think there's.
S2: Going to be more? Surely not. I thought maybe this
S2: was the farewell to Deadpool.
S4: No, I.
S1: Mean, like there are going to be there's like another
S1: five Avengers movies, like in the pipeline. There's a joke
S1: in this about, you know, how Hugh Jackman will keep
S1: doing this till he's 90. The fact that this has
S1: been so financially successful, if you're Disney, if you're a
S1: publicly listed company, your shareholders, your board is going to
S1: be like, you made $1.2 billion off that movie. What
S1: do you mean you're packing it up, right? And like
S1: Chris Evans as Captain America, he he left like, okay,
S1: we'll talk about Tony Stark, right. Like left the Marvel Universe.
S1: They wrapped all that up. Tony Stark is back in
S1: the next Marvel movie as a different character. Like they're
S1: going to keep doing this stuff. That seems crazy.
S3: It's like, come on.
S1: Crazy stuff. Yeah, I yeah, I just feel a little
S1: bit sad that I'm great. It's great that movies are back.
S1: It's great that people are watching stuff. There's bits of
S1: this movie that are kind of funny and kind of interesting.
S1: The points you made, Mel, about the meta commentary in Hollywood,
S1: but the future of cinema can't just be the same.
S1: Ten characters that were big in the early 20 tens being, like,
S1: dragged out of their literal graves in the case of
S1: Wolverine and made to dance for us on stage. I
S1: feel quite upset about that, as you can tell. Well,
S1: how are you.
S2: Feeling about the Joker later in the.
S4: Year?
S1: Don't talk to me about that. I was I was
S1: so famously out on Joker one. I have no hopes
S1: for Joker two. Um, but I think at least that's
S1: something different. Like, it's a, it's an attempt to tell
S1: a slightly different story using the vehicle of like that
S1: IP property. I don't feel as anxious about that. I
S1: feel anxious about that for different like political reasons. Um, and,
S1: you know, the rise of the incel and where we're
S1: all going. Um, but I don't feel as grim as
S1: I do about Deadpool and Wolverine.
S2: Yeah, I think that's fair. I mean, I think that's
S2: why Batman, I've always enjoyed Batman because he's not actually,
S2: he doesn't actually have any superpowers, right? He's just he's
S2: got a lot of tech knowledge. He's rich. Um, yeah.
S2: He's rich. I guess that is a superpower. But, um, yes,
S2: the less these shows have to do with superheroes and superpowers,
S2: the more I tend to like them.
S1: Do you have any desire, Mel, after this one, to
S1: watch any future, either Deadpool or Wolverine or Marvel projects?
S4: No.
S2: Absolutely not. I'm well off Ryan Reynolds, even though he
S2: saved that football team. Hugh Jackman I've always been kind
S2: of out on. So no, not a huge fan. This
S2: has actually been quite reaffirming for me. Like, I was
S2: worried when I watched it that maybe my cultural history
S2: was limited and that I kind of I was out
S2: of touch with the out of touch with, you know,
S2: people who love these movies. But now I feel with
S2: the common man. But now I just feel like.
S4: You.
S1: Mentioned you mentioned juggernaut before. Like, did you have any
S1: history with him? Would you watch a standalone juggernaut film?
S2: Yeah, I mean, I'd give that a go in the
S2: right circumstances.
S1: Oh, that's I mean, that's that's big of you. Good.
S1: Good on you for being up for it.
S2: I'm open to these things.
S1: How about you, Thomas? I feel like you're like, a
S1: little bit more plugged in to Marvel stuff. Are you
S1: at all excited about the future of what is literally
S1: the biggest cinema project in the history of humanity?
S3: If we get a Gambit movie starring Channing Tatum because.
S1: Oh, we didn't talk about Channing. That was.
S3: Funny. That was very funny. And I don't know if
S3: you have the context, but that was basically a character
S3: that he worked on for a long time, and they
S3: nearly got a film going, and then it fell over.
S4: I figured, yeah, um.
S3: And I thought he kind of stole the movie a
S3: bit there. That was a very funny scene.
S1: But okay, so don't you think so? I thought, I
S1: think he's very funny. I thought he was very funny
S1: in this, but even that. So Gambit is this guy
S1: from south Louisiana, and he's got that kind of, like,
S1: New Orleans accent really hammed up. And Channing Tatum is like,
S1: taking the piss out of it. Basically. It's like, again, man,
S1: if you care about these characters, if you're trying to
S1: make this for people who care about stuff, you're kind
S1: of making a joke of it like nothing's left. That
S1: is sincere. I feel so weird. I'm getting so passionate
S1: about what they're doing to characters like Gambit. But I
S1: enjoyed Channing Tatum in the movie. But then again, I
S1: think about what statement they're making, about how much they
S1: actually care about this stuff. And I get a bit
S1: sad again. Yeah.
S3: Is it I mean, what's the what's the give us
S3: the temp check on the Marvel heads on Reddit. Like,
S3: are people pretty upset?
S1: No, no, people love this. People love this. People think
S1: that after the last few Marvel movies, um, like the
S1: marvels that were just not good and kind of confused
S1: that this was relatively tight. Like, I think the story
S1: is obviously ludicrous. Like, it kind of doesn't really make
S1: any sense. But in terms of just like we're getting
S1: some funny characters together to have a fun time and
S1: we're going to make a bunch of in-jokes for you
S1: nerds to laugh at. People love that. My my sort
S1: of cynicism and depressed nature around it, I think, just
S1: comes from a more broader place of like where cinema
S1: is going and the the cynicism of studios like Disney
S1: making jokes about corporate mergers and whatever. I Yeah, that's
S1: where it comes from. Marblehead's really like this, and I
S1: think it's probably breathed a bit of life into the franchise.
S1: I think this movie doing well, reminding people that superhero
S1: movies can kind of be fun, the Robert Downey Jr stuff.
S1: People are excited about the future of Marvel, so unfortunately,
S1: we're probably gonna have to talk about it more over
S1: ensuing months and years.
S2: But before we wrap up, can you tell me why
S2: his face looks like that?
S3: He got he got into an accident.
S4: Okay. Yeah.
S1: Looks like acid burns or something.
S3: Yeah.
S4: Okay. All right. Yeah.
S1: All right. Let's leave that there. Hopefully for a long time. Um,
S1: before we finish up, we've got our regular Impress Your
S1: Friends segment where we share something that we watched, read,
S1: listened to, or consumed in the world of pop culture.
S1: I'm going to go first. Quick little film shout out
S1: from me. It's a movie called How to Make Millions
S1: Before Grandma Dies. It is a Thai family drama directed
S1: by debut filmmaker Pat Bonaparte, and it's doing gangbusters in Thailand,
S1: a big blockbuster hit there and across Southeast Asia. The
S1: movie is about a uni dropout who offers to take
S1: care of his terminally ill grandmother, but then his family
S1: realize he's only doing it so he can swindle her inheritance.
S1: It's great. It's kind of darkly funny, also very sad
S1: and tragic at moments, but very heartwarming. Uh, it's an
S1: ode to grandparents, right? We love grandparents. They're very important.
S1: They play a great role in our lives. The grandmother
S1: in this film is played by Usha Kumkum. She's 78
S1: years old. It's her first ever film and she is
S1: just astonishing. It's in cinemas now. I don't know if
S1: this will be like a best foreign, uh, or best
S1: non-English Oscar film, but it could be like it's it's
S1: getting quite a bit of critical acclaim. It's a really fun,
S1: heartwarming film. Could not recommend.
S4: It. I might go and.
S2: Watch this to cleanse my soul of Deadpool and Twisted.
S4: Yeah, yeah, it's good.
S1: To watch something like this after Deadpool because you're like, oh,
S1: cinema can be.
S4: Good.
S2: Well, also, and I'll tell you my rec. But one
S2: thing I did, because you've been talking about it so
S2: much and I obviously trust your taste very much. I
S2: went and started industry, and I'm sure we'll probably talk
S2: about it when we get to season three, but I
S2: like I thought it was it is so good the
S2: first season. And I kind of went into this thing
S2: thinking about Lena Dunham and whether her connection to that
S2: project really harmed it at the time. But anyway, so
S2: I just want to say that I'm on board. I'm
S2: trying to catch up. So, um, have you watched it?
S4: Thomas? I've watched the first.
S3: Season, but I want to get back into it. I
S3: feel like people are kind of really clinging on to
S3: industry right now as the new show.
S1: Yeah, it starts in, uh, a week, I think. And
S1: there's a lot of hype kit Harington's in this season.
S1: Two is great. I'm really glad. Mel, thanks for jumping
S1: on board.
S2: Yeah, yeah it's great. One of the best shows I've
S2: kind of seen in a while. Um, my rec is
S2: and this is kind of I think there's a trend
S2: in literature of brat women at the moment. Um, you
S2: kind of got all fours. Miranda. July night bit. Vladimir.
S2: These are kind of women who don't just accept motherhood,
S2: middle age, wifedom they kind of are breaking out of boxes.
S2: And I think this one fits into that category. It's
S2: woo woo by Ella Baxter. She is a Melbourne writer.
S2: This is her second book. Her first book was called
S2: New Animal, and she was one of the best young
S2: Australian novelists of the year. The prize that the Herald
S2: gives out, this one is about an artist called Sabine.
S2: In the lead up to her first solo exhibition at
S2: a gallery, and she kind of descends into chaos when
S2: she discovers that she's being stalked. She's this man in
S2: her garden. He leaves her letters, he comes into her house, um,
S2: but she seeks to take revenge by almost pursuing the pursuer. Um, and,
S2: you know, it's kind of wild and wacky, but you're
S2: left questioning whether that's the only sane response to what
S2: she's going through. Um, it's a really good read, and
S2: it's also based on the author's own experience of being
S2: stalked as well. So she wrote it while she was
S2: having that, um, having that experience. So it's really kind
S2: of ripples with life. But, um, yeah, I think a
S2: good a good new Australian read for the list.
S1: Great. And before Thomas says it, yeah, I'm seeing a
S1: lot of people on Instagram share it around.
S3: So I've been trying to get it off your desk, but.
S4: You're refusing to.
S3: Give it to me. So yeah, I read New Animal
S3: and really liked it. Um, that's a crazy story based
S3: on a real story of a guy running like an
S3: illegal zoo on his property. Um, so, yeah, I will
S3: be definitely keen for that. Uh, my wreck this week
S3: is a good one, because I have impeccable taste and
S3: my finger on the pulse. It is a show that
S3: comes out today. Uh. it's on binge. And I don't
S3: know if you guys are across this because it's like
S3: fucking both in your wheelhouse, Mr. Throwback.
S1: Yeah, I am across this. I've not seen it, but
S1: I'm across it. I'm excited for it.
S3: It's really good, man. So are you across this?
S2: I'm I'm across it. But yeah.
S3: Not so. Mr. throwback is basically a mockumentary starring, um,
S3: Steph Curry, not Stephen Curry. The Australian from you should know.
S2: That I did ask for an interview and they replied.
S4: And they.
S2: Said, he's at the Olympics right now. And I'm like,
S2: I know, but after.
S4: But yeah.
S3: Basically, um, Steph Curry plays himself. Uh, and Adam Pally,
S3: who I don't know if you guys ever know. Do
S3: you ever watch Happy Endings? It was actually quite a good, um, show.
S3: It was like basically like the mid 20 tens answer
S3: to friends. Anyway, Adam Pally plays this guy Danny Grossman. Uh,
S3: and in the sixth grade, he and Steph Curry were
S3: best friends. And they were both really good at basketball.
S3: But Adam's character, Danny was like the better one. And
S3: so he was on the path to superstardom in year six.
S3: And then obviously his best friend becomes is Steph Curry
S3: and becomes one of the greatest basketballers of all time.
S3: And then we cut to the future. And basically Danny
S3: is running a memorabilia store called Mr. Throwback and you know,
S3: it's in trouble financially. And so he reaches out to
S3: his one time childhood best friend Steph, to help him out. And,
S3: you know, on their first meeting, he steals his game
S3: day jersey. And the story kind of picks up from
S3: there as as they reconnect and, you know, like involve
S3: in each other's lives. It's very funny. Um, it's like,
S3: got that mockumentary thing. Steph Curry is very, like, annoyingly
S3: funny as well as being so good at basketball. Damn
S3: not fair, not fair.
S2: He's wonderful.
S3: Ah, but you're one of.
S1: The best footballers in Australia, and you're also very.
S4: Funny. So that is.
S3: Actually. Yeah, I mean, I mean, there's so few of
S3: us and it's just it's good to see another guy
S3: out there grinding. But yeah, it's I think you guys
S3: will really enjoy it. And, um. Yeah, that's on binge. Uh,
S3: I think episode week by week. And it's out today. Great.
S1: Rex look at that. A great film, a great book,
S1: a great TV show. What what more do you want? Really? Yeah.
S3: What more? Australia's best three by three basketball.
S1: Uh, awesome conversation team. Good luck. Enjoy the rest of
S1: the Olympics. I will see you next week.
S4: Bye. Ciao.
S1: This episode of The Drop was produced by Ji Huang.
S1: If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of The Drop,
S1: make sure to follow us in your favorite podcast app.
S1: Leave us a review or better yet, share the episode
S1: with a friend. I'm Usman Farooqui. See you next week!