Speaker 1: Warning this podcast he'd spoilers for Star Wars Rebels kind of,
Speaker 1: as well as a discussion of lots of horror, sci fi, fantasy,
Speaker 1: book shows, movies, and more. Hello. My name is Jason
Speaker 1: Vitepsion and I'm Eersey Night, and welcome for the final
Speaker 1: time to x ray Vision, the Cricket Media podcast where
Speaker 1: we dive deep into your favorite shows, movies, comics, and
Speaker 1: pop culture for.
Speaker 2: One last time. In this episode, ride one last Ride
Speaker 2: in the air. Look, it's a giant mail bag where
Speaker 2: we're clearing out the mailbag of all the best questions
Speaker 2: you guys have sent that we haven't been able to
Speaker 2: answer and a few new ones that you sent to
Speaker 2: and in nerd out. This is a great final nerd
Speaker 2: out for this iteration of the pod. Someone who's been
Speaker 2: so important to our pod, to our disco community is
Speaker 2: h the co host of the Escape Hatch podcast formerly
Speaker 2: known as June Pod, and he's gonna be nerding out
Speaker 2: about something really special coming up.
Speaker 1: Mailbag. First question from JM what are some of your
Speaker 1: favorite image or other independent comics. Have either of you
Speaker 1: read The Department of Truth by James Tinian four. I
Speaker 1: have read that very good Rosie.
Speaker 2: Any thoughts my favorite image comics, man, there are so many,
Speaker 2: definitely for me. I mean, obviously we talk a lot
Speaker 2: about the big ones like Saga, you know, stuff like that.
Speaker 2: I am very I have a very big soft spot
Speaker 2: in my heart for The Wicked and the Divine by
Speaker 2: Jamie Mcalvey and Karen Gill colors by Matt Wilson. Like
Speaker 2: that is a book that was very much a huge
Speaker 2: part of my comic book experience when I was working
Speaker 2: in the comic shop. It was something when I was
Speaker 2: really getting back into comics after Young Avengers. So I
Speaker 2: always send people that way. I will also just say
Speaker 2: like I'm no surprises to anyone, but I love Spawn.
Speaker 2: I'm like, if you haven't checked out Spawn, just read Spornow.
Speaker 2: Like I love Tom MacFarlane, the Todd Father, you know.
Speaker 2: I feel like he's grown into a great kind of
Speaker 2: uncle of comics over the years. There was a great
Speaker 2: video recently on Wired that was like a him answering
Speaker 2: questions about making comics that kind of enamored me to
Speaker 2: look back at Spawn again. So I would say, like,
Speaker 2: especially those first kind of eleven issues, it's really just
Speaker 2: good stuff. And also Ultimate wife Guy comic because he
Speaker 2: basically like he literally was like what would hell be?
Speaker 2: And he would be like hell would be for me
Speaker 2: that I couldn't see my wife again? And I just
Speaker 2: I love the energy. So what about you? What are
Speaker 2: some of your favorite.
Speaker 1: Am Well, first, let me speak on the Department of Truth,
Speaker 1: which is a fantastic, so good, prescient and very artistically
Speaker 1: like genre pushing book that to be one honest, I
Speaker 1: can't I have to read one issue basically a week
Speaker 1: because it melts my brain too much and gives me
Speaker 1: a headache. But I love that book. I would say,
Speaker 1: here's a here's a wreck that I got from Zig
Speaker 1: Lately that I love, a power bomb. Oh, it's so good,
Speaker 1: just a one an Eisner Award, just one an Eiser Award,
Speaker 1: seven issues.
Speaker 2: Yeah, Daniel Warren Johnson just a total powerhouse in the
Speaker 2: comics industry. Just absolutely unbelievable.
Speaker 1: And so the idea is, you know, it's this dimension
Speaker 1: where everyone's a professional wrestler and they don't know that
Speaker 1: in this world, professional wrestlings fake. It's super fun, just wonderful.
Speaker 1: The art is wonderful, funny and fast moving. Loved it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's great stuff. There's so many good image comics.
Speaker 2: So just go go to your comic shop and ask
Speaker 2: them to show you all the image trades. They're very affordable,
Speaker 2: great place to jump on. This was a good question,
Speaker 2: love image comics.
Speaker 1: Next question?
Speaker 2: With so much good stuff out there, this is a
Speaker 2: good soundtrack for this. Sometimes I go through periods of
Speaker 2: time where I find it hard to decide what to
Speaker 2: watch next. Sergio says, I feel like whatever I decide
Speaker 2: to watch, there's something better I could be watching. Since
Speaker 2: I recently went through this, my question is for you.
Speaker 2: Do you ever feel the same way? And do you
Speaker 2: have your own ways to get around it?
Speaker 1: So?
Speaker 2: Do you ever get overwhelmed by the amount of great
Speaker 2: stuff out there to choose?
Speaker 1: I do? I deal with it in different ways. So
Speaker 1: with TV, I'm a completionist. If I start, I'll finish
Speaker 1: it even if it sucks and I don't like it,
Speaker 1: just because I find it useful to articulate why I
Speaker 1: don't like the thing and be like, do I have
Speaker 1: they changed? Have they changed my mind? They? Did? They?
Speaker 1: Did they win me over? Or did they not? With books,
Speaker 1: if I am not in like after the first fifty pages,
Speaker 1: then I'm just gonna move.
Speaker 2: On to That's something I've learned how to do this
Speaker 2: year with books because I used to always have to finish.
Speaker 2: I was like, wait a minute, I could be reading
Speaker 2: a great book or rereading something.
Speaker 1: There's just so many books. There's literally like five centuries
Speaker 1: of books.
Speaker 2: Yeah, there's like so many more books than you could
Speaker 2: ever even combrand to read in your life.
Speaker 1: So that with those, I think the last book that
Speaker 1: I read that I like pushed through to read that
Speaker 1: I hated for the first like one hundred pages was
Speaker 1: The Children of Men, the original, the book version ofren Men,
Speaker 1: which is significantly different than the movie, which is obviously
Speaker 1: which is my favorite movie maybe ever. But so the
Speaker 1: book is really really different and it's really just kind
Speaker 1: of like is revving its engine for the first hundred pages,
Speaker 1: although ends really interestingly and it's, you know, significantly different.
Speaker 1: But that was the last time I read a book
Speaker 1: that I'm like, oh, I hate this. Usually I'm just out.
Speaker 1: I also try to select shows specifically for can I
Speaker 1: finish it?
Speaker 2: Yes?
Speaker 1: Like I started watching Hijack on.
Speaker 2: Your exactly just the trashiest, most silliest focus.
Speaker 1: People on a plane who are all stupid, yeah, are
Speaker 1: making the dumb decisions only seven episodes. It's so I
Speaker 1: can absolutely get to the end of that one because
Speaker 1: I'm just like, wait, why did you Why did they
Speaker 1: do this?
Speaker 2: It's the ultimately at the TV show, Ye're like, don't
Speaker 2: do that, don't do it, broke every decision. Interest makes
Speaker 2: this terrible, But you're like, interests, I love you, hey,
Speaker 2: please make this work.
Speaker 1: It's well known that if you hydiack a plane, you
Speaker 1: can do anything you want. The pilots are not opening
Speaker 1: the fucking door.
Speaker 2: They don't even get me started.
Speaker 1: They're not opening it. Do they open the door in
Speaker 1: this show? The craziest fucking reason.
Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely deranged television. I approached this with something I'm
Speaker 2: trying to bring more into my life. When I was younger,
Speaker 2: I was definitely like a fomo person, like fear of
Speaker 2: missing out, and that also included TV. I needed to
Speaker 2: watch every prestige thing I wanted to be in the conversation.
Speaker 2: I feel like in our job that's part of it too,
Speaker 2: whether it's talking about TV or trying to write our
Speaker 2: own TV. But as I get older, I'm racing Joemo
Speaker 2: the joy of missing out, like being happy that I
Speaker 2: don't know about something or that I stayed home or
Speaker 2: ever instead of going out, so I generally am the same.
Speaker 2: I'm like, do I think I can finish something the
Speaker 2: bear I'm gonna watch it. It's like I know that
Speaker 2: I'm gonna like it. I know I can finish the episodes.
Speaker 2: English TV trained me on shorter seasons. So like something
Speaker 2: I recently started that I definitely did not need to
Speaker 2: and will take me like three years, was Supernatural because
Speaker 2: everyone was like, God, why haven't you watched this? Like please,
Speaker 2: just fucking like watch Supernatural? So I got out on
Speaker 2: DVD and I'm gonna watch it at some point. But
Speaker 2: it's like I've kind of I just focus on things
Speaker 2: that my friends like that I want to watch. If
Speaker 2: it's something i'm covering, then I'll obviously watch it. But
Speaker 2: I think the best thing is just try something. Also,
Speaker 2: if you're in that stage where you're feeling really overwhelmed,
Speaker 2: maybe go back to something that made you really excited
Speaker 2: about TV and kind of rekindle that feeling and then
Speaker 2: you can kind of start new stuff because it is
Speaker 2: so overwhelming.
Speaker 1: Yes, but I guess the number one thing we're both
Speaker 1: saying is value your time exactly. Just value your time
Speaker 1: there is so much good stuff out there that just
Speaker 1: allows something to resonate with you.
Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly, especially because now there are streaming services like
Speaker 2: Criterion shudder. There's every kind of niche streaming service where
Speaker 2: you can really be catered to, so you don't just
Speaker 2: have to watch stuff for the sake of it. Like,
Speaker 2: find something that resonates with you and enjoy your time
Speaker 2: watching it.
Speaker 1: Alex asks when will we see Mephisto for the first
Speaker 1: time in the MCU.
Speaker 2: Wow? Thanks, Alex. I appreciate this question as a huge
Speaker 2: part of the reason to blame for the Mephisto scandal
Speaker 2: of the wonder Vision era of a Marvel TV as
Speaker 2: somebody who was a Mephisto truther. You know who knows.
Speaker 2: I have heard rumors that they are going to cast
Speaker 2: Sasha Baron Cohen as Mephisto, and he will be an
Speaker 2: ironheart and he will be like a businessman version of
Speaker 2: Mephisto whoomps among us knows. I do believe Mephisto will
Speaker 2: be in the MCU soon, but I also believe that
Speaker 2: the people behind the MCU understand the weight of introducing
Speaker 2: Mephisto now post one division, so it will probably be
Speaker 2: I would say before phase six, well, definitely before the
Speaker 2: X Men are introduced, but otherwise, I mean, who knows.
Speaker 1: Fantastic four. Yeah, I think it's Fantastic four.
Speaker 2: I like that he's a He's an important kind of
Speaker 2: play thing in that world.
Speaker 1: And uh prediction, I think they retcon. It's not even
Speaker 1: retcon because the phases have not come out yet, but
Speaker 1: I think they uh because of the King issues. I
Speaker 1: think they I think they switch gears and the bad guy,
Speaker 1: the big bad.
Speaker 2: Guy is Mephesto. Is the easiest retcon because you can
Speaker 2: just say he's been controlling everything the whole time, so
Speaker 2: it's very easy for them to do that. So Alex,
Speaker 2: the answer is soon, but we don't know when. But
Speaker 2: you know, when he does show up, we will have
Speaker 2: something to say about it. Just curious if you guys
Speaker 2: have watched any of the newest Star Trek content being
Speaker 2: put on Paramount Plus and can it get a little
Speaker 2: bit of extray love? Jason, have you watched any?
Speaker 1: I have, and it will get some X ray love
Speaker 1: when next we see you again, So stay tuned watching
Speaker 1: your podcast feeds for when we reappear back in such
Speaker 1: a place. Cool kid Coda asks thoughts on the X
Speaker 1: Men run since twenty nineteen started reading Dawn of X
Speaker 1: and want to know what y'all think of it. I
Speaker 1: think it's the best time ever to be an X Men.
Speaker 2: It's so great, Like there hasn't been an era like
Speaker 2: this since, like New X Men, and even at the
Speaker 2: time people didn't really know Morrison and Quietly's New X
Speaker 2: Men was this huge era. I feel like something they
Speaker 2: did really well with House of X and the whole
Speaker 2: EX era and the Hickman X office is they got
Speaker 2: people excited for the event space that it was in,
Speaker 2: and obviously now you have all these beautiful collections you
Speaker 2: can read to lead into everything coming up to, you know,
Speaker 2: the Fall of X and the huge events of the
Speaker 2: Hellfi Gala recently. I just think it's so much fun.
Speaker 2: I also think this is one of the X Men
Speaker 2: eras which we haven't had enough of in recent years,
Speaker 2: where there's something for everyone. Yeah, you like a comedy comic,
Speaker 2: read Hellians like you want to read something that's serious
Speaker 2: and scary, getting the main Hickman stuff. You want to
Speaker 2: enjoy incredible production on your comics in a way you've
Speaker 2: never really seen before in design that's Tom mular designing
Speaker 2: those books like this is just such an interesting, good
Speaker 2: space and I love it and I'm excited to see
Speaker 2: what happens next with this era of the X Men,
Speaker 2: because I do think it's one of the strongest that
Speaker 2: we've had for a very long time.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there's a long time. As a lifelong X Men fan,
Speaker 1: I've just I've always just wanted them to have a place.
Speaker 1: And the Krakola era is the x Men with a
Speaker 1: place in the world that's pretty much in viable now.
Speaker 1: I think what's really interesting about what's going on now
Speaker 1: is having given them a chance to govern themselves. You know,
Speaker 1: what is the what's the quote from Abraham Lincoln that
Speaker 1: from like eighteen thirty eight or whatever, like, will will
Speaker 1: a European giant step across the ocean and smash us
Speaker 1: at a blow? No, if we're if destruction is to
Speaker 1: be our lot, we will be its author. The x Men.
Speaker 1: You know, there's too much drama in that group. It's
Speaker 1: hard hard to govern themselves when there's that much drama,
Speaker 1: that much history. And I think that's what's really interesting
Speaker 1: about it. But it's been the best and it's been
Speaker 1: the best time ever literally ever to be an X
Speaker 1: Men fan. There's so many books. The books are great.
Speaker 2: There have so many different kinds of people telling the stories.
Speaker 1: They have a power in the in this world now.
Speaker 1: They're not just like on the edge of extinction being
Speaker 1: hounded like to the death, or living in a city
Speaker 1: or an island off the coast of a city somewhere,
Speaker 1: just like trapped there. They have a nation, a burgeoning nation.
Speaker 1: They start to colonize space. They're a real power now.
Speaker 1: The question is like what what will they do with
Speaker 1: it and how will they serve? But it's been fantastic
Speaker 1: and adding to the points you made, it's been a
Speaker 1: real eye opener in terms of the characters who've been
Speaker 1: allowed to really pop and resonate, like mister There's never
Speaker 1: been a better time to be like, Yeah, mister.
Speaker 2: Sinister is vibeb incredible cake, Yeah, I love him. And
Speaker 2: as asks, this is a great question for you, Jason
Speaker 2: Oh for those who want to consume content responsibly during
Speaker 2: the strike, is there anything we should or shouldn't do
Speaker 2: to show solidarity. I have seen mixed reports going around
Speaker 2: about whether or not to boycott or cancel subs to
Speaker 2: con certain streaming services ET cetera.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean the WGA and SAG both have not
Speaker 1: said people should boycott. There's nobody's calling for that. At
Speaker 1: the same time, like, your dollar is your dollar and
Speaker 1: send it where you want, depending on how much value
Speaker 1: you think you're getting back from it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and support the Entertainment Community Fund which are always
Speaker 2: linked in the show notes share posts. That's all I love.
Speaker 2: Writers and actors have been saying. So just show your
Speaker 2: solidarity online. And if I'm when that call comes, so
Speaker 2: hopefully it won't. We're hearing you know, there might be
Speaker 2: talks going on that could lead to a good resolution.
Speaker 2: If that call for a boycot comes, then you'll know
Speaker 2: because people will well they'll let you know.
Speaker 1: Anders asks what is a book series, comic series, video
Speaker 1: game series, any type of fandom that you have not
Speaker 1: yet personally got into but want to in the future.
Speaker 2: Rosie, I really want to learn how to play Dungeons
Speaker 2: and Dragons.
Speaker 1: This is a great I'm glad that you said this.
Speaker 2: That's my big I want to have a campaign. I
Speaker 2: want to player with a party like that's my big
Speaker 2: thing that I haven't gotten to do. And everyone I
Speaker 2: speak to, everyone I know who does it has the
Speaker 2: most fun. I met an amazing kid in the comic
Speaker 2: shop recently this weekend when I was at Spiras Heroes
Speaker 2: celebrating their anniversary who recently got into it and they
Speaker 2: dress up with their party like, that's my big thing.
Speaker 2: I've got a lot of books of different tabletop games
Speaker 2: just because I like to read them, but I've never
Speaker 2: actually played a campaign, so that's my big one.
Speaker 1: I exact same answer, and extending on that I recently purchased.
Speaker 1: This is a bad decision because I have a lot
Speaker 1: of actual work to do and I recently purchased Balder's
Speaker 1: Gate three, which is as far as I know and
Speaker 1: from everything I have read, the most like granularly accurate
Speaker 1: depiction of playing D and D in a video game.
Speaker 1: So I haven't played it yet, I'm I guess this
Speaker 1: is like, if this is what D and D is like,
Speaker 1: tell me if I'm doing it wrong. I've taken three
Speaker 1: days now to build my character.
Speaker 2: Just like just sounds exactly. So I have not.
Speaker 1: Yet actually entered the mix, but I hope too soon,
Speaker 1: and I too would love to play D and D.
Speaker 2: If you have a D and D game, you're in
Speaker 2: l Yeah, yeah, last night X Ray Vision will be.
Speaker 1: Back and We're back Homie and PEPSI asked, what are
Speaker 1: some of your favorite superpower reveal moments in comics movies?
Speaker 1: Anything like the reveal of the Resurrection team in House
Speaker 1: Powers of X with the team on a suicide machine.
Speaker 1: Now it's great.
Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, so mine is like really sorry, but this
Speaker 2: is like the nerdiest answer ever, but I stand by it,
Speaker 2: and it also does connect to a modern thing. During
Speaker 2: Secret Wars the Jonathan Hickman assad Era, the final page
Speaker 2: when you learn the real reason that they did the
Speaker 2: whole event, which was to bring Miles Marales into the
Speaker 2: main six one six universe from the Ultimate Universe. The
Speaker 2: way that they reveal that Miles is in the universe
Speaker 2: is on the page they change from mixed case lettering,
Speaker 2: which is what they're use in the Ultimate Universe, to
Speaker 2: all caps, and that's how you know Mariles is in
Speaker 2: the main universe and you know that now there is
Speaker 2: a new Spider Man. That shit like blew my mind.
Speaker 2: I thought it was so clever and so subtle, and
Speaker 2: currently in the Automate Invasion book, also by Jonathan Hickman,
Speaker 2: which I am like absolutely loving. The first issue is
Speaker 2: one of my favorite issues years of any comic I've
Speaker 2: read recently. That book The letter does the same thing
Speaker 2: where you learn which world you're venturing into with the lettering,
Speaker 2: and that's Brian hitch who I think is at his
Speaker 2: best here drawing and colored by Alex Sinclair. This book
Speaker 2: is just so cool and for me, those little production
Speaker 2: nods where you learn like there is a huge power
Speaker 2: reveal that I won't spoil in the first issue of
Speaker 2: All My Invasion, but you once again learn about it
Speaker 2: just by the fact that they're not using all caps,
Speaker 2: they're using mixed case. That to me is like some
Speaker 2: of the most powerful stuff that gets me, like really excited.
Speaker 1: That's a great answer for me. I have to go
Speaker 1: back to the heat of my comic book buying fandom.
Speaker 1: I'm going to go with this is kind of a dodge,
Speaker 1: but I think it's I think it's the qrurect way
Speaker 1: to answer this question. Personally. For me, it would be
Speaker 1: the reveal in Wolverine seventy five nineteen ninety three is
Speaker 1: Wolverine number of Wolverine's bone Claus so so Wolverine with
Speaker 1: the metal he had the adamantium still in his body,
Speaker 1: he had taken a taken a swing at Magneto and
Speaker 1: had cut him. Magneto got super mad and was like
Speaker 1: you fucking idiot, Master Magnetism, like you're still doing this,
Speaker 1: You're still trying me. And he's like, I'm watch what
Speaker 1: real power is. And he just like liquefies all the
Speaker 1: adamantium in Wolverine's body and sucks it out severely injuring him.
Speaker 1: And now we're thinking, so you're thinking for a period
Speaker 1: of time now and I forget how many issues you're
Speaker 1: thinking this like, as he recovers and then eventually decides like, well,
Speaker 1: I can still be a help to the X Men,
Speaker 1: you're thinking, Okay, he doesn't. He doesn't have unbreakable bones anymore,
Speaker 1: and he doesn't have the claus but he's still got
Speaker 1: the crazy healing factor some like he could still surely help.
Speaker 1: And then during a a a training session, his he
Speaker 1: becomes like, you know, instinctively, like he's trying to help
Speaker 1: and to contribute to the team, and then all of
Speaker 1: a sudden snicked and these crazy, like mangly looking bone
Speaker 1: claws pop out of his hands and he's like an
Speaker 1: immense pain. I have to say, as a kid, I
Speaker 1: was like, freaking mind bull.
Speaker 2: No, definitely, because I feel like all of us kind
Speaker 2: of also didn't really know, like whether clause something they
Speaker 2: added in the web and next program, like oh, those
Speaker 2: naturally occurring as part of his mutation. But obviously that
Speaker 2: reveal is like the bone claws, he had them all
Speaker 2: the time, they just covered them without him.
Speaker 1: They just covered it or like replace whatever however however
Speaker 1: they did it. But I will also say that what's
Speaker 1: funny to me about that scene is like, so Wolverine
Speaker 1: has just had recently had all the adamanciam removed from
Speaker 1: his body, and doctor turned villain Moierriic Taggert is there,
Speaker 1: like with the rest of the X Men, including Jubilet,
Speaker 1: you know, early nineties X Men, just kind of like
Speaker 1: you and go through this session a bit oh my god,
Speaker 1: like he's too he's too injured to do this and
Speaker 1: blah blah blah, and then the bones the claws pop out.
Speaker 1: It's crazy that where are Taggart? A doctor, a world
Speaker 1: renowned doctor and scientist. Was never like, hey, you just
Speaker 1: had all the metal pulled out of your body. Maybe
Speaker 1: I should have said you let me take a look
Speaker 1: to see if anything has happened, and so everybody is
Speaker 1: just surprised by the Bone Club. Anyway, he had.
Speaker 2: The healing ex Markina. Chris asks where does Ahsoka happen
Speaker 2: in the timeline? Meaning the newest TV show. I'm watching
Speaker 2: Rebels for the first time. Was delighted to see more
Speaker 2: Mofma finally going public with her rebellion. I realized Rebels
Speaker 2: must be after all the same time as Andors. And
Speaker 2: now I'm confused but excited about Ahsoka. I do actually
Speaker 2: know the answer to this, Okay, So the a brilliant
Speaker 2: actress who's playing Sabine Ran and Natasha lu Bodiso, she
Speaker 2: had said that it will occur and currently to the
Speaker 2: Mandalorian season three, which I believe the Mandalorian season three
Speaker 2: is eleven a b y, which is basically like seven
Speaker 2: years after Return of the Jedi, So you're basically in
Speaker 2: that space between the old and the new, and it'll
Speaker 2: be very interesting to see because also we're now hearing
Speaker 2: these Ahsoka episodes are going to be in that thirty
Speaker 2: minute range, so like how much are they going to
Speaker 2: get in I don't know, but yeah, it will be
Speaker 2: concurrent at least partially to the Mandalorian season three.
Speaker 1: That's very exciting. So first no for nascent, first order
Speaker 1: remnants of exampire running around the galaxy where and various
Speaker 1: Since you're just watching Rebels, I must spoil it, but
Speaker 1: I won't. But let's just say various mysteries that are
Speaker 1: presented to you at the end of Rebels. One surmises
Speaker 1: will then beered by this.
Speaker 2: I think that we have seen in the latest Ahsoka
Speaker 2: trailers in very interesting locations from Rebels, especially near the end,
Speaker 2: So I'm excited.
Speaker 1: Slander Man asks this may have been answered in the past,
Speaker 1: but do you all have a definitive favorite superhero movie?
Speaker 1: If so, what separated from the rest? Rosie.
Speaker 2: This is such a hard question, obviously, I think if
Speaker 2: I'm the truest heart of heart answer for me, it's
Speaker 2: probably just Batman Returns, Okay, Like I think it's that
Speaker 2: I love Batman eighty nine. I love all the MCU movies.
Speaker 2: I love like thor Ragnrock. There's so many different parts
Speaker 2: of those stories that I love. But when I think
Speaker 2: about like a movie that truly as a little kid,
Speaker 2: I had seen Batman eighty nine, it's actually like one
Speaker 2: of my earliest memories is watching it when I was
Speaker 2: like two, but Batman Returns was like I was a
Speaker 2: young goth like. I loved it. It has all these characters.
Speaker 2: I love, Michelle Fiffer's obviously iconic, and I think that's
Speaker 2: probably the one. I go back to a lot and
Speaker 2: I think about a lot like what would a Batman
Speaker 2: Returns comic book look like?
Speaker 1: Like?
Speaker 2: What would these what would the kind of stories I
Speaker 2: would want to tell in that world? And it has
Speaker 2: such an unbelievable cast. So I think for me, if
Speaker 2: I had to pick, it would be that one. But
Speaker 2: I hate to pick because it's really a spectrum. What
Speaker 2: about you.
Speaker 1: I think for me it would be probably the first
Speaker 1: Avengers movie. That's not it. I don't even think that's
Speaker 1: the best MCU movie. But I couldn't believe that they
Speaker 1: had done it, they had done it really well, and
Speaker 1: that every character somehow had this really emotional arc that worked. Uh.
Speaker 1: And you know when Banner says I'm always angry, it's
Speaker 1: just like a fucking rush.
Speaker 2: Three sixty shot of them all.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it was awesome, and that was sitting in the
Speaker 1: theater for that was like a mind blowing experience. I
Speaker 1: would probably be a tie with that and Winter Soldier
Speaker 1: just because in the winter, so I just love Winter Soldier.
Speaker 1: The Elevator Fight for me is the Topelieree mc moment ever.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and Eric osks he's been reading The Black Tongue
Speaker 2: Thief based on Jason's recommendation and he absolutely loves it, says,
Speaker 2: I'm sure this has come up previously. Any other suggestions
Speaker 2: of similar novels worth my time? And then he has
Speaker 2: a second do you guys? So he's he asked me specifically,
Speaker 2: like what are the best under the radar horror books
Speaker 2: to check out? I do read a lot of horror.
Speaker 2: I would recommend. I don't know how under the radar
Speaker 2: a these are, but like I love Riley Sega, Like
Speaker 2: if you haven't read any of his books, he made this.
Speaker 2: He wrote this book called Final Girls, which is probably
Speaker 2: one of my favorites, which is like set in the
Speaker 2: world of Slashers. He's done multiple different books and each
Speaker 2: one is kind of a playing on like a horror trope.
Speaker 2: He did like a Haunted House book, like kind of
Speaker 2: an inspired by Amateurville, and they all sit in like
Speaker 2: a mystery horror space. I've also would say, if you've
Speaker 2: never read Clive Barker's books of Blood. They're actually really
Speaker 2: easy to get now, and those are so unreal, Like,
Speaker 2: you will read those stories and whether you're a reader
Speaker 2: or a storyteller, you will got Oh my fucking god,
Speaker 2: I've never read anything like this, and it makes you
Speaker 2: want to tell crazy stories. I mean, I love horror.
Speaker 2: I actually wrote a horror list at IGN as well
Speaker 2: that we can we can link back to because there's
Speaker 2: always so many different brilliant books out there. I also
Speaker 2: love anything by Read Jew. She has a new book
Speaker 2: out soon called The Reformatory. I've been reading a lot
Speaker 2: of dark Academia recently. It's brilliant. Yeah, so check those out. Also,
Speaker 2: I would say I read a really great book that
Speaker 2: if you love horror, is worth reading called The Black
Speaker 2: Guy Dies First, and it is by a really brilliant
Speaker 2: woman called doctor Robin Armines Coleman and an author called
Speaker 2: Mark Harris. And it's this really fun academic history of
Speaker 2: horror and like blackness in horror, but it's put together
Speaker 2: in such an unbelievably readable way, and if you're a
Speaker 2: horror fan, you will just love it. Like I recommend
Speaker 2: it to people when they ask me for horror books
Speaker 2: because it makes such a good companion piece to those books. So, yeah,
Speaker 2: those are just some of them, but there's there's so
Speaker 2: many good ones, Jason, is there any more kind of
Speaker 2: like fantasy books in the Vein of Black Tongue Thief
Speaker 2: that you love.
Speaker 1: Well, I'll say some horror stuff. This is definitely not
Speaker 1: under the radar Stephen King, but he.
Speaker 2: Does have many books.
Speaker 1: Yeah. My favorite, like when I was a kid that
Speaker 1: my favorite thing that Stephen King wrote was a collection
Speaker 1: of short stories called Night Shit. I think it is
Speaker 1: his first collection of short stories and it's a bunch
Speaker 1: of stories that appeared when he was a freelancer in
Speaker 1: various men's magazines, including Cavalier, Ubers, Penthouse, you know, like
Speaker 1: lad mags of the Day, and it is really gritty,
Speaker 1: scary stuff, and I just remember, you know, it's very
Speaker 1: rare that I actually get scared. Part of the reason
Speaker 1: that I like horror movies is like I can watch
Speaker 1: them in the middle of the night just I enjoy them,
Speaker 1: but they don't really scare me. I got really scared
Speaker 1: by this book, Jerusalem's Love and all almost all of
Speaker 1: these stories have been adapted into stuff. So it opens
Speaker 1: with Jerusalem's Lot, which is the vampire story that then
Speaker 1: became a vampire I believe TV mini series starring David
Speaker 1: Soul really scary about this guy who like inherits this
Speaker 1: like mansion that then has creepy sounds and things happening
Speaker 1: inside of it is probably vampires living in the basement.
Speaker 1: Graveyard Shift, which was I think was also adapted, and
Speaker 1: I Forget Where Night Surf, which is like super trivia.
Speaker 1: This is like a lot of this stuff is like
Speaker 1: Stephen King's drug phase. I Am The Doorway, which like
Speaker 1: is I think still one of the great like teleportation
Speaker 1: stories of all the time. Trucks which became Maximum Overdrive.
Speaker 1: Strawberry Spring, which to this day I find one of
Speaker 1: the absolute scariest reads ever about. I don't want to
Speaker 1: spoil it, but it's about a series of serial killings
Speaker 1: that happen in and around a college campus when the
Speaker 1: fog of a of a you know, kind of like
Speaker 1: late summer rain or over the university, and it is
Speaker 1: really mind melting and scary. The Ledge, which is just
Speaker 1: one of the many stories from this that got adapted
Speaker 1: for the horror anthology The Cats. I if anybody lawnmore
Speaker 1: Man which became The Running Men starring Arnold Schwarzenegger Quitters Incorporated.
Speaker 1: That's another Cat's Eye one. Children of the Court, which
Speaker 1: game a long running and it's been very, very campy
Speaker 1: movie series about a town in which, like you know,
Speaker 1: all the adults are murdered, just like great, great, great
Speaker 1: great and really really scary. Check it out. Chris asks,
Speaker 1: who is the chosen one? Luca Anakin, I think they're
Speaker 1: very I think the prophecies are very clear.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I personally, I'm like a I spent so much
Speaker 2: time in this world that I'm kind of like a
Speaker 2: prophecy hater at this point. I feel like prophecies can
Speaker 2: always be misread or re read or reconstrued. I believe
Speaker 2: that they probably will keep finding a chosen one, I
Speaker 2: think when to fit their needs. That's kind of the
Speaker 2: problem with prophecies. But Jason, I believe you have a
Speaker 2: more distinct belief on this one.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think it's I think is a chosen one.
Speaker 1: I think that the prophecies were pretty clear, and I
Speaker 1: think he did bring balance to the force. Now, like
Speaker 1: all prophecies worth their salt, there is a ton of
Speaker 1: context that is missing from the prophecy that detail how
Speaker 1: exactly you get to that point. But I think it's Anakin.
Speaker 1: I think it's clearly Anakin.
Speaker 2: I like the angle. He definitely did bring balance to Force.
Speaker 2: It was just like what fucking costs? Yes, yeah, okay.
Speaker 2: Another Star Wars question. JG asks over Under on one
Speaker 2: great Star Wars movie in the next decade. Do you
Speaker 2: think it's possible?
Speaker 1: Great, that's the subjectiveness of it. This decade, So we
Speaker 1: have another, let's.
Speaker 2: Call it in the next decade. So we've got ten years, so.
Speaker 1: We do have ten Yeah, well yeah, I think yeah.
Speaker 2: I think so. I think the truth is that there
Speaker 2: will be some unique, interesting take, whether it's your four
Speaker 2: hundred thousand years ago at the beginning of the Force,
Speaker 2: whether it's some slightly lower budget Western inspired Star Wars movie,
Speaker 2: whether it's a Pixar Droids movie. I just think there's
Speaker 2: so much scope, and it feels unlikely at the moment
Speaker 2: because they have struggled to find the right thing. But
Speaker 2: I believe that there will be a great Star Wars
Speaker 2: movie in the next decade, because there tends to be.
Speaker 2: I think it's a cycle. It will happen.
Speaker 1: One more short story, Mary gateskill wrote a story called
Speaker 1: The Other Place that appeared in The New Yorker maybe
Speaker 1: ten or twelve years ago. That is nothing bad happens
Speaker 1: in it, but it is really really scary from the
Speaker 1: perspective of It's written from the perspective of an adult
Speaker 1: who has a kid who is displaying the same kind
Speaker 1: of violent fantasies that he had when he was a
Speaker 1: younger man. And it terrified me, okayly terrified me.
Speaker 2: And in that case, I just actually need to say,
Speaker 2: I believe this is under the radar. If you don't
Speaker 2: randomly read like old horror shit, I would say read
Speaker 2: Shirlie Jackson's The Lottery, also published in The New Yorker.
Speaker 2: You can literally read it on the New York website.
Speaker 2: They have that sha ark that will terrify you. It
Speaker 2: will also make you so unbelievably furious that you have
Speaker 2: never come up with something so simple, and then take
Speaker 2: a great joy in reading all the letters that were
Speaker 2: written about that story when it was first published. Is
Speaker 2: probably my favorite horror story ever, and I live to
Speaker 2: create something that is just so unbelievably unsettling.
Speaker 1: Rebecca asks GENI. Survivor spoilers here. Spoilers boiler spoiler Wanning,
Speaker 1: I can't help but think about how similar passing through
Speaker 1: the Abysses two thousand and one Space Odyssey slash Interstellar,
Speaker 1: any inter dimensional travel in sci fi pop culture. Does
Speaker 1: anyone think Disney is trying to plant a multiverse seed here?
Speaker 1: I mean you could argue, oh, what a person Chris
Speaker 1: of the Rebels Ahsoka question plugiers. I think the stuff
Speaker 1: that happens at the end of Rebels very very very
Speaker 1: very clearly seeds the idea of maybe a multiverse in
Speaker 1: Star Wars. All of which is to say, Rebecca, I
Speaker 1: agree with you.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I totally agree with you. And I think that
Speaker 2: looking at like Dag and Jarah and the idea of
Speaker 2: like how long people can survive in this space, I
Speaker 2: think that there is a multiverse is always a foot
Speaker 2: especially because, as we know from the history of storytelling,
Speaker 2: that is where you get the freedom to tell all
Speaker 2: kinds of stories and then bring in what you want
Speaker 2: in a way. Star Wars is already working with that,
Speaker 2: with the way that they bring in the expanded universe
Speaker 2: and legends and kind of canonize and decanonize them. So yeah,
Speaker 2: I think Rebecca, you are correct. A asks I can
Speaker 2: sometimes be a bit burnt out from surfing the waves
Speaker 2: of the big ip content ocean, can't. We all would
Speaker 2: love to hear from you both what you think of
Speaker 2: some of the best stand alone original story genre films
Speaker 2: or shows that may have gotten lost in this plethora
Speaker 2: in the last few years and need more appreciation. I
Speaker 2: love all these horror questions, same, Jason Jeviny, Immediate things
Speaker 2: that stand out indie horror movies, shows that might not
Speaker 2: have gotten the love they deserve.
Speaker 1: Well, I've been telling you. Here's a movie that I've
Speaker 1: been talking about to you guys that I haven't mentioned
Speaker 1: on the pod. George Miller of Mad Max of bib
Speaker 1: Big released a movie Couple Man, I'm Wanna Say You're
Speaker 1: Go and a half a couple of years ago, starring
Speaker 1: adri Selber. Until the Swinton title one Thousand Years of
Speaker 1: a Longing, I almost say so, I almost like you do.
Speaker 1: And it's fucking great. It's great. Go see it. It's
Speaker 1: about a woman who unleashes a genie and the relationship
Speaker 1: they have, and it's a lot about it's honestly just
Speaker 1: like a story about storytelling and how we create, how
Speaker 1: we turn our lives into a story, how we can
Speaker 1: turn it into the story that we want to hear
Speaker 1: and see. It's really wonderful and I loved it a lot.
Speaker 2: Yeah, mine would be I think I have recommended this
Speaker 2: before on the podcast, but if I think it was
Speaker 2: because Jeff passed away sadly. But there is a movie
Speaker 2: that I just adore that's up there with my favorite
Speaker 2: horror movies of all time. It's called Blood Quantum. It
Speaker 2: was written and directed by Jeff Barnaby. It's a twenty
Speaker 2: nineteen like Canadian horror movie and it's basically about a
Speaker 2: zombie apocalypse that happens in Canada and then what if.
Speaker 2: And it's like, what if the indigenous community in the
Speaker 2: Mickmac community were not infected and what if everyone else was?
Speaker 2: And it's so so good. It's furious, it's angry. It
Speaker 2: has a brilliant cast, including kde Every Jacobs from Reservoir Dogs,
Speaker 2: Michael gray Eyes who's like an absolute legend. But it's
Speaker 2: like so good and it is just like I would
Speaker 2: love to see it at the movie theater. It was
Speaker 2: only ever on Shutter, so I never got to. But
Speaker 2: it is just like gory, fast paced, like brilliant shutter
Speaker 2: is really good for that kind of stuff. They also
Speaker 2: had a show that I was really into that came out.
Speaker 1: It's so good and it kicked documentaries.
Speaker 2: Oh my god, you're a fannal documentary.
Speaker 1: Watch the documentaries about horror on Shutter They're so good.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And it's like they did a show that I
Speaker 2: also really loved. There was a New Zealand show, an
Speaker 2: other indigenous show called The dead Lands, and it was
Speaker 2: like it's a little bit more zena ish even though
Speaker 2: it's not as serious, but it's still kind of gory
Speaker 2: and it's about a warrior who has to get like
Speaker 2: sent back into the dead lands and they come back
Speaker 2: from the afterlife to kind of find redemption. And that
Speaker 2: is just so good. Like if you like fantasy and horror,
Speaker 2: that's just such a good show. And both of those
Speaker 2: I think are up there for stuff that should have
Speaker 2: gotten a lot more shout outs. And I mean, if
Speaker 2: you wanted to watch Prey and then watch Blood Quantum,
Speaker 2: I think you would be having a really special double
Speaker 2: bill of really great indigenous genre horror.
Speaker 1: Rob Asks Suit Division was a mess on both the
Speaker 1: micro and macro levels. Which megafranchise do you think will
Speaker 1: be the first to decanonize an existing tent pole part
Speaker 1: of the franchise. Allah when EU Star Wars became Legends. Wow,
Speaker 1: I think, well, this is interesting.
Speaker 2: I think this is a really big question. I think
Speaker 2: it's a good question to ask. I also think.
Speaker 1: The Star Wars not count because either do.
Speaker 2: It in a way they're already doing it because think
Speaker 2: of something like Agents of Shield that was emc U canon,
Speaker 2: it was sold as emc U canon. Caang, it's about
Speaker 2: to happen, baby. I just don't think they're gonna do it.
Speaker 2: I think we're moved past the time of like somebody
Speaker 2: from corporate saying we on, this is no longer can
Speaker 2: like they did never happened. That made people. That makes
Speaker 2: people angry. It makes fans feel like they invested their
Speaker 2: time in something that isn't worthwhile or doesn't matter. So
Speaker 2: I think we're more in a space where it's going
Speaker 2: to be kind of like we talked about this before
Speaker 2: for Dark World, a lot of that felt like it
Speaker 2: wasn't really important until they made it important again. And
Speaker 2: I think rather than decanonizing anything definitively, you're gonna be
Speaker 2: in a space where something like Agents of Shield, they
Speaker 2: had the dark Hold, and they used a different one
Speaker 2: in the new movies. They had morgana the Faye, but
Speaker 2: they they gonna She's gonna be a different character, you know.
Speaker 2: Like it's very interesting, but I think they're kind of
Speaker 2: already doing it. They're just not And as as Rob
Speaker 2: greatly points out here, he says, all will studios just say, oh,
Speaker 2: it's a different timeline. Yeah, I think that's the same thing.
Speaker 1: Along those lines. I do think it is very possible,
Speaker 1: considering the kind of structural issues that the MCU has
Speaker 1: with with they're kind of original stars on the way
Speaker 1: out or largely having left already, and the ongoing superhero fatigue.
Speaker 1: There's kind of beset culture. I do think that there
Speaker 1: is like a non zero chance that the MCU is
Speaker 1: just like kills everybody, go yeah, just comes and kills
Speaker 1: everybody after Fantastic Four and they restart the whole thing.
Speaker 2: Also, because if you're smart, in my opinion, the X
Speaker 2: Men movies, the x Men universe that they inevitably lead
Speaker 2: to under Marvel Studios doesn't need to be part of
Speaker 2: the MCU. That's just x Men, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2: The MCU can be done. So I agree with you
Speaker 2: I think that's really real.
Speaker 1: X Ray Vision will be back and we're back.
Speaker 2: Okay. Ronan the Key asks what's the best fan theory
Speaker 2: or wish this was true for you?
Speaker 1: Well, this actually might be true, but I'm gonna say
Speaker 1: that that Polly betrayed Tony at the end of The
Speaker 1: Sopranos and was the one who ordered Slash engineered the
Speaker 1: what is clearly a David Various David Chase comments have
Speaker 1: made it clear that Tony does die at the end
Speaker 1: of The Sopranos, and there had been for many years
Speaker 1: now has been an active theory that, because of certain
Speaker 1: conversations that happened, and including one outside of Centril's, that
Speaker 1: Paully is the guy who basically pushed the button to
Speaker 1: make it happen, and you know, made a deal with
Speaker 1: New York so that he would then take over the family.
Speaker 1: And I have always found it really compelling and I
Speaker 1: continue to find it compelling, and I hope it's true.
Speaker 1: What about you?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 2: I love that mine is. This is like a movie
Speaker 2: pitch that felt very realistic for a little while, but
Speaker 2: is inevitably never going to happen. This was a Comic
Speaker 2: Shop favorite conversation when I was still working in the shop,
Speaker 2: and it was the idea that you would do a
Speaker 2: Fantastic Four movie and you would have Tiker probably as
Speaker 2: the kind of years went on directing and playing mister Fantastic,
Speaker 2: and it would begin in the sixties and be like
Speaker 2: an out there kind of Tiger style party, and then
Speaker 2: you move them to the present MCU as like a
Speaker 2: fish out of water tail after they've been in the
Speaker 2: negative zone. That came up so many times as just
Speaker 2: something that like friends said or that I would think about,
Speaker 2: and then multiple people started and I think when Matt
Speaker 2: Shackman first got kind of connected to it, that was
Speaker 2: the theory of like what the movie might be about.
Speaker 2: I don't think they'll do that. I think that the
Speaker 2: Fantastic Four will exist in their own space. But I
Speaker 2: really would have loved to see that kind of like
Speaker 2: swinging sixties Fantastic four and then thrown into a fish
Speaker 2: out of water scenario.
Speaker 1: That would be really really why.
Speaker 2: I still think it's the best way to do it,
Speaker 2: and I wish we hadn't kind of missed the boat
Speaker 2: for Tiger being the right person on that. But yeah,
Speaker 2: that was that's mine that I think about a lot Okay,
Speaker 2: Jan and Nil nineteen eighty two asks what is the
Speaker 2: next Barbenheimer and why is it not Saw Patrol?
Speaker 1: Okay, sow Patrol for those of you who are not
Speaker 1: online enough, is the idea that much like the Barbenheimer phenomenon,
Speaker 1: Saw X.
Speaker 2: I believe it, Yes, it is the tenth Saw movies, Saw.
Speaker 1: X and the paw Patrol supercre movie will then combine
Speaker 1: to create this you know, cinema going weekend event called
Speaker 1: Saw Patrol. Uh. Honestly, like, in terms of the label.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a lab well, I think that's the thing.
Speaker 2: It's the titling is so good. I will say, culturally,
Speaker 2: outside of America, this is a lot harder to do
Speaker 2: because I don't know how many people know the ins
Speaker 2: and outs of movie rating systems, but our ratings are
Speaker 2: very very unique. In England, for example, Saw will be
Speaker 2: rated eighteen and no one under eighteen will be able
Speaker 2: to go and see it, So I think that cuts
Speaker 2: off a little bit of the accessibility of Barbenheimer, where
Speaker 2: a lot of people could go and see both. Though
Speaker 2: actually Oppenheimer was al rated, so maybe I'm wrong. Is
Speaker 2: the crossover as large for a animated kids movie trying
Speaker 2: to get rid of the coppaganda of the cartoon and
Speaker 2: turn them into superheroes. And a prequel about Jigsaw getting
Speaker 2: scammed by a cancer treatment unit so he decides to
Speaker 2: kill them. All sounds like I would watch it, By
Speaker 2: the way, I don't know, but I do. I like.
Speaker 2: I don't like studios trying to recreate this, but I
Speaker 2: do like how much fun people are having putting these
Speaker 2: things together. And Saw Patrol is just it works so
Speaker 2: well in the name, like you just can't you can't
Speaker 2: hate it. But what will the next one be? We
Speaker 2: will never know, and it will happen and it will
Speaker 2: be so random and we'll all be in shock. Though,
Speaker 2: if you go and see por Patrol and Saw X
Speaker 2: on the same day, please tell us.
Speaker 1: Gosh, uh, I'm just like picking one at random. It's
Speaker 1: if they're gonna do it. Here's the movies that I
Speaker 1: think you could possibly do it with as the kind
Speaker 1: of uh as the more serious version of the movie,
Speaker 1: like the Oppenheimer in this formulation. I think you could
Speaker 1: do it with Dune Part two. I think you could
Speaker 1: do it with and It just again requires that other movie.
Speaker 1: I think you could do it with The Hunger Games,
Speaker 1: the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Yeah, honestly, Hunger Trolls.
Speaker 1: I think Patrol.
Speaker 2: Is good. The Trolls is good, especially because Trolls is
Speaker 2: a musical. Yeah. And also the new Hunger Games movie
Speaker 2: is like an insane like retro futuristic steam punk movie,
Speaker 2: so they're very different.
Speaker 1: I like that Napoleon. I've come to you to say
Speaker 1: it can happen Napoleon. How about this Napoleo. So it's
Speaker 1: Napoleon and Leo starring Adam Sandler.
Speaker 2: Wow. Okay, that's the one, because that's fast as fuck.
Speaker 1: So the movie and the week would call would be
Speaker 1: called Napoleo.
Speaker 2: Wow. Ridley Scott, listen to that one. Get make it
Speaker 2: happen baby? Okay.
Speaker 1: Bertolt mech asks thoughts on the Health Fire Gala and
Speaker 1: the potential end of the Best X Men status quo,
Speaker 1: since at least Morrison I could argue best, I think
Speaker 1: it is best. I have not read the Health Fire Gala.
Speaker 2: Lisa Rosie, I'm just gonna say I agree. I'm not
Speaker 2: going to do any spoilers and listen out on your
Speaker 2: feeds for when we come back, because the hell Fire
Speaker 2: Gala issue or episode is on it's too long to
Speaker 2: talk about right now, but you're not wrong, and it's
Speaker 2: definitely going to be a conversation we have in the future.
Speaker 1: Sarah asks, why have Marvel movies lost some of their
Speaker 1: sparkle lately? Who? I think, you know, just this is
Speaker 1: naturally what happens.
Speaker 2: Yeah, transitional phase.
Speaker 1: We're in a transitional phase. There are always going to
Speaker 1: be issues with regards to the you know, the cast leaving,
Speaker 1: and I think clearly they over invested in the space
Speaker 1: yes saturation, which honestly is you could criticize them for this.
Speaker 1: I would argue that every single movie studio that had
Speaker 1: this rocket ship would have exactly done the same thing.
Speaker 1: Where's where is the break even point in the money
Speaker 1: if more money keeps coming out the more we invest, exactly,
Speaker 1: and shouldn't we just keep investing and see how much
Speaker 1: money comes out? Like every This is uh, this is
Speaker 1: the incentive that underpins basically our entire system of doing things.
Speaker 1: But I think this is always going to happen.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's you got to remember endgame. You're talking about
Speaker 2: like the biggest movie on Earth. It's going to be
Speaker 2: incredibly hard to follow that up, especially when those movies
Speaker 2: had been barreling along at such an unbelievable speed and
Speaker 2: rate of success. I think it was a lack of planning.
Speaker 2: I think it is a slight confusion about what made
Speaker 2: people love the movies. Yeah, and I also think it's
Speaker 2: this transitional phase. How do you follow up the biggest
Speaker 2: movie in the world, as we've seen, it's really really hard.
Speaker 2: But that's not to say we haven't had incredible things
Speaker 2: Wonder Vision. I still stand that that is going to
Speaker 2: stand for years as just a truly great television series.
Speaker 2: And I think, as we've kind of spoken about before,
Speaker 2: the best thing about this phase, which seems kind of
Speaker 2: messed up and weird and in you know, a lot
Speaker 2: of ebbs and flows, there's going to be a lot
Speaker 2: of cool stuff to kind of wreck on and pull from.
Speaker 2: And also if it leads to other people go in
Speaker 2: and see them movies like Barbie Oppenheimer, Teenager and Ninja Turtles,
Speaker 2: you know, cool like go see other movies, and the
Speaker 2: MCU will still be around. These comics have been around
Speaker 2: for almost one hundred years. The movies are still going
Speaker 2: to be here. But yeah, I think it's a lack
Speaker 2: of planning, and I think it's very very hard to
Speaker 2: follow up the most successful movie of all time.
Speaker 1: I think it's just very hard. The chase asque what's
Speaker 1: more important for franchise IP satif satisfying old nerds or
Speaker 1: generating new nerds? Wow, interesting existential question.
Speaker 2: I believe it is a balance of both. I think,
Speaker 2: do you have to introduce new audiences? Hence why think
Speaker 2: about Star Wars, think about superhero movies, think about Ninja titles.
Speaker 2: A lot of what they're doing with those movies is
Speaker 2: selling merchandise to children, and that is the children's entry
Speaker 2: point into the movie. I think that making things accessible.
Speaker 2: I love the recall model. I love The Force Awakens,
Speaker 2: I love the New Scream movies. I think you can
Speaker 2: do something really fun where you have legacy characters but
Speaker 2: introduce new audiences with new characters. I think the reason
Speaker 2: The Force Awakens was so successful financially is because it
Speaker 2: essentially was a retread of what worked well in Star
Speaker 2: Wars as a jumping off point to then something so
Speaker 2: different and incredible like The Last Jedi. I think that
Speaker 2: it's a balance of both. I think there's no harm
Speaker 2: in Easter eggs in fan service. I love those things.
Speaker 2: I love seeing a character that. I know, I love
Speaker 2: getting a nod to the source material, but I think
Speaker 2: nothing is going to survive without new audiences. So I
Speaker 2: think it's a balance of both.
Speaker 1: I think you're exactly right, and I think for an
Speaker 1: example of something that got the balance way wrong, you
Speaker 1: can just look at a movie we recently covered Indian
Speaker 1: Drones and Style of Destiny, which made almost no attempt
Speaker 1: to bring in anyway fans, and it's just kind of
Speaker 1: like a movie the for like senors, I guess, and
Speaker 1: did they like it? You know, it's like not, It's yeah,
Speaker 1: that's what happens when you get that balance from mm hmm.
Speaker 2: Okay. Another good thank you super producers all for these combinations,
Speaker 2: because it's another great existential question. My Pneybone good Name asks.
Speaker 2: I'm just wondering if your mood or state of mind
Speaker 2: affects your viewing experience when you are watching fandom related content.
Speaker 2: Me So like I would say yes, because like, if
Speaker 2: I'm in a chill mood and I'm feeling open minded
Speaker 2: and i just want to watch something fun, I can
Speaker 2: enjoy something that is maybe objectively not great. But if
Speaker 2: I'm feeling like kind of bummed out and down watching something.
Speaker 2: I'll be honest, we can't watching Secret Invasion. It could
Speaker 2: kind of bum me out, like I'm not if i
Speaker 2: wasn't in an open minded mood where I'm like so
Speaker 2: many people worked on this, like this is something that
Speaker 2: people spend a lot of time on. When I'm thinking
Speaker 2: like that, I can appreciate. But if I'm feeling kind
Speaker 2: of down or something and I watch something that doesn't
Speaker 2: necessarily adapt something that I really love, I can definitely
Speaker 2: be affected by it. I can also be affected by
Speaker 2: watching something and that thing bumming me out if it's
Speaker 2: like depressing, or even if it's really really great but
Speaker 2: still kind of bleak, Like I definitely have to sometimes
Speaker 2: I just have to watch like a cozy mode of mystery.
Speaker 2: If I'm feeling down, I can't be putting on like
Speaker 2: an anxiety interesting show.
Speaker 1: I'm the same, and that's for any content. It doesn't
Speaker 1: have to be even nerdy stuff like I recently finished
Speaker 1: The Bear season two, and that's a show that like,
Speaker 1: I can't.
Speaker 2: I'm longing out watching episode seven. I cannot do it.
Speaker 1: It's just too much, too much screaming, too much, people
Speaker 1: being toxic. Too many times, I'm like yelling at the screen.
Speaker 1: Just fire this fucking person already, Like.
Speaker 2: Yeah, oh you fucking quit if you don't want to
Speaker 2: do it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's fucking quid. And it's so well made that
Speaker 1: it just like creates those feelings in my body that
Speaker 1: I then have to be like, Okay, I gotta just
Speaker 1: like watch below Deck or something like that, Like I
Speaker 1: just gotta throw on you know, vander Pump Rules or
Speaker 1: something very very light. Yeah. Absolutely my mood. All of
Speaker 1: which is to say, usually it's not my mood that
Speaker 1: affects how I respond to the thing. It's the thing
Speaker 1: affecting my mood. Yeah, Mike Asks, congratulations. Rosie and Jason Frall,
Speaker 1: they're awesome writing lately. They you have a lot of
Speaker 1: amazing things from cover stories to comics to movies. It's
Speaker 1: amazing as a fan to get to follow. I would
Speaker 1: love categorically any XRV writing discussion on really any aspects
Speaker 1: of those processes.
Speaker 2: Okay, so for me, I think me and jaysonatchally quite
Speaker 2: similar on this. But like, I love writing stuff, but
Speaker 2: finishing stuff is very hard. So something that I always
Speaker 2: try and do is just get through a first draft
Speaker 2: as quickly as possible. That is like my biggest tip,
Speaker 2: especially if it's something shorter, a comic script, a screenplay,
Speaker 2: a pilot. Guys Done is Spooly Love. She is smooching
Speaker 2: super producer Chris. She knows it's the last episode and
Speaker 2: she's saying goodbye in a romantic way. But yeah, I
Speaker 2: just I try and finish stuff. Doing something I'm trying
Speaker 2: to do at the moment. I've got a novel that
Speaker 2: I'm trying to finish by the end of the year.
Speaker 2: I am doing our long writing sprints and just separating
Speaker 2: an hour off and really really trying to finish something.
Speaker 2: Also something I'm doing is just appreciating how much actual
Speaker 2: writing output I have because I do writing challenges. I've
Speaker 2: done two thousand words of summer, which is really great.
Speaker 2: But the truth is I didn't really realize until I
Speaker 2: started doing them that a lot of people don't really
Speaker 2: write anything in a day. But sometimes even if I'm
Speaker 2: not writing the thing I want to write, like a
Speaker 2: novel or a screenplay or a pilot or something, I
Speaker 2: will be writing like five thousand words for multiple outlets.
Speaker 2: So also just recognizing that my output is really high
Speaker 2: and it's just about recentering on my stories. That's what
Speaker 2: I'm trying to focus on at the moment, so that's me.
Speaker 2: I try and do writing sprints and also just try
Speaker 2: and finish the thing and then go back in at it.
Speaker 1: That's my number one thing is finish the thing. There's
Speaker 1: a great I've purchased every single book about writing that
Speaker 1: there is to purchase, and one of the best ones.
Speaker 1: I'll give you my two favorites on writing by Stephen King,
Speaker 1: which just has great, great, great nuts and bolts, how
Speaker 1: to do it, what you don't need to do kind
Speaker 1: of stuff from a master shortteller. And and Laman Spurred
Speaker 1: My Bird, which is more of a philosophical take but
Speaker 1: which has some of the great revelations that have changed
Speaker 1: my writing life. And the most important one is shitty
Speaker 1: first drafts. Yeah, your first version of whatever the thing
Speaker 1: you're writing is is going to be bad. Let it
Speaker 1: be bad and don't question it. So I do the
Speaker 1: same thing Rosie does. Let's take a TV script, like
Speaker 1: a half hour sitcom script for egasample. I will try
Speaker 1: to write that in one or two days, like as
Speaker 1: fast as I can vomit it out with placeholder jokes
Speaker 1: like here, character A does a joke and character A
Speaker 1: character b response to the joke, like some cliche dialogue.
Speaker 2: Let go back and.
Speaker 1: Just get it down, because that's the hardest part because
Speaker 1: there's always that voice that's going to be there that goes,
Speaker 1: this fucking sucks, this bad, Holy shit, this is so bad.
Speaker 1: What if people see this? And it's important that you
Speaker 1: have that voice because that's going to be the thing
Speaker 1: that powers you through the editing where you rewrite and
Speaker 1: you make it good. But you'll never get there if
Speaker 1: all you do is listen to that voice and you
Speaker 1: just here's a thing that happens, has happened to me.
Speaker 1: And continuing to also continue to try to finish my
Speaker 1: novel is if I read what I wrote last night,
Speaker 1: then I'll just keep rewriting it. And I'll just keep
Speaker 1: rewriting it, and next thing you know, for two weeks,
Speaker 1: I've been working on the same chapter, the same paragraph,
Speaker 1: two paragraphs in a chapter. Just finish it. It doesn't
Speaker 1: matter if it fucking sucks. It's it's supposed to be
Speaker 1: really bad, it's supposed to be really really really shitty.
Speaker 1: Finish it and then go back and then you can
Speaker 1: make it better and make it better and make it better.
Speaker 1: So just like I cannot stress this is enough for
Speaker 1: your first draft. Whatever you're writing, it's gonna suck. It's
Speaker 1: gonna suck. Mute the voice that is telling you it sucks,
Speaker 1: and just push through and to the end. The second
Speaker 1: you start feeling yourself reading two sentences before where you
Speaker 1: are or three sentences or a paragraph and going oh shit,
Speaker 1: that's bad, stop and just maybe close the document and
Speaker 1: come back and you feel like you can just like finish.
Speaker 1: You can push through again and just don't reread until
Speaker 1: you finish. That's it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And the other thing I would say, just find
Speaker 2: friends who want to read your stuff. That will be
Speaker 2: the ones who help you go from bad first draft.
Speaker 2: It's a great second job. It's amazing third draft. With
Speaker 2: my Pilo and my screenplays, having friends read them over
Speaker 2: go oh this works or this doesn't work or this
Speaker 2: person needs more has been like invaluable. So I would
Speaker 2: definitely say.
Speaker 1: That that's very important. And to add on to that,
Speaker 1: when you're getting notes from your friends, again super important
Speaker 1: to be able to have those people that you trust
Speaker 1: to give you the notes. If you're in a place
Speaker 1: where you're not finished, it's okay to tell them, hey,
Speaker 1: don't give me a note that will make me go back,
Speaker 1: you know, just again. It's the hardest thing to do,
Speaker 1: but finish, finish.
Speaker 2: It, and you'll feel so good when you know you
Speaker 2: can finish one thing. It makes finishing everything else so
Speaker 2: much easier.
Speaker 1: Yeah, just finish it up next to it out.
Speaker 2: In today's not outweare you tell us what you love them, why,
Speaker 2: a theory you're excited to share, or a quick question
Speaker 2: we can answer. And you have sent us so many
Speaker 2: over the last two years. Heh friend of the pod
Speaker 2: and co host of the Escape Patch podcast, which you
Speaker 2: might know is Doom Pod, pitches us on honestly one
Speaker 2: of the best shows of like the last decade, which
Speaker 2: is Warrior.
Speaker 3: Jason and Rosie, it's h for the final nerd out
Speaker 3: of X Ray Vision Volume one. I wanted to point
Speaker 3: you out at the excellent TV show Warrior, currently streaming
Speaker 3: on Max. The show was created by Jonathan Tropper, the
Speaker 3: creator and showrunner of the groundbreaking action drama series Banshee
Speaker 3: that launched Anthony Starr's career, produced by Justin.
Speaker 4: Lynn, and is based on the writings of Bruce Lee.
Speaker 3: A historical martial arts drama set in eighteen seventies San Francisco.
Speaker 3: It follows the story of our hero, Assam, a recent
Speaker 3: Chinese immigrant who comes to America with nothing to find
Speaker 3: his sister, who was previously sent over. Assam is quickly
Speaker 3: sucked into the Tong Wars, with competing Chinese gangs fighting
Speaker 3: for control of the illicit trades in San Francisco. The
Speaker 3: series features incredible martial arts action, all of which is
Speaker 3: extremely grounded, beautifully intricate, and always story driven. But the
Speaker 3: show really shines because of the fantastic characters, including the
Speaker 3: heads of the competing Chinese gangs, the unemployed Irish masses
Speaker 3: indignant at a new wave of immigrants being exploited and
Speaker 3: taking their jobs, the mostly Irish cops trying to keep
Speaker 3: the peace, and the business and political forces manipulating everyone
Speaker 3: to keep the money flowing same as it ever was.
Speaker 3: All of this is set to a bangin Riza style soundtrack,
Speaker 3: with each episode ending with a different killer Chinese rap song,
Speaker 3: so you will be seriously entertained while you take it
Speaker 3: all in. However, what makes the show truly unique is
Speaker 3: its representation of Asian and Asian American people. Series leads
Speaker 3: Andrew Coogi, Whoon Lee Diane Doane and Olivia Chang are
Speaker 3: never shown as caricatures, stereotypes, or side characters.
Speaker 1: Rather, they are.
Speaker 3: The center of attention and fully flushed out with their
Speaker 3: own agency at the center of the show. I remember
Speaker 3: an interview with Alan Yang, producer of Louke and Master
Speaker 3: of None.
Speaker 4: Saying that Hollywood never even shows the intimacy of Asian
Speaker 4: characters kissing.
Speaker 3: Well, this show's a hell of a lot more than that,
Speaker 3: and leads viewers with a lot to think about in
Speaker 3: terms of our legacy of exploitation, though never in a
Speaker 3: preachy or sanctimonious way. If you love great storytelling and
Speaker 3: stunning martial arts, this is the show you've been waiting for.
Speaker 3: The season three finale airs this week, and all three
Speaker 3: seasons are streaming now on Max. Watch the first five
Speaker 3: minutes of episode one and you'll be hooked. On a
Speaker 3: final note on behalf of all the fans of the pod,
Speaker 3: including the Fantastic community and the discord, I wanted to
Speaker 3: say thanks to both of you and the entire production
Speaker 3: team for all the hard work and passion you've brought
Speaker 3: the last two years to make incredible episodes week after week.
Speaker 3: You've inspired us to not only be passionate about the
Speaker 3: stories we love, but to care about and support the
Speaker 3: creators and the unique stories they're telling.
Speaker 4: Thank you. Cannot wait for volume two of the show
Speaker 4: to begin. Peace out.
Speaker 2: Thanks h. If you have theories, passions, or quick questions
Speaker 2: you want to share, hit us up at x ray
Speaker 2: at crooked dot com. Instructions are in the show notes.
Speaker 1: That's it for us, Rosie any plugs.
Speaker 2: Just keep an eye on your feeds to hear why
Speaker 2: You're gonna hear us next. You can follow me Rosie
Speaker 2: marks at Instagram and they're boxed and yeah, like, thank
Speaker 2: you for listening.
Speaker 1: Same here. We'll be back soon, hopefully soon. We're not
Speaker 1: touch would hopefully soon. Secondarily, I co wrote a movie
Speaker 1: with Shay Serano that's on a platform that's struck, so
Speaker 1: I won't mention it, but if you use the Google Machine,
Speaker 1: you can figure out what it is and you.
Speaker 2: Can watch it if you want to, if you want to.
Speaker 1: Some quick thank yous to some of the people who
Speaker 1: have been really so integral to the creation and running
Speaker 1: of this pod. It couldn't have happened without them. First
Speaker 1: and foremosts are our super producers, Chris Lori and Saul Ruben,
Speaker 1: who have been amazing every week, week in, week out,
Speaker 1: getting the prep ready, helping us with fact check, and
Speaker 1: just basically being kind of like a compass on what
Speaker 1: we're doing. Vasillis who Without Vacillis, everything would sound like crap.
Speaker 2: You would never be able to hear us, It would
Speaker 2: sound bad.
Speaker 1: Delon, who without whom you would never see us and
Speaker 1: never know what we look like. Just a fantastic person.
Speaker 1: Ryan Wallashton who came in late but helped me tremendously
Speaker 1: on Takeline and is just like an all around great guy.
Speaker 1: Nikki Shane and Bradford, without whom many of our omnibuses
Speaker 1: would have been factually wrong, just incorrect, incorrect. Kendrick James,
Speaker 1: who helped us on the management side, Jordan Sarah, Caroline
Speaker 1: Restin who again was like really really influential on Takeline
Speaker 1: and again here on launching x ray Vision. Sandy Gerard
Speaker 1: who just like helped put together so many of the
Speaker 1: really really important pieces away. Akulatee who helped us on
Speaker 1: the social side so that people could get the message out.
Speaker 1: Caroline Dunfee, Sam ben Desi on the marketing side, Gabby
Speaker 1: Leverrette and of course, the founders John John and Tommy
Speaker 1: who gave us a shot here at Crooked and let
Speaker 1: us run a show that is crazy. Carlton Gillespie who
Speaker 1: again helped launch the show and it was super super
Speaker 1: important on the takeline side. And Brian Vasquez who sadly
Speaker 1: is no longer with us but wrote the fantastic and
Speaker 1: catchy title song to extra vision and all the kind
Speaker 1: of like interstitial little musical pieces. Thank you to all
Speaker 1: of those folks. Yeah, could not have done it without it.
Speaker 2: And thank you to everyone who listened to the show
Speaker 2: and just sent your super cool questions and theories, who
Speaker 2: joined us in the discord, who left us really nice
Speaker 2: five star reviews, and who just supported the podcast and
Speaker 2: made this like a really incredible community.
Speaker 1: We love. We love bringing stuff that we love talking
Speaker 1: about to people who also love it, So thank you
Speaker 1: to all of you.
Speaker 2: You can watch full episodes of the podcast on YouTube now.
Speaker 2: Also check out a Twitter at xr v port and
Speaker 2: you can join Audist Code. While we will still be
Speaker 2: hanging out with there, We're still in the discord. It's
Speaker 2: still going baby, and that's a great place to get
Speaker 2: info on what will happen next.
Speaker 1: Five star ratings, five star reviews, Weed and we Gotta
Speaker 1: Have You Gotta give us this. Here's one from track Man.
Speaker 1: Best pop culture podcast out there.
Speaker 2: Wow, five star reviews.
Speaker 1: Thanks It's.
Speaker 2: Podcast, Thank You.
Speaker 1: Extra Vision is a Crooked Media production. The show is
Speaker 1: produced by Chris Lord and Solrubin. Executive produced by.
Speaker 4: Me Jason Temps.
Speaker 1: You and O are editing. A sound design is by
Speaker 1: Chriscillis Fatopoulos. Video production by Delon Villanueva and Rachel Guayeski.
Speaker 1: Social media by Awa Oklati and Caroline Dunfie. Thank you
Speaker 1: to Brian Basquez.
Speaker 2: For our themes.
Speaker 1: We'll be back. If you're looking for more takes on
Speaker 1: the nerd culture you know and love, We're excited to
Speaker 1: tell you about the geek Buddies. The geek Buddies John,
Speaker 1: Michael and Shannon are writers, critics, actors, and EPs, and
Speaker 1: most importantly friends and as the geek Buddies, they're inviting
Speaker 1: you into their conversation where they discuss their first impressions
Speaker 1: of new shows, movies, give in depth reviews, and generally
Speaker 1: just share their thoughts and everything geek in the world
Speaker 1: of entertainment. And boy do they have thoughts since they've
Speaker 1: each been in the industry for a while. You won't
Speaker 1: just hear the fan experience, though they certainly are fans
Speaker 1: as well. They'll share the goss their opinions from the
Speaker 1: creator side of things, So tune in to hear the
Speaker 1: latest on Marvel in DC, casting news for your favorite franchises,
Speaker 1: and so much more. You can watch The Geek Buddies
Speaker 1: on YouTube or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever
Speaker 1: you get your podcasts. So hang out with your buddies,
Speaker 1: the geek Buddies. It's a great time over there.