1
00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:17,720
Speaker 1: Welcome to Daily Variety, your daily dose of news and

2
00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:22,360
Speaker 1: analysis for entertainment industry insiders. It's Monday, November tenth, twenty

3
00:00:22,360 --> 00:00:25,880
Speaker 1: twenty five. I'm your host, Cynthia Lyttleton. I am co

4
00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:29,880
Speaker 1: editor in chief of Variety alongside Ramin Setuda. I'm in LA.

5
00:00:30,280 --> 00:00:32,879
Speaker 1: He's in New York and Righty has reporters around the

6
00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:36,360
Speaker 1: world covering the business of entertainment. On today's episode, we'll

7
00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:39,440
Speaker 1: break down the weekend box office with Variety's Rebecca Rubin,

8
00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:42,760
Speaker 1: and then we'll hear from Jordan Murrow about his profile

9
00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:46,919
Speaker 1: of writer director Edgar Wright, the stylish British helmer behind

10
00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:50,520
Speaker 1: next weekend's big movie opener, The Running Man. But before

11
00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:52,960
Speaker 1: we get to that, here are a few headlines just

12
00:00:53,040 --> 00:00:55,720
Speaker 1: in this morning that you need to know. BBC News

13
00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:58,520
Speaker 1: is in a world of hurt right now. Two top leaders,

14
00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:02,120
Speaker 1: Tim Davey and Debra Turner have stepped down amid accusations

15
00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:06,280
Speaker 1: that BBC News deceptively edited footage of Donald Trump related

16
00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:10,080
Speaker 1: to the January sixth riot. Trump is now threatening legal action.

17
00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:13,280
Speaker 1: It's a big mess being sorted through. One thing's for sure.

18
00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:16,959
Speaker 1: This scandal has just made every journalist's job that much harder.

19
00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:20,520
Speaker 1: Speaking of a changing landscape for journalism, CNN has struck

20
00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:24,000
Speaker 1: what my colleague Brian Steinberg calls a bold advertising deal

21
00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:27,200
Speaker 1: with T Mobile. T Mobile's logo will turn up often

22
00:01:27,319 --> 00:01:31,200
Speaker 1: on CNN's digital screens when CNN reporters and correspondents deliver

23
00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:34,880
Speaker 1: live reportage from outside the studio. The great Vince Gill

24
00:01:34,959 --> 00:01:37,880
Speaker 1: will be honored with the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Kudo

25
00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:41,240
Speaker 1: at the fifty ninth Annual CMA Awards. To Wear Live

26
00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:44,480
Speaker 1: November nineteenth on ABC. I love the way he plays

27
00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:48,040
Speaker 1: and don't skip Chris Willman's review of Saturday's five hour

28
00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:51,240
Speaker 1: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. It's packed

29
00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:55,200
Speaker 1: with great quotes, great photos, and great Wilman observations. All

30
00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:57,680
Speaker 1: of these stories and so much more can be found

31
00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:05,320
Speaker 1: on Variety dot com Right now. Now it's time for

32
00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:10,880
Speaker 1: conversations with Friday journalists about news and trends in show business.

33
00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:15,560
Speaker 1: If it's Monday, we're talking box office with Rebecca Rubin,

34
00:02:15,919 --> 00:02:19,280
Speaker 1: Variety's Box Office chief Predator bad Lands impressed in its

35
00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:23,040
Speaker 1: opening weekend to the relief of Disney in twentieth century studios,

36
00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:26,640
Speaker 1: but star Power, couldn't say paramounts Die My Love or

37
00:02:26,639 --> 00:02:30,280
Speaker 1: the indie boxing biopic Christy. Even with Sydney Sweeney on

38
00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:33,519
Speaker 1: the Marquee well Rebecca, it was a Predator bad Lands

39
00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:36,519
Speaker 1: kind of weekend at the box office. Obviously, this movie,

40
00:02:36,600 --> 00:02:40,959
Speaker 1: the umpteenth in this enduring franchise, did pretty well got

41
00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:43,919
Speaker 1: the faithful out. Did it surprise you that Predator bad

42
00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:46,160
Speaker 1: Lands led the box office this week?

43
00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:50,720
Speaker 2: So heading to the weekend, Predator Badlands was getting really

44
00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:53,440
Speaker 2: great word of mouth, and I thought that might help

45
00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:57,560
Speaker 2: the film overperform in his opening weekend, and I definitely

46
00:02:57,600 --> 00:03:00,799
Speaker 2: think that's what ended up happening. De project directions were

47
00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:03,440
Speaker 2: that the film was going to make between twenty five

48
00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:06,920
Speaker 2: and thirty million, and it ended up making forty million,

49
00:03:07,160 --> 00:03:10,880
Speaker 2: which is a much needed win, not only for the

50
00:03:10,919 --> 00:03:13,960
Speaker 2: box office, but Disney has surprisingly not had such a

51
00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:18,040
Speaker 2: great streak with tron Ares not doing so well, in

52
00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:20,320
Speaker 2: the spring Steen movie not doing so well.

53
00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:23,080
Speaker 1: And their earnings are coming on Thursday, so never hurts

54
00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:26,560
Speaker 1: to have an overperforming opening. Once again, let me ask

55
00:03:26,600 --> 00:03:29,000
Speaker 1: you what was large format a factor here? Did this

56
00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:32,480
Speaker 1: have the visual spectacle that people go to for those

57
00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:33,200
Speaker 1: kinds of things.

58
00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:37,880
Speaker 2: Absolutely, so nearly sixty percent of the domestic tally came

59
00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:43,040
Speaker 2: from premium large formats that included Imax Dolby. Also three

60
00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:46,920
Speaker 2: D was popular, and so it's showing again that the

61
00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:50,080
Speaker 2: visual spectacle is really a big draw to get people

62
00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:55,280
Speaker 2: to theaters. And you mentioned there's been many many Predator sequels, reboosts,

63
00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:59,400
Speaker 2: crossover films, and this film had the biggest domestic and

64
00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:04,040
Speaker 2: global launch of the nine films in the property, and

65
00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:09,200
Speaker 2: so it's definitely an encouraging sign that audiences are still

66
00:04:09,240 --> 00:04:12,640
Speaker 2: interested in it. And this is the first theatrical entry

67
00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:17,680
Speaker 2: since the Disney and twentieth Century Fox merger. The last

68
00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:21,000
Speaker 2: two installments one was Prey which came out in twenty

69
00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,760
Speaker 2: twenty two, and then another one was an animated adventure

70
00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:28,080
Speaker 2: that's called Killer of Killers that came out in June,

71
00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:32,039
Speaker 2: and those both were direct to streaming movies. Disney's actually

72
00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:35,840
Speaker 2: had a lot of great success recently in reviving twentieth

73
00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:38,880
Speaker 2: century franchises, and so this was just another notch on

74
00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:42,200
Speaker 2: showing the long term value of acquiring that library.

75
00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:44,760
Speaker 1: That is the value of this kind of ip. And

76
00:04:45,040 --> 00:04:47,480
Speaker 1: I just have to chuckle because bad Lands, of course,

77
00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:51,360
Speaker 1: is a nineteen seventy three independent film by Terrence Malick,

78
00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:54,799
Speaker 1: very moody, very seventies cinema, and I was just thinking

79
00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:58,040
Speaker 1: about the juxtaposition. I think clearly the next Predator movie

80
00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:00,719
Speaker 1: should be in the hands of Terrence Malick. So again,

81
00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:03,719
Speaker 1: this was a nice surprise. Anything it all stand out

82
00:05:03,720 --> 00:05:06,040
Speaker 1: to you about the performance this weekend.

83
00:05:05,880 --> 00:05:08,839
Speaker 2: There were a bunch of movies that opened that were

84
00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:13,040
Speaker 2: catering more towards older audiences or art house crowds. By contrast,

85
00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:16,160
Speaker 2: Predator Badlands was, of course a big budget tent pole

86
00:05:16,240 --> 00:05:19,240
Speaker 2: that's trying to get all audiences to theaters. Some of

87
00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:22,840
Speaker 2: the movies that were targeting not such a broad audience

88
00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:26,680
Speaker 2: were Die My Love, which is a dark psychological drama

89
00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:31,599
Speaker 2: with Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson. Another one was Sydney

90
00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:37,120
Speaker 2: Sweeney's boxing biopic Christy that's about the trailblazing boxer. And

91
00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:41,520
Speaker 2: neither of those movies did particularly well this weekend. They

92
00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:45,120
Speaker 2: both were in low single digits. For a movie like

93
00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:48,120
Speaker 2: Die My Love bought that of can and they paid

94
00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:51,839
Speaker 2: twenty four million dollars. Die My Love also got a

95
00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:56,480
Speaker 2: D plus grade on CinemaScore exit polls, which it's pretty

96
00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:58,960
Speaker 2: rare for a film to get that kind of a grade,

97
00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:02,120
Speaker 2: but when they do, it's really because a film is

98
00:06:02,440 --> 00:06:06,080
Speaker 2: super polarizing and very unsettling to watch for dime. I

99
00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:10,200
Speaker 2: love it's starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson, and while

100
00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:14,440
Speaker 2: they have both made unconventional and very art house choices

101
00:06:14,720 --> 00:06:19,040
Speaker 2: in their post franchise careers, Jennifer Lawrence on her press tour,

102
00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:22,120
Speaker 2: she's been very, very funny promoting this movie, but she's

103
00:06:22,200 --> 00:06:24,640
Speaker 2: told a lot of people that she doesn't want it

104
00:06:24,760 --> 00:06:29,440
Speaker 2: to seem like they're promoting some Catnis Everdeen and Edward

105
00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:34,000
Speaker 2: Cullen crossover fan fiction, because the movie is nowhere near

106
00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:38,560
Speaker 2: as commercial and populist as Hunger Games in Twilight, the

107
00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:40,719
Speaker 2: two properties that they are most known for.

108
00:06:40,839 --> 00:06:43,360
Speaker 1: People with long memories will remember that both of those

109
00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:47,320
Speaker 1: came from Summit Entertainment, which was swallowed up by Lionsgate

110
00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:50,440
Speaker 1: right around the time Hunger Games was the red hottest

111
00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:52,800
Speaker 1: property at the box office. But as you say, I

112
00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:56,560
Speaker 1: mean Jennifer, Robert Pattinson and Sydney Sweeney and Christy that's

113
00:06:56,560 --> 00:06:59,840
Speaker 1: a lot of star power that didn't connect. One thing

114
00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:02,719
Speaker 1: I've noticed in the last couple of weeks. Universal is

115
00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:05,400
Speaker 1: going for it with the marketing for Wicked for Good.

116
00:07:05,480 --> 00:07:09,600
Speaker 1: We've seen TV specials, We're seeing all kinds of marketing

117
00:07:09,640 --> 00:07:12,520
Speaker 1: pop up. An interesting one that I came across the

118
00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:14,760
Speaker 1: other day driving home from an event in Hollywood. The

119
00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:17,120
Speaker 1: other night, I came across just a little bit east

120
00:07:17,160 --> 00:07:19,680
Speaker 1: of Librea on Santa Monica Boulevard. There appears to be

121
00:07:19,720 --> 00:07:23,440
Speaker 1: a scene from Wicked for Good being projected against the

122
00:07:23,520 --> 00:07:27,120
Speaker 1: side of a big, tall white building like that appears

123
00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:29,680
Speaker 1: to be a permanent display. It will be really interesting

124
00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:32,600
Speaker 1: to see how this mobilizes a fan base to the

125
00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:37,280
Speaker 1: box office and if intense kind of blitz marketing can

126
00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:40,040
Speaker 1: make that extra difference in ten percent or twenty percent.

127
00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:43,840
Speaker 1: Curious what you're seeing in New York and what you're

128
00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:45,760
Speaker 1: watching on that front for Wicked for Good.

129
00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:49,559
Speaker 2: There are definitely a lot of posters hanging in Times

130
00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:52,960
Speaker 2: Square around the city for Wicked. So they are on

131
00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:57,200
Speaker 2: a full blitz promotional tour. And they actually started promoting

132
00:07:57,240 --> 00:07:59,800
Speaker 2: this movie a little later than they started promoting the

133
00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:02,800
Speaker 2: for one. I think they didn't want to inundate audiences

134
00:08:03,000 --> 00:08:06,679
Speaker 2: and have people get tired of hearing about Wicked after

135
00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:10,680
Speaker 2: they had a huge press cycle for the first movie.

136
00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:15,480
Speaker 2: Not being said, ticket sales pre sales right now are

137
00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:19,200
Speaker 2: looking very promising, and the expectation is that it's going

138
00:08:19,200 --> 00:08:21,560
Speaker 2: to have a debut well above the first movie, which

139
00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:25,000
Speaker 2: opened to one hundred and twelve million, And so the

140
00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:29,440
Speaker 2: Thanksgiving corridor is looking very strong because Zotopia two opens

141
00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:32,800
Speaker 2: shortly after that. Both of those movies are expected to

142
00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:36,560
Speaker 2: have big debuts well above one hundred million dollars, which

143
00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:39,360
Speaker 2: would be very needed. And so something like Badlands is

144
00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:43,320
Speaker 2: just providing a little early momentum, which is great for

145
00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:46,439
Speaker 2: some of the releases in between. Next weekend there's The

146
00:08:46,520 --> 00:08:50,559
Speaker 2: Running Man with Glenn Powell and Now You See Me three,

147
00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:54,880
Speaker 2: and so getting people in theaters this weekend and exposing

148
00:08:54,920 --> 00:08:57,560
Speaker 2: them to trailers. The hope is that people will be

149
00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:01,080
Speaker 2: going to the big screen, not just for Wicked and Utopia,

150
00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:04,199
Speaker 2: but then also some of these releases maybe not tracking

151
00:09:04,240 --> 00:09:07,280
Speaker 2: on the scale of a Wicked or Utopia, and just

152
00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:10,280
Speaker 2: keep the attendance high throughout the month and have a

153
00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:14,079
Speaker 2: little bit more momentum in November than we saw in October.

154
00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:17,280
Speaker 2: Rebecca from your lips in terms of the momentum begetting

155
00:09:17,280 --> 00:09:20,880
Speaker 2: more momentum going into December, and as always, thank you

156
00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:23,880
Speaker 2: for helping us interpret the numbers. Thank you for having me.

157
00:09:28,360 --> 00:09:32,120
Speaker 1: Now we'll hear from Jordan Mureau, Variety senior online news editor.

158
00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:35,240
Speaker 1: He's a big consumer of pop culture and he has

159
00:09:35,280 --> 00:09:38,880
Speaker 1: an encyclopedic knowledge of some big fandoms. He got the

160
00:09:39,000 --> 00:09:42,200
Speaker 1: chance to profile Edgar Wright, the British director known for

161
00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:45,400
Speaker 1: stylish picks such as Sean of the Dead, Baby Driver

162
00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:49,960
Speaker 1: and Scott Pilgrim versus the World Right recognized Jordan as

163
00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:52,920
Speaker 1: a real fan and as such he got a great interview.

164
00:09:53,040 --> 00:09:54,760
Speaker 1: Jordan Moreau, thanks for joining me.

165
00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:56,800
Speaker 3: Thank you so much for having me. Cynthia excited to

166
00:09:56,880 --> 00:09:58,440
Speaker 3: make my Daily Variety debut.

167
00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:01,880
Speaker 1: Well, I am stoked because by day you are one

168
00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:04,480
Speaker 1: of the captains of our digital team. You are there

169
00:10:04,480 --> 00:10:07,240
Speaker 1: in the East Coast dealing with the deluge of news

170
00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:10,080
Speaker 1: that comes at us every morning. You also put together

171
00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:13,520
Speaker 1: the Daily Variety newsletter, which spreads the word of the

172
00:10:13,520 --> 00:10:15,839
Speaker 1: big news of the day, and it spreads the word

173
00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:19,280
Speaker 1: of the podcast that runs Monday through Thursday by ten

174
00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:23,040
Speaker 1: am Pacific most days and strictly business on Friday. Thank

175
00:10:23,040 --> 00:10:24,840
Speaker 1: you for doing that and getting the word out but

176
00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:26,960
Speaker 1: I was excited to see that you had a chance

177
00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:29,720
Speaker 1: to flex a different muscle and do a profile of

178
00:10:29,760 --> 00:10:31,960
Speaker 1: an artist that means a lot to you. The director,

179
00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:35,520
Speaker 1: Edgar Wright, who has been one of the standout directors

180
00:10:35,520 --> 00:10:38,320
Speaker 1: over the last ten fifteen years, has truly built a

181
00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:41,840
Speaker 1: brand unto himself. People know now what an Edgar Wright

182
00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:44,760
Speaker 1: movie is. The occasion for this story is he's got

183
00:10:44,760 --> 00:10:46,839
Speaker 1: a big new movie coming out, a big swing for him,

184
00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:50,080
Speaker 1: a big studio picture called The Running Man, Glenn Powell's

185
00:10:50,160 --> 00:10:53,040
Speaker 1: The Star, It's a Stephen King book. It's very high

186
00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:56,360
Speaker 1: profile for him. I love in journalisms. You get so

187
00:10:56,520 --> 00:10:58,439
Speaker 1: much just by being the fly on the wall and

188
00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:01,720
Speaker 1: watching how people in a tell us where you met

189
00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:03,960
Speaker 1: and what it was like to sit with him, somebody

190
00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:05,560
Speaker 1: who you've been a fan of for a long time.

191
00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:07,760
Speaker 3: Yeah, I've been a fit of Edgar Wright. I mean

192
00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:09,520
Speaker 3: watching Seanna the Dead when I was a kid, and

193
00:11:09,559 --> 00:11:13,520
Speaker 3: really getting into the zombie genre, his British comedy The

194
00:11:13,559 --> 00:11:16,760
Speaker 3: Action Sequences. I think he's a great director of it all.

195
00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:19,560
Speaker 3: We met at New York Comic Cons. He did a

196
00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:22,959
Speaker 3: panel for The Running Man and we chatted afterward. Deep

197
00:11:23,000 --> 00:11:25,920
Speaker 3: in the bowels of the Javit Center, away from all

198
00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:28,320
Speaker 3: the craziness and all the Cops players, which I love.

199
00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:30,560
Speaker 3: I'm a big comic gun fan. Really really nice guy.

200
00:11:30,600 --> 00:11:32,840
Speaker 3: I mean, he has that same British sense of humor

201
00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:36,359
Speaker 3: that you see in his movies, such a film Encyclopedia.

202
00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:39,000
Speaker 3: He's making all these references to movies that I had

203
00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:41,480
Speaker 3: never heard of that I added to my you must

204
00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:45,960
Speaker 3: watch list. So he filmed this in London, Bulgaria, in Glasgow,

205
00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:49,000
Speaker 3: some really really cold shoots that he told me about.

206
00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:52,160
Speaker 1: Your opening anecdote makes me shiver just thinking about it.

207
00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:54,400
Speaker 1: I'm not going to spoil it for readers, but it

208
00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:56,120
Speaker 1: is a good one, and it does show you that

209
00:11:56,320 --> 00:11:58,720
Speaker 1: there's a lot of glamorous parts to acting, but there's

210
00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:01,960
Speaker 1: a lot of very unclass parts. I know. Sometimes it

211
00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:04,480
Speaker 1: can be hard with somebody you just met to try

212
00:12:04,520 --> 00:12:07,400
Speaker 1: to develop any kind of a rapport where you're not

213
00:12:07,559 --> 00:12:10,080
Speaker 1: just firing questions and they respond and then you fire

214
00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:13,199
Speaker 1: another question. How was that for you? Was he forthcoming

215
00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:17,240
Speaker 1: or quotes he's so articulate about his vision and what

216
00:12:17,480 --> 00:12:20,400
Speaker 1: works in his world. Was it hard getting there or

217
00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:22,440
Speaker 1: was he just a great interview from the get go?

218
00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:25,199
Speaker 3: Yeah, we warmed up pretty quick, I would say, and

219
00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:28,280
Speaker 3: kind of got into it. I did my homework over

220
00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:31,400
Speaker 3: the summer and read the Running Man novel by Stephen King,

221
00:12:31,480 --> 00:12:33,960
Speaker 3: and I watched the first adaptation of it was this

222
00:12:34,240 --> 00:12:38,559
Speaker 3: Schwarzenegger movie that was much more action packed in schlocky

223
00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:41,400
Speaker 3: and not really close to the original source material, and

224
00:12:41,640 --> 00:12:45,080
Speaker 3: Edgar is definitely playing it a bit more close to

225
00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:47,599
Speaker 3: the original story. I was there to talk about the

226
00:12:47,679 --> 00:12:51,040
Speaker 3: nitty gritty and figure out what's different, what's new, how

227
00:12:51,040 --> 00:12:54,080
Speaker 3: he's adapting it for, you know, this new audience, especially

228
00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:58,760
Speaker 3: in a world that we find ourselves in now with politics, AI, technology,

229
00:12:59,040 --> 00:13:03,000
Speaker 3: reality TV, this edited reality that we watch for entertainment,

230
00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:05,400
Speaker 3: that these are real people's lives kind of at least

231
00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:08,280
Speaker 3: for the running Man on the run being murdered, you know,

232
00:13:08,559 --> 00:13:11,719
Speaker 3: on TV for entertainment. So he talks about it all.

233
00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:15,760
Speaker 1: I'm marveling at how Stephen King touched on this in

234
00:13:15,800 --> 00:13:18,400
Speaker 1: the seventies, the world that we were going to be

235
00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:20,240
Speaker 1: living in thirty and forty years later.

236
00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:23,320
Speaker 3: It was very ahead of its time. The book, surprisingly

237
00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:26,000
Speaker 3: and funnily enough, is set in twenty twenty five. There

238
00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:28,000
Speaker 3: are moments in the book that I had to ask

239
00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:31,760
Speaker 3: him about that this government TV show uses AI to

240
00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:34,960
Speaker 3: alter the images of the contestants to make them look

241
00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:38,800
Speaker 3: like violent criminals, drug addicts, you know, make them look crazy.

242
00:13:39,160 --> 00:13:40,800
Speaker 3: And I mean that is something we are seeing right

243
00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:43,640
Speaker 3: now with AI and all these new things on social media.

244
00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:45,480
Speaker 3: You're not sure what's real what's not. And so I

245
00:13:45,480 --> 00:13:47,320
Speaker 3: asked her about that, and we were talking about AI

246
00:13:47,400 --> 00:13:50,640
Speaker 3: for a bit, and funny enough, this whole Tilly Norwood situation,

247
00:13:50,760 --> 00:13:52,400
Speaker 3: it was on my list of questions to ask him

248
00:13:52,480 --> 00:13:54,680
Speaker 3: what he thought about this AI actress, and he brought

249
00:13:55,000 --> 00:13:57,720
Speaker 3: Tilly up himself. So obviously, you know, he keeps up

250
00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:00,920
Speaker 3: with the evolving technology. Director, filmmaker, you have to be

251
00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:03,080
Speaker 3: ready for whatever's gonna change.

252
00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:05,760
Speaker 1: Did you get the sense that he is a little

253
00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:08,400
Speaker 1: antsy or he a little nervous about this opening?

254
00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:11,120
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean this is his biggest budget ever. But

255
00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:12,720
Speaker 3: I think one of the things that he does so

256
00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:15,960
Speaker 3: well throughout his career is he has this big, starry

257
00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:18,880
Speaker 3: cast that he utilizes us in such a great way

258
00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:20,800
Speaker 3: to tell a story. In Scott Pilgrim, he had very

259
00:14:20,800 --> 00:14:25,000
Speaker 3: early on Michael Sarah, Chris Evans, Brie Larson, Kieran Culkin, Mary,

260
00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:28,440
Speaker 3: Elizabeth Winstead. He has these major names in the ensemble

261
00:14:28,480 --> 00:14:31,760
Speaker 3: cast that he really utilizes to the fullest of his ability.

262
00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:34,240
Speaker 3: And I think the same way for running mat Glenn Powell.

263
00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:36,640
Speaker 3: This is his first big action rule and with a

264
00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:40,360
Speaker 3: director like Edgar bringing the comedy, the action, the sci

265
00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:43,240
Speaker 3: fi elements, I think it's gonna work out well. And

266
00:14:43,480 --> 00:14:47,240
Speaker 3: he had Michael Sarah Colman, Domingo, Josh Brolin, lots of

267
00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:49,120
Speaker 3: big names in this one as well. So it really

268
00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:52,680
Speaker 3: is is his first big major studio release. His most

269
00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:56,120
Speaker 3: recent movie, Last Night and So, came out during the pandemic,

270
00:14:56,240 --> 00:14:59,000
Speaker 3: so this is is big return to theaters. And he

271
00:14:59,080 --> 00:14:59,600
Speaker 3: knows that.

272
00:14:59,520 --> 00:15:01,920
Speaker 1: There's many words as you have, there's always stuff that

273
00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:04,080
Speaker 1: you can't quite fit into the story. Did you have

274
00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:07,680
Speaker 1: any fun moments with Edgar or In the reporting process

275
00:15:07,960 --> 00:15:09,000
Speaker 1: of this story.

276
00:15:08,760 --> 00:15:11,280
Speaker 3: I interviewed Simon peg and Nick Frost ahead of time,

277
00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:14,040
Speaker 3: his kind of too closest collaborators, two really good friends,

278
00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:16,960
Speaker 3: with Nick Frost as a comedian obviously, but now is

279
00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:19,680
Speaker 3: going to be Hagrid in the Harry Potter Live action

280
00:15:19,920 --> 00:15:21,920
Speaker 3: HBO series that's coming up, And so I asked Edgar

281
00:15:22,000 --> 00:15:23,880
Speaker 3: what was his first reaction to hearing his friend is

282
00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:27,160
Speaker 3: going to be Hagrid now across all seven seasons. And

283
00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:30,040
Speaker 3: he said that they were shooting Running Man pickups in

284
00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:34,400
Speaker 3: the UK nearby where Nick was shooting Harry Potter. He

285
00:15:34,560 --> 00:15:37,560
Speaker 3: went to the Running Man studio dressed as Hagrid. And

286
00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:39,320
Speaker 3: there's a photo out there of Glenn Powell in his

287
00:15:39,400 --> 00:15:41,960
Speaker 3: Running Man costume with Nick Frost dressed as Haggrid from

288
00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:45,840
Speaker 3: Harry Potter Edgar with his long, shaggy black hair. And

289
00:15:46,040 --> 00:15:48,720
Speaker 3: I'm not a fashion guy by any stretch of the imagination.

290
00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:51,800
Speaker 3: He was wearing this very cool black pinstriped suit with

291
00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:55,880
Speaker 3: these great pinstripes. ARMANI, he says, he makes this shoke.

292
00:15:55,960 --> 00:15:57,600
Speaker 3: He says, I look like the prisoner of Azkaban. He

293
00:15:57,600 --> 00:16:00,960
Speaker 3: looks like serious Black Gary Oldman's character from Harry Potter,

294
00:16:01,080 --> 00:16:03,880
Speaker 3: dressed as a prison inmate. Such a funny little line.

295
00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:05,920
Speaker 3: I'm a big Harry Potter fan, so I understood it

296
00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:09,800
Speaker 3: one hundred percent immediately. Harder to articulate over Prince. Unfortunately,

297
00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:11,960
Speaker 3: so didn't make it into the story. But that's kind

298
00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:13,560
Speaker 3: of you know. I was looking at serious Black from

299
00:16:13,560 --> 00:16:14,080
Speaker 3: Harry Potter.

300
00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:17,000
Speaker 1: You're painting the picture that is really fun for people

301
00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:19,720
Speaker 1: that are so deep into this. Well, Jordan, you did

302
00:16:19,720 --> 00:16:22,600
Speaker 1: your job, because now I officially want to go see

303
00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:26,480
Speaker 1: this movie. So appreciate you taking the time to talk

304
00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:28,280
Speaker 1: through your time with Edgar Wright with us.

305
00:16:28,360 --> 00:16:29,440
Speaker 3: Well, thank you so much, Cynthia.

306
00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:36,200
Speaker 1: As we close out today's episode, here's a few things

307
00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:39,400
Speaker 1: we're watching for. A new era for Sesame Street begins

308
00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:42,760
Speaker 1: today with the show's debut on Netflix. The American Film

309
00:16:42,760 --> 00:16:46,120
Speaker 1: Market opens Tuesday in Century City. We'll hear all about

310
00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:49,520
Speaker 1: it from Variety's Elsa Kaslasi later in the week. Before

311
00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:51,600
Speaker 1: I go, I want to share a clip from the

312
00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:54,480
Speaker 1: Bob Broder memorial that was held on Saturday at the

313
00:16:54,480 --> 00:16:57,560
Speaker 1: Stephen J. Ross Theater on the Warner Brothers Lot. Chuck Lori,

314
00:16:57,920 --> 00:17:02,760
Speaker 1: James Burrows, Glenn and lest Charles, ted Danson, Chris Silberman,

315
00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:06,000
Speaker 1: and Eddie Gordetsky were among the speakers. Here is a

316
00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:09,040
Speaker 1: clip of the Coottish prayer that was said for Bob Broder,

317
00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:13,200
Speaker 1: led by Rabbi steven Z, leader of the Wilshire Boulevard Temple.

318
00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:16,440
Speaker 1: It's a beautiful send off for a man of great substance.

319
00:17:20,000 --> 00:18:24,640
Speaker 3: The Alma Route, the kayakon the whole Hamain the Christmas.

320
00:18:28,359 --> 00:18:31,399
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening. This episode was written and reported by

321
00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:36,040
Speaker 1: me Cynthia Littleton, with contributions from Rebecca Rubin and Jordan Murrow.

322
00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:39,359
Speaker 1: Sticks next hick Picks, Please leave us a review at

323
00:18:39,400 --> 00:18:42,119
Speaker 1: the podcast platform of your choice, and please tune in

324
00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:44,439
Speaker 1: tomorrow for another episode of Daily Variety