WEBVTT - The 2017 SYSK Christmas Extravaganza! 0:00:01.120 --> 0:00:04.600 Welcome to stuff you should know from how Stuff Works 0:00:04.600 --> 0:00:23.240 dot com. Hey Hey, hey, hey, ho ho ho, and 0:00:23.280 --> 0:00:28.360 welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh Clark. There's Charles W. 0:00:28.560 --> 0:00:32.000 Chuck Bryant. You know, we have a special uh ELF 0:00:32.159 --> 0:00:35.600 with us this this time this year for our Christmas 0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:40.760 special Noel Elf on the shelf, Noel Hark, you're the bells? 0:00:40.760 --> 0:00:42.839 There go the bells? Where are the bells? I am 0:00:42.880 --> 0:00:48.880 the bells. It's pretty good. Thanks? Was that tubular bells? 0:00:49.360 --> 0:00:51.280 No but one of my that just reminded me of 0:00:51.280 --> 0:00:53.720 one of my favorite SNL skits of all time where 0:00:53.760 --> 0:00:59.000 the Sweeney Sisters? Um was it? Jan Hooks? Geez, the 0:00:59.120 --> 0:01:02.440 late Jan Hooks. Man very sad about that. And I 0:01:02.600 --> 0:01:06.440 think Norah Dunne, if I remember correctly remember them the 0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:09.959 Sweeney Sisters, of course, I do so great, And I 0:01:10.000 --> 0:01:13.480 think they did that for their their Christmas episode. They 0:01:13.480 --> 0:01:16.920 did a great medley of Christmas tunes and that one 0:01:17.080 --> 0:01:20.360 sort of went like that, nice, it's so good. Well 0:01:20.480 --> 0:01:24.199 you just nailed it, man. How are you feeling pretty good? 0:01:24.440 --> 0:01:27.040 I'm feeling great because this uh is one of my 0:01:27.080 --> 0:01:30.000 favorite episodes of the year. Me too. And we'd like 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:33.120 to point out not to tuot our horn. But one 0:01:33.160 --> 0:01:35.200 of the things we always fight for every year is 0:01:35.280 --> 0:01:38.720 that the Christmas episode, along with the Halloween episode, remains 0:01:38.880 --> 0:01:42.240 add free. We fight for it to the death. There's 0:01:42.280 --> 0:01:45.440 so many dead ad sales. People are awake, but you 0:01:45.480 --> 0:01:50.440 know what, they deserved it. They shouldn't have crossed. The 0:01:50.480 --> 0:01:54.520 ship has just led us, you know. Yeah, so this 0:01:54.600 --> 0:01:57.120 is an ever free episode, like you said, and I'm 0:01:57.120 --> 0:02:03.440 pretty proud of that too. I think it's nice of us. Yeah, uh, 0:02:03.480 --> 0:02:05.360 this is this is just one of my favorite episodes 0:02:05.400 --> 0:02:07.760 of the year. It's fun. So as we do every year, Josh, 0:02:07.840 --> 0:02:11.280 I think we want to encourage everyone to light a fire, 0:02:12.400 --> 0:02:15.400 maybe pour up a hot buttered rum Oh yeah, that's 0:02:15.400 --> 0:02:17.240 a good one. Although we do have a good recipe 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:19.360 for this year. Yeah, I guess they could listen to 0:02:19.400 --> 0:02:22.000 that and then come back to the beginning or a 0:02:22.080 --> 0:02:26.200 rummy eggnog. We're just your favorite non alcoholic Christmas drink 0:02:26.240 --> 0:02:30.320 of choice. Get the family together, like the Yule log 0:02:31.400 --> 0:02:35.359 hangs the hang that missiletoe, right, and let's get this underway. 0:02:35.639 --> 0:02:38.200 So it's been a pretty pretty uh, it's been an 0:02:38.240 --> 0:02:41.959 interesting year so far, right, Yeah, but um, I always 0:02:42.000 --> 0:02:44.080 like these ones because they make me reflect on the 0:02:44.160 --> 0:02:46.200 year and it seems like it was just a month 0:02:46.200 --> 0:02:51.280 ago that the year started. Uh, it has gonna by fast. 0:02:51.360 --> 0:02:56.800 I feel like I'm speeding toward death. But when I 0:02:56.880 --> 0:03:01.040 think about being forty six years old and speeding towards death, 0:03:01.800 --> 0:03:06.360 I think, wow, when I was a kid, that was 0:03:06.400 --> 0:03:09.560 a long time ago. So if I'm you know, around 0:03:09.560 --> 0:03:12.280 middle age ish, like, I got a long way to go. 0:03:12.639 --> 0:03:15.400 And it just seems like it's that trick that your 0:03:15.400 --> 0:03:17.920 mind plays on you, right where it seems like time 0:03:18.040 --> 0:03:21.200 is gaining speed as you get older. Right. I think 0:03:21.200 --> 0:03:23.520 there's some science behind that too. I think there's two. 0:03:23.560 --> 0:03:26.320 I think it's because you have less time to compare 0:03:26.320 --> 0:03:28.359 it to when you're a kid, whereas the older you 0:03:28.400 --> 0:03:30.800 get you have more time to compare it to. Probably so, 0:03:31.280 --> 0:03:34.760 But the the I've had that same exact thought, chuck, 0:03:34.800 --> 0:03:38.800 within the last probably two weeks, towards death. No, no, no, 0:03:38.920 --> 0:03:41.400 the other one where it's like, wait a minute, I've 0:03:41.440 --> 0:03:43.480 I've lived for a very long time and I'm right 0:03:43.520 --> 0:03:46.040 at middle age, so I've got a long time left, 0:03:46.080 --> 0:03:48.040 and baby, I'm gonna make the most out of it. 0:03:48.080 --> 0:03:51.160 And I'm gonna start with the two thousand and seventeen 0:03:51.240 --> 0:03:55.640 stuff you should know Christmas extravagance. I'll tell you what 0:03:55.680 --> 0:03:57.680 you shouldn't do. Then if you if you've got a 0:03:57.680 --> 0:03:59.640 good feeling about the future and you're a long way 0:03:59.640 --> 0:04:03.160 toward death, don't then go down the road of Yeah, 0:04:03.200 --> 0:04:05.760 but I only got about fifteen or twenty more good 0:04:05.840 --> 0:04:09.960 years right now, it gets really sad. I assume that 0:04:10.080 --> 0:04:13.680 medical science is going to advance by such leaps and bounds. Yeah, 0:04:13.760 --> 0:04:17.360 we're going to be living healthy to like one fifty. Yeah, 0:04:17.440 --> 0:04:20.599 we're gonna be playing tennis at when I finally just 0:04:20.680 --> 0:04:23.240 go over and unplugged and drop dead right there on 0:04:23.279 --> 0:04:25.640 the tennis court. Yeah, after you beat me in our 0:04:25.640 --> 0:04:31.240 final game. Yeah, and a simulation of Andre Agassi. All right, 0:04:31.800 --> 0:04:34.720 so let's do this. Should we take an ad break? 0:04:36.279 --> 0:04:38.640 Pretty good, Chuck. Let's take a little jingle break? How 0:04:38.640 --> 0:04:42.840 about that? Then we'll get into it, all right, Happy holidays, Chuck, 0:04:43.279 --> 0:05:04.400 Thank you, all right, buddy, we're back. Oh and speaking 0:05:04.440 --> 0:05:08.680 of jingles, big thanks to our pal John begin who 0:05:08.720 --> 0:05:11.680 composed us for us. He's composed a number of stuff 0:05:11.680 --> 0:05:14.240 you should know ad break jingles, and we went to 0:05:14.360 --> 0:05:17.760 and said Hey, will you compose for us this Christmas season? 0:05:18.040 --> 0:05:21.040 He said yes, and it was a Christmas miracle. Agreed? 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:25.600 And what should we start with? Oh man, I think 0:05:25.640 --> 0:05:30.039 we have to start with die Hard is dieharded Christmas movie? This? This, 0:05:30.240 --> 0:05:32.160 you you found this, you put together most of this. 0:05:32.279 --> 0:05:34.560 This is a world class episode. By the way, I 0:05:34.600 --> 0:05:37.080 want to commend you for it. Thanks. And it's not 0:05:37.160 --> 0:05:39.839 like I dug this up this and almost got annoyed 0:05:39.880 --> 0:05:43.080 by this one because it's become a very trendy thing 0:05:43.080 --> 0:05:45.800 over the past few years to argue about whether or 0:05:45.800 --> 0:05:48.520 not die Hard as a Christmas movie. Yeah, it's basically 0:05:48.520 --> 0:05:53.240 the clear symbol that civilization is sliding into irreversible decline. 0:05:54.080 --> 0:05:57.240 Argument over this, so let's talk about it. Yeah, because 0:05:57.440 --> 0:05:59.479 I think the reason why I got jazzed about it, 0:05:59.480 --> 0:06:01.800 I feel very similar to you. It's kind of like, guys, 0:06:01.880 --> 0:06:05.359 this could not matter less, stop arguing about this. That 0:06:05.440 --> 0:06:10.080 was my William Shatner impression. Um, this article you sent 0:06:10.160 --> 0:06:12.599 by art Ta Vanna from l A Weekly. I just 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:14.920 think it really gets the point across so well. That 0:06:15.200 --> 0:06:18.200 jazz me. Yeah, you know what, do I even have 0:06:18.240 --> 0:06:21.200 that one? Why don't you lead this one? Then? Okay, well, 0:06:21.279 --> 0:06:23.279 Jimminy Crickets, I think I might have sent it to 0:06:23.320 --> 0:06:26.560 you and then not even use that one. Oh it's great, man, 0:06:26.640 --> 0:06:28.760 This one is like the best. I'm actually putting it 0:06:28.800 --> 0:06:31.360 on my UM website. Are you serious, Clark, It's going 0:06:31.400 --> 0:06:33.719 on the reading list. What's the name of it. It's 0:06:33.720 --> 0:06:37.920 called Yes, die Hard is a Christmas movie? Stop debating it. Okay, 0:06:37.960 --> 0:06:39.640 I don't think I have that one, so but I'm 0:06:39.680 --> 0:06:42.000 I can I know die Hard inside and out so 0:06:42.040 --> 0:06:44.880 I can get in there. Okay, So Art Art says 0:06:44.960 --> 0:06:48.080 that he starts with a quote. Art says, this is 0:06:48.120 --> 0:06:50.400 a quote from a BuzzFeed article, but from way back 0:06:50.400 --> 0:06:52.520 in two thousand thirteen. This has been going on a while, 0:06:53.120 --> 0:06:57.040 but the BuzzFeed wrote, quote most prized among people of 0:06:57.040 --> 0:06:59.840 this opinion that die Hard is a Christmas movie is 0:06:59.880 --> 0:07:04.240 the transgressive act of selecting a violent action movie over 0:07:04.320 --> 0:07:07.440 home alone or more classic fair. We get it, You're 0:07:07.480 --> 0:07:10.560 too cool for regular Christmas movies, right, So they laid 0:07:10.560 --> 0:07:13.120 down the gauntlet. I think they did a good bit 0:07:13.160 --> 0:07:15.120 of calling out and they probably got it right for 0:07:15.160 --> 0:07:17.400 some people. But Art says, wait a minute, Wait a minute, 0:07:17.920 --> 0:07:20.960 who's to say what classic Christmas fare is if you're saying, 0:07:20.960 --> 0:07:23.920 if you're talking about It's a Wonderful Life, you're being 0:07:23.960 --> 0:07:28.440 brainwashed like Frank Capra followed in the tradition of Norman Rockwell, 0:07:28.760 --> 0:07:31.320 and all of this is like some weirdo small town 0:07:31.440 --> 0:07:36.160 communalism utopianism that doesn't have even really exist. And the 0:07:36.200 --> 0:07:39.400 whole reason that you're crazy for It's a Wonderful Life 0:07:39.480 --> 0:07:42.080 is because it lost its copy right back in the 0:07:42.120 --> 0:07:46.320 seventies and the television networks around the country started showing 0:07:46.320 --> 0:07:50.720 it for free, so it almost was force fit into 0:07:50.800 --> 0:07:55.120 a Christmas tradition. And it's a Wonderful Life, I mean, 0:07:55.120 --> 0:07:57.600 if we gotta, if we're really gonna take this down 0:07:57.640 --> 0:08:01.080 that path. Is not a Chris Smiths movie. It's not 0:08:01.160 --> 0:08:05.120 even set at Christmas. There is a scene set on 0:08:05.240 --> 0:08:09.280 Christmas Eve, one scene in that movie. And something I 0:08:09.320 --> 0:08:11.160 read because I was looking up whether or not It's 0:08:11.160 --> 0:08:13.240 a Wonderful Life as a Christmas movie or it's just 0:08:13.280 --> 0:08:16.360 got that by association, and they said, if if It's 0:08:16.360 --> 0:08:18.880 a Wonderful Life is a Christmas movie, then e t 0:08:19.080 --> 0:08:22.240 is a Halloween movie. I don't know, man, I don't know, 0:08:22.320 --> 0:08:24.600 because here's the thing, and this is, this is we'll 0:08:24.640 --> 0:08:27.880 just reveal the end here. Then the one thing that 0:08:28.040 --> 0:08:31.440 die Hard and It's a Wonderful Life have in common 0:08:32.440 --> 0:08:40.120 is getting your family back before Christmas morning. Like the 0:08:40.120 --> 0:08:42.720 the whole thing that's driving the plot is a race 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:46.480 against time to get everything the way that it should 0:08:46.520 --> 0:08:51.000 be before Christmas morning happens. Sure, And also, is a 0:08:51.080 --> 0:08:53.840 Christmas movie one that is is set at Christmas or 0:08:53.920 --> 0:08:57.800 one that is just got filled with the spirit of Christmas? 0:08:58.320 --> 0:09:01.320 I think if are you asking what my opinion is. 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:05.440 My opinion is that if somebody feels like Christmas Eve 0:09:05.480 --> 0:09:07.800 when they watch a movie and it becomes like a 0:09:07.840 --> 0:09:10.640 tradition for them to watch it, or they have a 0:09:10.679 --> 0:09:14.600 good Christmas feeling from it, then leave that person alone. Well, 0:09:14.640 --> 0:09:17.760 but like, is the Godfather Thanksgiving movie because they showed 0:09:17.800 --> 0:09:21.520 Everythanksgiving on TV? And The Sound of Music is an 0:09:21.520 --> 0:09:24.040 Easter movie because they show it around Easter. If it 0:09:24.160 --> 0:09:26.720 is that to some people, then then that's fine. It 0:09:26.800 --> 0:09:29.760 makes it that for those people. Okay, so you're saying 0:09:30.320 --> 0:09:32.760 the setting of the movie and the contents they're in 0:09:34.040 --> 0:09:36.720 have no bearing on whether or not, Like it doesn't 0:09:36.720 --> 0:09:39.240 even have to take place at Christmas or be Christmas Eve. No, 0:09:39.480 --> 0:09:42.480 I'm I'm saying that, yes, it does not have to 0:09:42.520 --> 0:09:44.960 take place at Christmas, but I'm not saying that the 0:09:45.000 --> 0:09:47.840 settings had no bearing because I do think that if 0:09:47.960 --> 0:09:51.920 if die Hard wasn't set at Christmas, no one would 0:09:51.960 --> 0:09:54.240 be talking about whether it was a Christmas movie or not. 0:09:54.559 --> 0:09:57.880 So that the the time that it takes place definitely 0:09:57.960 --> 0:10:01.400 does have an impact on it. That's not the only thing. 0:10:01.480 --> 0:10:03.679 And if it doesn't take place around Christmas, that doesn't 0:10:03.679 --> 0:10:07.400 automatically disqualify it from being a Christmas movie. It just 0:10:07.520 --> 0:10:10.520 makes make it a Christmas movie. Right, So so that's 0:10:10.520 --> 0:10:13.360 our Those are our opinions. But let's get into what 0:10:13.600 --> 0:10:15.920 Art ta Vana says all the reasons why I die 0:10:15.960 --> 0:10:17.880 Hard is a Christmas movie? Huh? All right, what's he got? 0:10:18.640 --> 0:10:20.960 So he says not only is it a Christmas movie, 0:10:21.360 --> 0:10:23.520 but he said that it is one of the This 0:10:23.600 --> 0:10:27.040 is a quote one of the most carefully sculpted Christmas 0:10:27.120 --> 0:10:31.800 allegories in history. So either Art ta Vanna is totally 0:10:31.800 --> 0:10:35.200 mad or this guy's got something figured out that everybody 0:10:35.200 --> 0:10:37.880 else is missing. Yeah, I mean he does make some 0:10:37.960 --> 0:10:41.600 pretty good points. Um. One of the things, well, I mean, 0:10:41.679 --> 0:10:43.200 we can just tick through a bunch of these. One 0:10:43.200 --> 0:10:47.120 of the things is, uh is the name John from 0:10:47.200 --> 0:10:49.280 John McLean, he said, could be an illusion to John 0:10:49.320 --> 0:10:52.840 the Baptist or John the Apostle. And also Holly Gennaro 0:10:53.040 --> 0:10:56.120 the wife, her name is Holly. Doesn't get much more 0:10:56.200 --> 0:10:59.400 Christmas E than Holly, that's right, and so John. The 0:10:59.600 --> 0:11:02.319 premise of this is John has lost his wife. Ers. 0:11:02.400 --> 0:11:05.520 In the process of losing his wife, she's moved from 0:11:05.559 --> 0:11:09.640 New York, their home, to l A to pursue her career, 0:11:10.240 --> 0:11:13.920 and in the process she's dropped her married name in 0:11:14.000 --> 0:11:19.800 favor of Gennaro, her her maiden name. That's what That's 0:11:19.800 --> 0:11:23.760 what she goes by professionally, right, John is out there. 0:11:23.760 --> 0:11:26.560 The premise of this is what has brought John out 0:11:26.559 --> 0:11:30.040 to l A for Christmas is to to basically reclaim 0:11:30.120 --> 0:11:33.800 his wife, as art Ta Vana puts it. Okay, So 0:11:34.200 --> 0:11:37.400 that's the that's the premise in John's name can be 0:11:38.040 --> 0:11:41.600 an allegory for John the Baptist, John the Apostle, something 0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:46.000 religious and Christmas E christianny I should say. And then 0:11:46.040 --> 0:11:49.640 Holly's name is that pagan plant Holly. And then he 0:11:49.760 --> 0:11:53.439 also says that there's thirteen terrorists, which doesn't it first 0:11:53.440 --> 0:11:57.720 seem very Christmas e right, yeah, but he says that 0:11:58.040 --> 0:12:01.920 very Uh. Specifically, Han Scruber says that he is not 0:12:02.040 --> 0:12:07.120 a terrorist. Uh. And so then you have twelve to 0:12:07.200 --> 0:12:08.880 see this is where it Paul's apart fer me. He says, 0:12:08.920 --> 0:12:12.920 twelve card carrying terrorists, like the twelve Apostle christ or 0:12:12.920 --> 0:12:15.440 the twelve Days of Christmas. But like, none of them 0:12:15.480 --> 0:12:20.640 are terrorists. They're all robbers. Uh. Yeah, but only one 0:12:20.679 --> 0:12:25.000 of them said that they're not a terrorist. Right. I 0:12:25.040 --> 0:12:27.160 thought that was a weak two. But then Art wins 0:12:27.200 --> 0:12:31.040 me back with the very next point. He says that, um, 0:12:31.080 --> 0:12:35.040 like Santa Claus John McClean, it keeps a list, but 0:12:35.120 --> 0:12:37.760 he writes its sharply on his arm. And rather than 0:12:37.800 --> 0:12:40.360 it's boys and girls who have been good or bad, 0:12:40.440 --> 0:12:43.240 naughty or nice, these are terrorists he's either killed or 0:12:43.320 --> 0:12:47.960 plans to kill. Uh. And of course, in one of 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:52.880 the great scenes, uh when and by the way, spoiler alerts, oh, man, 0:12:53.280 --> 0:12:55.640 I guess, I guess so people like man I was 0:12:55.640 --> 0:12:57.920 just gonna watch die Hard this year for the first 0:12:57.920 --> 0:13:00.920 time ever. Uh. He sends one dead terrorist down in 0:13:00.960 --> 0:13:04.360 one of my favorite scenes from the thirty second floor 0:13:04.400 --> 0:13:08.320 down the lobby, the door opens. He is dead and 0:13:08.400 --> 0:13:12.240 has a on his chest. Okay, say it in a 0:13:12.280 --> 0:13:15.480 German accent, please, and not only that, I'll say it 0:13:15.520 --> 0:13:19.600 with my best Alan Rickman r I p now a 0:13:19.640 --> 0:13:28.480 half a machine gun. Ho ho ho oh goodness. So 0:13:28.520 --> 0:13:31.440 he says this proves that McClean is a sociopathic Santa 0:13:31.480 --> 0:13:35.040 Clause yeah, and that the elevator was his chimney. Yeah. 0:13:35.520 --> 0:13:38.880 M hmm. So it's getting a little weird here. John 0:13:38.920 --> 0:13:41.840 McClean has Christmas dinner. That's the twinkie that he eats 0:13:41.960 --> 0:13:46.920 during a period of respite week. It's weak um, but 0:13:47.120 --> 0:13:50.319 he says, Art says, there is a miracle in this, 0:13:50.400 --> 0:13:52.960 and they even call it out there's a Christmas miracle 0:13:53.440 --> 0:13:55.600 because remember THEO, the guy who's kind of like the 0:13:55.640 --> 0:13:58.960 hacker of the group. He's trying to crack the safe 0:13:58.960 --> 0:14:01.559 with the drill and Hans comes down to see how 0:14:01.559 --> 0:14:04.600 the progress is going, and THEO tells them it's going 0:14:04.679 --> 0:14:07.880 to take a miracle to get past this electromagnetic lock. 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:14.319 Very in very short order, the FBI turns off the power. 0:14:14.760 --> 0:14:18.200 But before this, Hans Gruber says, THEO, you asked for 0:14:18.240 --> 0:14:23.280 a miracle, I give you the f B. I. So 0:14:23.320 --> 0:14:27.440 they specifically say there's a miracle in this, in this ship, 0:14:27.480 --> 0:14:31.880 in this movie. Yeah, that's another one, that's right. What 0:14:32.000 --> 0:14:38.200 else John McClean makes it. He makes it back to 0:14:38.360 --> 0:14:41.040 his family. He and his wife are reunited. At the end, 0:14:41.320 --> 0:14:44.080 she gives him her Christmas gifts. She identifies herself as 0:14:44.080 --> 0:14:49.840 Holly McClean. Right, and then ostensibly by extension, I guess 0:14:50.160 --> 0:14:52.600 they're going to go home to their six year old 0:14:52.680 --> 0:14:56.280 daughter for Christmas morning. The sun has not risen yet, 0:14:56.320 --> 0:14:59.840 so it's still Christmas Eve, and there are Barra bonds 0:15:00.200 --> 0:15:03.200 floating down like snow around them, and they even play 0:15:03.280 --> 0:15:07.440 the song let it Snow. So Art points some stuff out. 0:15:07.480 --> 0:15:10.560 He says he went back and looked at reviews that 0:15:10.600 --> 0:15:12.480 he could find because he works for l A Weekly, 0:15:12.480 --> 0:15:14.920 he's a he's a movie critic. I think he sold 0:15:15.000 --> 0:15:18.000 water to me. At this point, he said, I could 0:15:18.040 --> 0:15:20.960 not find any reviews that cited this thing as a 0:15:21.040 --> 0:15:25.280 Christmas movie. It came out in July. Yeah, this this 0:15:25.360 --> 0:15:29.720 is definitely something that has been retrofitted for sure, Right, 0:15:29.960 --> 0:15:32.600 No one called it a Christmas movie back then. Only 0:15:32.680 --> 0:15:36.640 the clever generations of today. So yeah, so he points 0:15:36.640 --> 0:15:39.160 out that, um that no one at the time said 0:15:39.240 --> 0:15:41.320 this is a great Christmas movie as a buddy picture. 0:15:41.320 --> 0:15:44.000 It's how they put it right, um or just an 0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:46.840 action like shoot him up fast, and it was. It 0:15:46.920 --> 0:15:50.720 was a great movie still is right. But the he 0:15:51.000 --> 0:15:54.400 he says that, um, at the same time, there was 0:15:54.520 --> 0:15:58.640 a weird kind of foreshadowing that same year because Scrooge 0:15:58.840 --> 0:16:01.320 came out, which is another a great Christmas movie, and 0:16:01.360 --> 0:16:03.480 that is a bona fide Christmas movie because it's an 0:16:03.480 --> 0:16:06.920 adaptation of a Christmas Carol, there's no question about that. 0:16:07.320 --> 0:16:10.560 But in it, Bill Murray plays a TV executive who 0:16:10.600 --> 0:16:13.640 has green lit a picture called The Night the Reindeer 0:16:13.760 --> 0:16:17.920 Died and it's about a terrorist attack on the North 0:16:17.960 --> 0:16:21.320 Pole in Santa's workshop, and he says, the implication of 0:16:21.360 --> 0:16:24.720 this is that you would have to be some soulless 0:16:24.800 --> 0:16:31.120 TV executive to watch an action movie for Christmas. Yeah. 0:16:31.160 --> 0:16:33.200 I don't buy it. Oh, I think it just ties 0:16:33.280 --> 0:16:35.000 the whole thing up. It just brings it right back 0:16:35.000 --> 0:16:36.720 to the beginning. Man. No, no no, no, I don't buy 0:16:36.840 --> 0:16:40.360 that you would have to be a soulless uh. Oh yeah, yeah, 0:16:40.680 --> 0:16:42.720 I'm on board. I think it's a Christmas movie. Art 0:16:42.800 --> 0:16:46.160 Tavanna is the oracle of our time. Uh, so I 0:16:46.280 --> 0:16:48.520 have Are you done with Art Tavanna? Yeah? All right, 0:16:48.520 --> 0:16:52.040 because I've got a very special Christmas gift for you, sir. Okay, 0:16:52.120 --> 0:16:54.160 And I kept this a surprise, thank you. I was 0:16:54.160 --> 0:16:56.840 wondering what this was. You see, I'm holding a piece 0:16:56.840 --> 0:16:58.920 of paper in my hand, and when I have in 0:16:58.960 --> 0:17:03.680 my hand is an email exchange with the writer of 0:17:03.840 --> 0:17:10.040 die Hard. What Jeb Stewart, What this is insider information? 0:17:11.119 --> 0:17:15.880 What I know? Right? Wow? All right? So man, look 0:17:15.880 --> 0:17:20.159 at that smile. I can't believe I'm dizzy. All right. 0:17:20.240 --> 0:17:24.200 So I was able to get this email and he 0:17:24.280 --> 0:17:27.240 was happy to oblige. Uh. He's sort of been making 0:17:27.240 --> 0:17:29.520 the rounds on this, I think interviewed him on it, 0:17:29.680 --> 0:17:33.480 and um, and he's just a great dude. So um. 0:17:33.520 --> 0:17:35.720 I knew that there was a book that die Hard 0:17:35.800 --> 0:17:38.760 was based on called Nothing Last Forever by Roger Thorpe, 0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:42.159 and so I thought, well, when he wrote that, you know, 0:17:42.240 --> 0:17:44.240 was that said at Christmas? Was Christmas a big deal? 0:17:44.560 --> 0:17:46.280 Or did you run with it? So these are this 0:17:46.320 --> 0:17:51.320 is his reply and all this amazing chuck. Uh and 0:17:51.400 --> 0:17:53.159 this is it's not super long, but I'm just I'm 0:17:53.160 --> 0:17:55.199 gonna read the whole thing because that conserves it. So 0:17:55.280 --> 0:17:58.240 he said that, uh uh nothing. Last Forever is a 0:17:58.320 --> 0:18:00.840 dark Nora novel about a sixty us year old man 0:18:01.040 --> 0:18:03.359 who comes to bits forty year visit his forty year 0:18:03.400 --> 0:18:06.439 old daughter in l A. So obviously he changed that stuff. 0:18:07.000 --> 0:18:09.000 Uh and then he and then he, you know, talks 0:18:09.000 --> 0:18:10.760 a little bit more about the writing process, and then 0:18:10.800 --> 0:18:14.480 he says, so back to your question, Yes, Christmas was 0:18:14.520 --> 0:18:17.199 always part of the theme. Thorpe said it on December 0:18:18.320 --> 0:18:20.720 the novel for a very practical reason. We need the 0:18:20.760 --> 0:18:24.440 building as empty as possible. Yeah, so that makes sense. 0:18:24.480 --> 0:18:27.479 That's where that comes from. However, once he established this, 0:18:27.920 --> 0:18:30.399 he sort of abandoned the theme. Since I had a 0:18:30.400 --> 0:18:33.199 lot of dramatic leeway, I took the approach let's go 0:18:33.320 --> 0:18:36.280 for it first. So this all came from Jeb Stewart, 0:18:36.320 --> 0:18:39.000 all the Christmas e stuff. First. I changed the main 0:18:39.080 --> 0:18:41.040 characters ages set up the story about a thirty year 0:18:41.080 --> 0:18:44.000 old guy with old school ideas about marriage coming from 0:18:44.000 --> 0:18:46.439 New York to visit as a strange wife, but everything 0:18:46.520 --> 0:18:50.440 right again with his family. L A represents and conflicts 0:18:50.480 --> 0:18:53.280 with his views of normal Christmas. Music is different, the 0:18:53.320 --> 0:18:55.880 office party and gifts are over the top. His wife 0:18:55.960 --> 0:18:58.000 keeps her maiden name, and the temperature is warm and 0:18:58.040 --> 0:19:01.600 not snowy. It drives him crazy. But once Hans Gruber 0:19:01.720 --> 0:19:05.480 takes over Nakami Plaza, all that melts away, all the action, 0:19:05.520 --> 0:19:08.560 all the struggle become John McLean's long journey to discover 0:19:08.640 --> 0:19:11.680 what really matters his family. You don't appreciate what you 0:19:11.760 --> 0:19:14.320 have until you risk losing it. Since family is at 0:19:14.320 --> 0:19:16.920 the core of the idea of this work, what better 0:19:17.040 --> 0:19:21.080 than what better holiday than Christmas? Uh, there's no question 0:19:21.119 --> 0:19:23.680 in my mind that die Hard is a Christmas movie. 0:19:24.600 --> 0:19:28.080 You have you have it. A Christmas movie has more 0:19:28.119 --> 0:19:30.480 to do with just being said at the holiday. It 0:19:30.520 --> 0:19:32.600 has to include the holiday in the themes of the film. 0:19:32.760 --> 0:19:35.480 Christmas also needs to be reflected in the characters, their 0:19:35.520 --> 0:19:38.000 stories and dialogue. I tried to do this as much 0:19:38.040 --> 0:19:40.960 as possible, even when it means sending a body down 0:19:40.960 --> 0:19:43.960 the elevator with a Santa cap and a message written 0:19:43.960 --> 0:19:46.560 on a shirt saying ho ho ho Now I have 0:19:46.600 --> 0:19:49.520 a machine gun. Anyway, that is my argument that Die 0:19:49.520 --> 0:19:52.560 Hards a Christmas film. I'm happy some people agree. As 0:19:52.560 --> 0:19:55.280 someone once told me, it's not Christmas at our house 0:19:55.600 --> 0:19:59.520 until Hans Gruber falls off nakatmi plaza. Amen to that, 0:20:00.080 --> 0:20:04.840 Jeb Stewart. Wow, that is definitive, Chuck, nicely done. Yeah, 0:20:05.400 --> 0:20:07.480 that's funny. I had no idea that it was originally 0:20:07.520 --> 0:20:09.199 ho ho ho. Now I have a machine gun. I'm 0:20:09.240 --> 0:20:12.040 sure some exects workshopped it and focus grouped it and 0:20:12.080 --> 0:20:16.800 then they switched it around. Well I'm not sure if 0:20:16.800 --> 0:20:19.480 he's saying that's how he wrote it, but that's wonderful, Chuck. 0:20:19.560 --> 0:20:22.240 Kudos to you. That's a great Christmas present. And kudos 0:20:22.240 --> 0:20:23.720 to Jeb Stewart. He says he's a big stuff. You 0:20:23.720 --> 0:20:26.359 should know fans to take that for what it's worth. Well, 0:20:26.520 --> 0:20:32.119 I just got you some socks. Oh wow, Sorry, I 0:20:32.160 --> 0:20:36.240 got you a personalized letter from Jeb Stewart and some socks. 0:20:36.720 --> 0:20:40.280 All right? Is that the end of our segment? Yeah? 0:20:40.440 --> 0:21:13.040 All right, Okay, which one you want to do next? 0:21:14.200 --> 0:21:20.120 I'm happy to rock around the Rockefeller Christmas Tree. Okay, Rockefeller, 0:21:20.800 --> 0:21:26.280 it's the The r is silent and invisible. So most 0:21:26.280 --> 0:21:29.800 of this information comes from an article this year from 0:21:29.880 --> 0:21:33.159 Dana Schultz The history of Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree a 0:21:33.200 --> 0:21:39.400 New York holiday tradition. Dude. So the Rockefeller Center Tree. 0:21:39.440 --> 0:21:42.480 Everybody knows this thing, right, They probably know more than 0:21:42.560 --> 0:21:46.360 they realized that that statue is Prometheus, the big Golden Statue, 0:21:46.600 --> 0:21:48.439 which and I only say that because I didn't realize 0:21:48.440 --> 0:21:51.840 that until researching this article. But it's an extremely famous 0:21:51.840 --> 0:21:54.200 thing because it's a giant tree, it's in the middle 0:21:54.240 --> 0:21:56.920 of New York and everybody watches it. But it has 0:21:56.960 --> 0:22:00.920 some really sweet, humble origins that I weren't what wasn't 0:22:00.960 --> 0:22:04.200 aware of at all. Yeah, and I gotta say, if 0:22:04.200 --> 0:22:07.080 you've never been to New York at Christmas, do yourself 0:22:07.080 --> 0:22:10.080 a favor and go, because the word magical is thrown 0:22:10.080 --> 0:22:13.000 around a lot, but it is truly magical. It is. 0:22:13.200 --> 0:22:17.800 It's just it's great Rockefeller Center. Uh, it's just it's 0:22:17.840 --> 0:22:19.600 wonderful to go down there. You know, even if you're 0:22:19.600 --> 0:22:23.439 a Scrooge McDuck, I think your heart might melt a bit. Sure. 0:22:24.920 --> 0:22:28.440 Can you just see like Scrooge McDuck duck weeping quietly 0:22:28.720 --> 0:22:31.400 and in public off to the side of the ice 0:22:31.440 --> 0:22:35.159 skating rink, and it would be kind of neat like 0:22:35.320 --> 0:22:38.879 there's a cartoon in real life. So back to the origins, 0:22:38.880 --> 0:22:42.520 where are we? Yeah, and the Great Depression was in 0:22:42.600 --> 0:22:45.199 full swing. This is another thing I didn't realize. Did 0:22:45.240 --> 0:22:47.880 you know the Great Depression is also called the clutch plague? 0:22:48.400 --> 0:22:50.400 Is that what that is? Yeah? I did not know that. 0:22:50.520 --> 0:22:53.200 The only explanation I saw was that the clutch plague 0:22:53.240 --> 0:22:57.000 more refers to the global depression, whereas the Great Depression 0:22:57.080 --> 0:23:00.920 is the American Great Depression. Gotcha, That's all I saw. 0:23:01.040 --> 0:23:04.040 But so the clutch Plague slash Great Depression is going 0:23:04.040 --> 0:23:08.560 on and a group of workers, construction workers are building 0:23:08.640 --> 0:23:12.040 Rockefeller Center at the time, and Christmas comes around and 0:23:12.080 --> 0:23:14.800 the workers decide, hey, we need to Christmas up this 0:23:14.880 --> 0:23:17.439 place a little bit. So they pull their money together 0:23:17.480 --> 0:23:20.440 and they buy a twenty foot tree and they install 0:23:20.520 --> 0:23:23.840 it right there on the construction site. And if that's 0:23:23.880 --> 0:23:28.600 not heartwarming enough, uh, their families made garland to decorate 0:23:28.680 --> 0:23:31.760