Special: Our Hosts Talk Summer Movies

  I'll picture it. The days are longer and warmer. School goes on. Its longest break and the focus shifts away from normal routines and toward having more fun. Summertime is arriving, and with it the release of the biggest movies of the year, it's Summer Blockbuster Time.

In this special episode, all three of your hosts are gonna chat about summer movies. I'm Candace Block, joined by Tara Jabari and Sandra Abrams, and we invite you to grab some popcorn and settle in as we learn more about the summertime genre. Reminisce about our own summer movie memories and look forward to this year's slate of big screen theater movies.

Welcome.

Thank

Thank you Candace for having us on median monuments.

No, we are all welcoming the guests. We are, it's all three hosts this time, which is nice.  we like to do these specials at least once a season. And this one,  is,  summer movies. So Tara, you did some nice research about the whole summer movie Blockbuster, you know, just that is its own entity and it's a force.

So you wanna talk to us a little bit about that.

sure. So I looked at a couple of. Resources.  one is hollywood.com and a few other like history of cinema, blogs and things like that.  and they all said it really began when air conditioning was installed in movie theaters.  movie theaters were pretty much like sweaty, like sweat watches, they said.

 so. It wasn't that popular of a choice, especially when the weather got better. Why would anyone wanna leave their houses just to get into another inside setting? So in 1925,  the big leagues of the cinema,  they invested over a million dollars. In today's money's term to put air conditioning in movie theaters across the country.

 so that there was some kind of incentive. And then that's also kind of when they started saying like, we should have snacks. We should have drinks or something like

Make it an event. Yeah.

pop or soda or something like that so that when the weather, if it's rainy or if,  it's too hot. You have a cool place to be.

And then,  it was a kind of frustration of like,  what are we gonna watch kind of thing. So the term blockbuster was found in the trade magazine's variety and motion picture Herald for the 1943 film.  bombard. By Richard Wallace and they said the blockbuster of all action thrill service shows.

So this is during World War ii and they got to learn more about the aircrafts and all sorts of stuff that helped with the war,  from the Allies perspective.  but. According to the Guinness World Records, it wasn't until 19 19 75 with Steven Spielberg's jaws that it is considered the first true summer blockbuster when it was the first film to earn a hundred million at the box office.

And then in 1977, George Lucas', star Wars was the first summer blockbuster based on an original screenplay, and then it just kept going from there.

Oh, cool. So,  that makes a lot of sense that it all started with air conditioning as how it's a summer thing, you know?  you were talking about that one from  the forties you said,

Yeah. 1940

did w was the term blockbuster coined because  like a line wrapped around the block or something?

Like what made it a blockbuster?

It was just  the blogs we're talking about when they actually heard of this term Blockbuster.  I guess a bit of line things, but Jaws was the one where they would be just lining up during the summer. Because if you think about like it happened for other films previous, I can remember like The Godfather famously, there were lines across the block just waiting to go see the movie.

So I guess maybe, but.  from what I understand, just that term, blockbuster came in 1943 in two magazines about bombard.  so yeah,

Okay, well that's interesting.  certainly not maybe what everyone was expecting. So bit of fun, bit of fun history, facts there.

Yeah, it was interesting to see  how the progression happened  how they were like, okay, we need to get butts in the movie theaters, air conditioning, snacks. Now we need an big excuse. So the biggest films we can think of  and things like that. I mean, in today's age, all of those  reclining seats and now some of the fancier movie theaters actually, you can order like a pizza and a burger and it'll come to you nice and warm.



Yeah. Movies are year round. Well, and that's also speaking to the evolution of the whole theater going experience. And now with all the assigned seating, people have less incentive to line up. I know all of us are old enough to remember movies that you cared a lot about and you wanted good seats for because they were big screen theater movies.

 you had to get there really early and wait in line for a long time.

was this guy that I just saw this on social media of he is like,  none of these children and teens know what it's like to  be going to the movie theater in the two thousands and the nineties. And I'm like, really? Anytime before this time. But I remember my roommates were huge Harry Potter fans of the books and all that, and it was the last film and

I wasn't, but I went with them midnight showing we had to get there at like 10 30. I felt like I was gonna be stamped to death and we had to get, because it wasn't assigned seating yet for the last

Yeah.  Sandra, maybe you might know cuz you did some research and some facts on stuff.  do we have a sense of when the assigned seating really took off? I only personally remember the first few times that I saw it in some theaters, and it was maybe like early 20 teens, like

Yeah, I would say less than 10 years ago.

Yeah.

I only started doing that,  by going to the theater in Bethesda, Bethesda Row and seeing it maybe about 20 18, 20 19. So

Yeah, so  for those of us, cuz we are based in DC for those of us who remember, there have been different, you know, DC Metro Maps that have come out with silly names for the different stops. And for a couple of years I lived at the stop that was called really nice movie theater because it was one of the first to get  the cushy reclining seats with the assigned seating.

well that was in courthouse,  in Northern Virginia, so that was one of the first that I remember. That's why I'm like, hmm, I'm remembering that time. And  it was this great phenomenon and now we all take it for granted cuz everyone has those types of seats.

Well, uh, just give a quick shout out.  speaking of Cushy Seats, the Avalon Theater,  which is a nonprofit theater here,  in northwest Washington, dc I think with season one we interviewed,  the executive director, bill,  or Borer, and they are a theater with really Christian seats. That was a theater built in 19,  22 and they have redone that.

And if you go to the movie theater there, you'll see the Art house films such as,  asteroid City that's coming up in June. And you'll all see,  Oppenheimer, another art house film that's gonna be opening in July. So speaking of movie theaters,  Out to the Avalon. I recommend that one. 

Oppenheimer considered an art house one? Isn't that a big film?

could be a big film, but it could be also because it's not all the action packed. And that gets back to what Tara was saying about blockbusters. I read a story, it was the Hollywood Insider. It was from July, 2021, and it talked about the modern. Blockbuster how that was invented. And that was because of Independence Day.

So Independence Day, that film with Will Smith kind of invented the modern blockbuster to pick up on what Tara was saying. And that was released on July 3rd, 1996. And it was because it's high concept, it has big stars and lots of action. So  if you see a lot of the,  Movies that do come out in the summertime, you'll see  they are considered blockbusters, because they have you know, well-known actors, lots of action.



Well, one of the things that,  Tara talked about was Jaws and I looked up, according to a list from Entertainment Weekly that came out on May 3rd, 2023. If you're looking at high grossing summer blockbuster, the, movies,  They had on the list, it was like the top 100, the number 10 was,  national Lampoon's Animal House, and that was released on July 28th, 1978.

And one of the things about that particular movie had the iconic performance with John Belushi in that it also kind of started the National Lampoon franchise. So what we think of  Today is franchise. We have the Fast and Furious, we've got your Mission Impossible franchise,  the Marvel Comic franchise.

And that kind of started off the franchise for National Lampoon with that particular feature.  also in that entertainment,  weekly list was, number three was Jurassic Park, which came out  June 11th, 1993. And that apparently, worldwide, 1.1 billion on that gross for that kind of film.

I know. Can you believe that? That's

Is that the, is that the current stat, like that's what it is now, or was that like its opening

apparently yes.  because this list is from Entertainment Weekly, May 3rd, 2023.  number two is Star Wars, but this is episode four, A New Hope that was released May 25th, 1997.  but again,  mentioned Jaws the number one,  movie on the Entertainment Weekly list.  and that movie from  Steven Spielberg came out June 20th, 19.

75. Now I do have a question for you and maybe someone listening will let us know. The crew nicknamed the shark that was used in Jaws, Bruce.  so I could not find why did the crew, the films crew nickname, the Shark,  Bruce. So if anybody out there is listening and you know the answer, send us an email to [email protected] and let us know.

Why did the crew name the shark Bruce?

Well, I do know that it didn't work all the time and that was why they changed things to be a lot more,  in your head, which ended up working out best because what goes on in your mind is far scarier than what you can see. So it's malfunction ended up kind of improving the film.  and I'm curious now that that's, named Bruce, if that's why I think there's an animated,

Well, I was

a couple of animated, uh, things was, yeah.

And finding Nemo the shark as Bruce. Yeah, I would.

it's because of

It might be an homage to that. Yeah, I was wondering. I'm like, I know of at least one big picture, Bruce Shark in the animated realm,  well that's, that's cool. Yeah.  maybe it was just a,  dig at someone on set  or honoring somebody or

they're like, it looks like a bruise.

yeah.

Maybe it just looked like a Bruce. Yeah.

Well, the thing about the summer movies is those. The summertime is not normally for when the Oscar release movies come out or the Golden Globe release comes out, but it's mostly like taking your family, your Saturday night date, you're hanging out with your girlfriends. Although that kind of changed,  this year when we had Top Gun Maverick came out last summer, and then that particular movie was nominated for an Oscar.

 So that kind of changed. They said, oh, an action film that was nominated for an Oscar. But normally it's not the time where they come out,

But yeah, that's true because in the summer,  as I was even mentioning at the top,  that's when people are on break. So that's when kids,  they're not in school and it's easier to see more movies or to go finally see a movie.  and so that's why you get like family ones and action ones and ones that are good for a wider variety and and then also  as Tara was saying, with the temperatures, Reasons to go inside.

 yeah, but  that's interesting that now there's more credit being given to the big action, big picture thing because as,  we've all known, people have a lot of great memories tied to these particular movies, and they're not.  crap movies. They're really well done. There's often like, really great story, great acting,  amazing effects, all this stuff that goes into it.

So why not honor them with awards like they do for the more dramatic or, you know, maybe think pieces or just character driven stuff. Like they, they're just as important and they keep the industry alive, know, it's what drives people to go to the movies, which helps, keeps things going.

One thing I wanted to point out though, we had talked about before, what constitutes a summer movie and what constitutes a summer movie release.  Does it mean it came out in May? Does it May came out in July. And I wanted to point out,  the movie Bridesmaids,  premiered on April 28th, 2011, and it had, its US premier.

 on May 13th, 2011.  that one, you know, came out and that was a huge hit and ended up getting, Melissa McCarthy  nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress,  Kristen Wigg, one of the co-writers on that.  she and her partner got nominated  So again, it doesn't necessarily mean that a movie that comes out.

In,  June or July is the summer blockbuster. You can also have some movie come out in April or May.

Yeah, I think it's a matter of if it has staying power through the summer. So you know,  it's not like it came out in November.  but  if it's in the spring or late spring, but it's still drawing big audiences through the summer months. And then another thing is, you know, a lot of times schools can get out in May.

I know some college graduations and things like that are in May.

for the most part, because,  This just reminded me,  So a memory from when I went to go see Bridesmaid is when my college roommate and I were done with classes and we ended up actually living half an hour away.

Like our parents lived half an hour away from each other. So we come home and we decided to meet up to go to the movies and we go see Bridesmaid and,  we liked it, but there was only one other person in the theater with us. So when we kept hearing about this huge hit and we're like, Really the poop one, the one where they poop in the, in the bridesmaids grounds.

Spoiler alert, but yeah.

Yeah. But like we saw it like probably like the 12:00 PM showing on a Wednesday because we didn't have any classes anymore and stuff like that.  but some of the research I saw like between May and August. Those would be considered the summer blockbusters, but yeah, April to July or so forth and

Yeah, I think that's fair. And cuz you were even saying like  the US release of that was in May.  I think May to August is pretty accurate. But,  speaking of what you had said, with seeing it in the middle of the day, in the middle of the week,  I don't know if anybody else is like this,  or is able to be, I am grateful for the fact that I have flexible enough hours that when I see if I'm going to go see a theater movie, now I go.

In the middle of the day, in the middle of the week to avoid people. I know it's nice to do the audience and the collective shared experience and that is one of the joys of,  theater going and seeing things  in a group. And you hear the, the oohs and the ahs and the screams together and the laughs and that is  an amazing experience.

But post covid, I'm a little bit, I mean, I'm a little bit more inclined to go when there's less people, and it might take a little more time for me to adjust to back to

Well, I'm a big talker during movies, so I do it so that no one else gets annoyed. I got used to

Sa. Sandra's shaking her fingers

We would pa my best friend and I will just pause the movie and just say our thing. But you can't do that in a movie theater. So now it's just like, I gotta tell you now before I forget. And then we go watch, we continue.

So it's this weird thing of streaming when we got used to streaming. And when is it worth going back to the movie theater?

Mm-hmm. Well, I just know that now I  shouldn't see a movie with you in person because I'm one of those, all right. The movie's about to start. Nobody talk. Let's give the, let's give this piece of art the respect it deserves. Although that said, I will probably still throw a comment here and there, even after I

getting back into the etiquette of things, right? Like you're a little nervous with, since the pandemic started to be in a crowded theater,  it's hard for me to remember. You can't pause. And who cares about your thought? And you're like, oh, that reminds me of a funny story when I went in line at the grocery store and my, and I'm like, that doesn't matter.

You can't do that now. Well, speaking of funny theater experiences,  I might as well just share a funny one now and maybe you guys have some funny ones too.  I do remember when Bendit, like Beckham came out.

Oh my God.

 I watched that film and in a crowd of people, if anyone's seen it, there is a scene and I, it's not always my typical type, but  it Jo Jonathan Reese Myers

Yes, it is Joe.

There's, there's a scene where they open a door and he turns around and you see him with a button down shirts, hot button unbuttoned, and the light catches his eyes, right.

his, ugh.

And what happened was the theater was quiet because it was a quiet scene. Getting up to that, the door opens and I had no control, and I went, SHA, and the whole theater started laughing at me.

So I provided some additional entertainment in that showing. So for me that I will always have a little soft spot for Bendit like Beckham because of that one scene where

Oh, he's beautiful in that movie and especially, and then there's the part where he's yelling at the field and his eyes again are so bright and blue that he kind of looks like a demonn. And you're like, I'm scared, but I still love him anyway. 

do you guys have any,  particularly fun or standout theater moments?

Yeah.

I wanted to say,  I can't remember it. It's the Mission Impossible. I think four where they break into the Kremlin.  that's not a huge spoiler. That's like in, within the first hour, but we went

Within the first hour, you're like, it's, it's spoiler. it's not in the preview, but it's, uh,

It's in the, no, no, I think it's in the trailer too. He is like, we want us to break into the Kremlin.  but  we loved it so much. We wanted to see it again.  but we snuck in a can. Of Coke, not a bottle. Cuz you can only get like a huge bottle and we just want it a little bit. So you're not supposed to I know, but we were like, we ne we knew when the big explosions or something loud was gonna happen so that we can open the can so it doesn't make too much noise.

And I remember we timed it so well and we're like, oh my God, it's our own mission. Impossible moment,

That's pretty fun. Yeah.

really,  if Ocean's 11 was a summer one, because again, this is before you could buy your tickets ahead of time and assign seating, but I remember it was so crowded that people were sitting on the stairs.

 I'm assuming they snuck in to

Yeah, cuz that would be a like a fire code violation.

Right. But I, I mean, it was a huge movie and it's really well done.  I just remember we're sitting in comfortable seats and people kept walking in and sitting on the stairs and we laugh and all sorts of stuff. But yeah, those were the things that kind of popped into my head, but I can't remember if it's necessarily a summer, but it, it gets back to why you go to the movie theater

Yeah, no, for sure. At Sandra after yours, I thought of another,  summer related one too. So go, go ahead. You share yours first.

I do remember going to see the first Jurassic Park and it was a Saturday night. I had a date and I'm holding the guy's hand in the movie theater and there's this one scene where,  The guy's name is Wayne. He was the guy who was Newman from,  Seinfeld. And he's in this car and it's really quiet and then all of a sudden one of the baby dinosaurs goes, ah, you know, and attacks him.

And I literally jumped outta my seat. I probably put some,  nails into my date's hand. And I, that scene literally made me jump. I remember that distinctly in watching that movie.

A jump scare through and through. It did its job. Yeah. Most of those jump scares are just based on like, Sound too. You know, it's just, it's just a shock after quiet.  Another thing that I remembered was I used to work at a movie theater and,  I worked at a movie theater one summer. It was,  an indie movie theater, Bethesda Roma.

Shout out.  and I remember the summer that my big frat, Greek wedding came out. Because it started in smaller theaters, but it became so popular that it eventually made it to bigger theaters because we would get lines around the block. So I guess a blockbuster of sorts, if that's what that's based on.

 we would get lines day after day after day. we just couldn't handle it anymore. And so it ended up being in the bigger stuff. 

But yeah, that was a particularly interesting, cuz it was a hot summer too and, you know, we had to do line management. It was a quiet, quiet theater otherwise, and it was just one that, the crowds almost broke me.

Oh, and that guy in that movie as well is really cute. He played Aiden in Sex and the City. I can't think of his name right now. Uh, John Corbin. Yeah. No, another Cutie Pie.

cutie Pie.

Another perfect man on screen and the, and my big fat Greek wedding three is coming out at the end in September. Uh, so not quite summer,

Hallmark.

but,

when it comes to summer movies, I think it really depends.  what type of movie  do you go for the big budget and the action ones and the fancy stump work? Or do you like the small scale, you know, movies that are script driven? I think there's, that's the choice and that's the what you have to decide when it comes to what you wanna see this summer, because I think there's a wide range of choices that are coming out.

Mm-hmm. Yeah. And that, that brings us right to, we could talk about some of those ones that are coming up this year.  if you're listening in the archives years into the future, we're talking about 2023, the 2023 summer movie lineup. So, uh, we've pulled together some of them starting from, as we were talking about May,  and got a list of,  a bunch of the ones that are like, getting buzz and things that are gonna be big ones  this summer. So, yeah. Do you guys have any particular ones that you're excited

I picked three from what really caught my eye, but I'm sure you guys will mention things that I'd be like, oh, I might, again, it's sort of. Getting in, like going and not being able to pause to go to the bathroom or to say something,  and my mom pointed this out, she's like, these seats are so comfortable, you're just gonna fall asleep through everything because of the reclining and all sorts of stuff.

But I do want to be spoiled. And so I like the idea of getting like a whole meal with dessert

Hmm. You like movie like theater, cinema, theaters,

the whole thing. So I actually picked three that I am pretty much willing to go to the movie theater for,

okay. What are they?

uh, in order of release, spider-Man, across the spider verse releasing on June 2nd.

for that one as well.

the first one I never got to see in theater, but I watched it three or four times

Oh, it's so

it, the animation is quite new, but it's such a well done. movie Jake Johnson has some of the best lines.  and it takes a while to get used to the animation, so I'd be intrigued to see it A,  on the big screen.

And b, they did such a good job with the first one. I am a little nervous with the sequel, but I have faith in it.  and then July 7th Insidious the red door. So

one's all you, Tara, the.

it's a horror film. Actually, boogeyman comes out June 2nd too, and it just, it, that's more of like an indie film. But I really wanna go to the movie theater for, I'm not sure.

I might, I'm not. But Insidious, the red door is, I think the fifth and. Allegedly the final installment to the Insidious franchise. And what I really like about it is it's the whole family. The very first Insidious came out, I think 10 years ago about a little boy who goes in a coma and we find out it's not really a coma.

And his dad went through the same thing  and his dad has to help him get out of the coma anyway,  It's 10 years later, that little boy is now going to college. How has the family coped? And it's the same exact actors. So those

Oh, that's

Yeah. And I thought that was cool. And it's Patrick Wilson and Rose Burn Play.

The parents and then Patrick Wilson's first,  film Directoral debut, basically. So I, I'm intrigued by that, but

Yeah.

That they kept up with everyone.  they have a little baby daughter in the first one and now she's 10, right.  So I was like, oh, that is so cool.

Yeah. I love when they're able to do that cuz that's pretty, that's pretty rare to have the same actors for that amount of time or for spanning that time.

And then, Barbie July 21st

I'm curious about that one as well. I mean, I.

want that with a big crowd. I think that would be fun.

Yeah, but I was gonna say, Barbie is kind of a one to me that is also similar to like the Little Mermaid where I am.  I'm gonna see it.  I'm curious about it and I really hope it doesn't suck. You know? I really want it to be good. I know that Barbie's gonna be something that's not what people are expecting, and I hope it's done in a good way.

And then the previews that I've seen of the Little Mermaid just. Don't make it look that good, and I really, really want it to be good.  I like the concept, but the live action remakes of these animated ones just don't do as well as the original. I mean, I think it's great. You know who they cast and everything.

It's just some of the animated characters just look terrible. Yeah. They really don't

they do a live action, it's proving that it's some things are meant to be cartoonish and not live action.

Exactly.  well, speaking of action,  some of the ones that I'm excited for,  but I've already seen is Guardians of the Galaxy Volume three that came out May 5th.  that I thought was a really nice little summation of that trilogy.  I really enjoyed it. So that one I was excited to see and that, to me, qualified as a theater movie.

So sometimes it's like the visuals really warrant the big screen, so I'll do it that way. Otherwise I'll probably just watch it. At home.  I will say,  I am looking forward to Indiana Jones in the dial of destiny. Another one I,  hope is good. I don't know if I have  much faith that it's gonna be amazing, but I really, really want it to be great because I like Indiana Jones.

I'm obsessed with Indiana Jones in the last crusade. That's my favorite of the whole franchise.  I'm really looking forward to that. I will say Fast X,  which came out May 19th, I've seen a couple of the Fast and Furious, right.  it's not necessarily my thing. I don't fault it. I'm just not excited about them.

But Fast X looks like a really fun finish for those. I saw the preview and I was like, if only I was into those. That seems like it would be a really good

part one of, part two for the finale.

Oh, is it? Oh my gosh. They just never end. But that, so the Fast the Furious movies are gonna

apparently I haven't watched this. My favorite thing is to hear people who love the films talk about it, but in the last one, the ninth one, they drive to space.

Yeah, yeah. No, they're absurd. They're like, sh they're becoming like sharknato or something. It's just the suspension of disbelief. And  professionally work with cars,  in, in some of my other life. and so it's those movies, it's always crazy to see some of what they do and what they expect you to believe.

And I'm like, okay, yeah. That's not how that works. But I will suspend all the disbelief and enjoy the crazy, crazy action ride.  I'm also very excited about the Spider-Man one too. 

I'm excited about the Barbie movie, which you mentioned.  that's directed by Greta Gurwick.  and it's gonna be released July 21st,  2023. And it's Margo Robbie and Ryan Gosling. Although I have to say in watching the previews, Ryan Gosling, who I think is so hot and so cute, looks weird.

But he has great comic talent.

Yeah. But we, I think we talked about this maybe in something else. I think if you're going visually. You know, Barbie cast perfectly, a hundred percent cast perfectly. She's great. She looks just like Barbie.  Ryan Gosling, again, great actor, great body, everything. and I think he's a handsome man.

He just doesn't look like Ken. Yeah, he just, facially does not look enough like Ken for me to go along on that. But you know, I'm still gonna give it a chance. Why

I think they also thought he does have a good comedy.  the same. I think him and Chris Pine have very good comic timing, which is why,  Dungeons and Dragons was quite successful. And everyone can agree that Chris Pine really was the driving force of that.

Would we call that one a summer movie as well? Because when did that come

that came out in April, early April, or maybe late March.

 but thinking of the casting of it, I mean, Also Ryan Gosling could have looked more like Ken if you think about it, but they, I, I'm wondering how they like really gave him a weird tan and the hair color and the neon colors that he has to wear. But he is so funny. I keep quoting him from just the two seconds.

He's on camera. He's like, I honestly don't know.

Well, that's interesting that for all three of us, that's one, that three for three, we're all curious and

But I think that's also

Right. Well, maybe,

We'll find

I mean, I've had some Barbies and played with them a little bit, but there's no nostalgia bringing me to that movie. It's just sheer curiosity.

I do wanna also see past lives, and that's coming out June 2nd.  and it's starring Greta Lee. She was also in,  Russian Doll. And it centers on a love triangle of  a childhood friend from Korea.  and the woman, Greta Lee is now living in New York and she has a long-term partner and her childhood friend from South Korea comes to New York to see her and what happens?

So,  I'm really looking forward to seeing that. Another movie that I'm looking forward to seeing is called Joy Ride,  that's coming out on July 7th. It's from Lionsgate. first time director,  Adele Lim, and she co-wrote Crazy Rich Asians, so it's kind of a raunchy comedy. Four friends are traveling through the far East and everything that could go wrong goes wrong.

So, and finally, I just wanna add, put a shout out to, you'll be surprised about this choice, mission Impossible. That's coming out July 12th with and only Tom Cruise

Mm-hmm. Yeah,

Yeah. So are you, are you gonna see that in the

yes. Mm-hmm.

Oh,

I'm curious, Sandra, so for me, private lives, I was like, ah, I could just wait until that's streamed. What made you want to see it in theaters?

Oh, past lives.

Mm-hmm.

I just like going back to the theater. I think I really got into it when we were researching the Oscar thing and going back into the theater and that experience of being with other people as opposed to watching it on the small screen. So I wanna see it that way again. I miss doing that.

Yeah.  I can see that I'm just still, I guess, a little too much of a curmudgeon that wants to watch things alone.  but one that I, I am looking forward to, but to me, doesn't feel like it needs a big theater is,  you hurt my feelings.

 Right. And that's coming out like, I think it's out already in the

I think  it just came out May 26th, so  I wanna check that out. But I, don't think it needs to be a theater one. And then there are films that aren't necessarily big action screen,  but they still are now trying to drive people back to the theaters, so they're releasing it only in theaters at first, before they bring it to streaming and other options.

So, you know, but  people seem to be back. People are in theaters a lot. they still are selling out. You're still having big, big opening weekends again, which is nice. And it is a really important part of the film industry to have the theater side of things. So, 

Can I share one thing?  the whole discussion of how modern theaters are, at least in the United States. I was in Cape Town, South Africa. In April and I actually wanted to go see like Dungeons and Dragons and air films that I knew would be streamable pretty soon, but to be in the theater also, it'll be cheaper cause of the dollar.

Um, and, and I wanted to be spoiled. I wanted to like have the reclining chair and like the good food and all that. And of course popcorn. So I get to the theater in Cape Town and they're like, I'm like, do you have any sandwiches or anything like that? He's like, what? No, we have popcorn and candy. That's it.

And I'm like, oh. And then I get to the seat. Uh, so I got, you know, I got it and I got to the seat and I didn't recline  it was comfortable, but it was back in the like, I was like, what is this 2010? What the hell is this?

Aw, you're so spoiled with the rec, not with the reclining cushy

I was talking to my friends who,  like, one is from England and some are South African and something.

They're like, I think it's really just an American thing. Or like weird, As if you're in your living room, but you're not with the reclining and all sorts of stuff. So that's one of the reasons I was so excited to come back to the States and I'm like, what movie would I want to go pay,  $15 and spend like $45 on all this meals and all that stuff.

Well the other thing is movies are getting longer and longer it seems like. And you know, you want something to be cushy if you're gonna be sitting for two and a half, three hours, you know, previews and all that stuff too. I mean, you're sometimes in the theater for over three hours and it's not a play with an intermission.

So I'm curious, what did the tipping point is gonna be for the length of movies before they bring back the intermission? That's what I wanna know.  and then they can bring back the, like, let's. Saw, go to the movies. You know that little intermission kind of dance

Yeah, I think the last time I heard that in a movie theater was for Kenneth Branas Hamlet, which was like in 98 or something like that, cuz it was  four and a half hours long. And they actually had an intermission. and then, all the Marvel films, there was a, I guess, challenge, but to see all of the Marvel films before End Game, Avengers end game in one sitting.

So it was about 19 and a half hours in the theater and a couple of podcasters and bloggers did it, and they're like, we needed a massage after

I, I did that, but at home over like a

Right, but there was like no real intermission. It was like during the credits, but you knew there was after credits scenes and you know, like they were rushing to go to the bathroom and stuff.

So anyway,

Yeah,  I do say, and I think I've said this, but previously I will, uh, credit I think the M C U and those movies really with the stingers and the post credit scenes.  I like that it's getting people to stay in the theater and appreciate how many people. Put a film together,  I remember that growing up, you go see movies in the theater and as soon as the credit starts to roll, people leave.

And I like that. Now people are being kind of forced to see, uh, who, who put this together. I mean, it's a, it's a big undertaking that takes or months or, you know, certainly at least months. Um, so yeah, I think that's great.  I think, we can wrap it up now, but it looks like there are a lot of great things that people can look forward to. We either mentioned some that you're also excited for or definitely not excited for.  there's a bunch that we didn't mention, but obviously if you're looking forward to it, you already know when it is and you're probably figuring out when you're gonna get your tickets for it.

So, Happy summer and hopefully everyone listening enjoys in the theater.  at least a couple of movies this summer. Do you guys have any, any final parting words  for our listeners?

Get your popcorn ready.

yeah. Get spoiled at the movie theater. It's worth it.

Yeah, take advantage of those cushy, modern theaters, but be classic with popcorn. I like that. Awesome. Well, happy summer everyone.

happy summer.

Happy Summer.