Mini Crush #86 Featuring John Hodgman

soda from the incredible well stocked refrigerator. Yes here at Stuff Media h Q. When I came back, my chair was real low. You can crank it up, Yeah, you guys crank dude, you know what happened. I'm cranking it up, but you pranked it up. Every time you left. You would hop up and the chair with the arm would raise the table and almost fill your coffee. So you can go back up now. I don't like crank it up. He just just pulled a little film like this. I came down to Atlanta on my own dime to see

my friend Chuck and YouTube. No, I appreciate that and do some movie crushing, and I'm getting hazed. You getting hazed here. This is a cycle, this is a head game. Sure is, everyone's chair has got to be lower. The off mike for a second. It's gonna sound terrible. You knew he was gonna notice. I think this chair right here, crank it up from each crank it up. All right,

let's crank it up. So John, I know you don't listen to the many crushes, which is great because we've got some bits on here that are Hodgman specific that I think everyone is going to enjoy. I'm sorry that I don't listen to them. You don't have to be sorry. But it's sort of like it's sort of like a deal that I have with my my, my, my readers.

You know, I have a new book coming out, Medallion Status, and it's a great book of funny stories about me being somewhat famous and then losing that fame and trying to make up for it by chasing diamond medallion status on Delta. I'm approaching what's the lowest status that you can get? Silver? Don't even say silver, No, No, I don't know. I don't understand how it works. You have to explain this to me or I should read your book. Probably you're the first level of of medallion status on

in Delta's loyalty program is silver than so there's no bronze. No. Okay, good to know. But it's better to be nothing than silver. Oh god, Silver's is a cruel joke. So you get nothing because silver doesn't get your ship. You can cuss on the show. By the way, well, okay, silver silver is fucking garbage medallion. It's not even a fucking garbage medion. It's sucking a garbage I'm approaching said fucking garbage medallion and I'm gonna still take. But that's how that's how they.

That's how they. That's the first taste for free, right, and then then they suck you in. They want to be people. But this book is really good and you can pre order it. I'm just saying at the top, Yeah, get my plugs into the top bit dot Lee slash medallion status all one word, all capital letters. But he used to deal. It's just like podcasts. Just subscribe, right, sure, if you subscribe to your book. No, I'm just saying, buy it. Well, look, if you read it, you'll enjoy it.

If I listened to this, I would enjoy it. The important thing is I subscribe. You should have an installment plan where you subscribe and get a chapter a month. No, I haven't even better deal with my readers. If you buy the book, it frees you from the obligation to read it. That's fair. By the book. You don't have to read it. I can't wait to read it because Vacation Land was and I told you this in private,

but I thought it was a real achievement. And after your your three books of fake facts, which was fun and I love them, thank you so did I. I really enjoyed seeing this new uh, this honest, Yeah, this new honest John vulnerable. Yeah. It was very like moving at times, and and very sweet and always funny. And I'm sure this is more of that. Thanks. Check Vacation Lands, the old book, forget about it, Move forward Nostalgias A toxic impulsive medallion status that's the new one, upgrade to

medallion's datus now bit dot lee slash medallion sets. What a pleasure to be here with you, guys. Thank you so much for having me. All Right, John, we wanna talk about it ever again. We doubt that we'll talk about the next podcast. Fair, Fair, Fair. We we have a bit here that we do with Noel called Knowles holes, and we're gonna do hodgments holes right now. This does sound like wherein we have just compiled while you went

and got your diet coke a twenty movie list. Yeah, science fiction is what we're going with, where we are going to determine what your holes are. Okay, So all you have to do is give the affirmative that you have seen the film or not or the negative. So the holes would be the gaps in my cultural exactly. Yes, and we keep score, Ramsey. Can you keep score Ramsey? Thumbed it up? Thumbs up, Brandy Ramsey. And feel free to, you know, give us some musings about said film if

you that's all? What come on? Do you really think you have to tell John to feel free to muse? I got I got a license to muse. That was the original Beastie Boys album titled but no One got it right. So we're gonna start off John with Metropolis. I have seen it. I saw it, Fritz Lang's Metropolis. That is correct. Yeah, because when when when I was a youth, they restored it and re released it in theaters, including at the at the Coolidge Corner Theater where Yeah,

but this is before I worked there. This is when I would just show up there to see Samurai movies because that was a real cool twelve year old You'd show up with your vest in your bow tie, just hoping they would they would let you take tickets or something, you know, kind of and you know what else, it worked because that's that's what ended up happening. But um, yeah, the Coolidge Corner Theater is still They're still there in Brookline, Massachusetts.

At the at the time I was growing up, a great, great, great repertory movie house, and then it kind of and then it became a second run house and it kind of suffered, but then it came back as an as an art house, which is what it is now. And somewhere in there they they released this new restored cut

of Metropolis. I think they found footage. They may have colorized some of it, stuff like that was happening, and commissioned all new music from Georgio Moroder, King of the King of the eight Sounds with an incredible song by Queen. One of the last songs that Queen released, how do You feel about this. Isn't this sort of revisionist kind of like you're sort of remixing a classic and colorizing

it and adding a new score. It's a little weird. Yeah, I mean it felt intrusive at the time, and also the movie itself is a weird artifact and interesting bit of film and science fiction history and movie making, cinema cinema history. Right. I guess I said film early s I'm used too much, but kind of not. I didn't find it particularly memorable, and I didn't find like putting a whole bunch of Georgio Morodor gloss on it made it an enjoyable movie, got it? But I like that

Queen song. You know that song Radio Gaga, that's from That's from they were. They created that song for the soundtrack. They were kings of the soundtrack for a while. They did flash right, every one of us Boom Local, He's a miracle, just a man with a man's carriage. Here is Radio Gaga, Radio Google, it was, It was Queens, it was Freddie Mercury's owed to classic radio. Lady Gaga got her names from this. It is it is. So I'll tell you what doesn't that describe doesn't this describe

the podcasting world today? All we hear is radiot got very much so well, I just made I just made a connection. Nineteen. I'm not leaving it to conclude news alright. Number two the Martian? No, wait, is there is there an old Martian and a new Martian? Or is there? No? I don't have now got it? Number three solaris Original. No, but I looked for a long time at the Case Movie Gallery in Greenfield, Massachusetts, but opted No. I fell

asleep during both of them. The original I read about it and I felt like I did my job on that one. I think that's fair right. Next solaris the Remake? No, okay? Was that a Soderberg? Who was? You worked with him? And I think it's a shot for shot ish kind of remake as well. Yeah, I read about that when I'm like hard Pass, I've seen I've seen the restored kind of Metropolis. I've been tricked into this before. Somebody somebody's weird art project is not does not mean I

have to go see the movie. Are you a Tarkovsky fan at all? Are there any of his films that you enjoyed? I never never got into I really like stalker. That's one that I saw a pretty recently was Laris and that was it. He's got a bunch andre Ruebelove, which is a big period piece, big sweeping thing that used to be that used to be advertised in the coolidge corner, little pamphlet that they would print out like here's what's coming this week, and I would go, I'm

not seeing that it's fair. The next one silent running. Yes, of course I've seen silent running. Is that the same as cool runnings? No silent running? What is that? Sort of like a Brewster and future things. Brewster is on a deep He's a he's a gardener on a garden spaceship. Earth has been, you know, gone through climate change, and they sent out these different spaceships to preserve different kinds of plant life, presumably for the idea that they're gonna

re re redo the Earth eventually or something. So he's on there with a bunch of jocks. He's the gardener and a bunch of really cute or I think two really cute robots who walking around and waddle. They look like Wally if Wally walked around, right, very very very impractical way to build a robot and then he gets the word from Earth time to time to blow up the gardens. We're not going to use them, and he refuses to do it and stops the jocks, and then he's alone on this ship because this is his own

little personal eating kind of right or something. Yeah, And also it's sort of like, don't it's been a while since I've seen it, but I can't fathom what the explanation would be for blowing up the garden ships. Let let it be, just let it keep it going expensive, I don't know. I have it right here. Lowell rebels when he's ordered to destroy the greenhouse in favor of carrying cargo. So get rid of all those plants. We need to put some fucking cargo on there. And the

plants are in these big silarium pods. That's perfect for cargo. Who knows, I don't, I don't know. It's you know, it's it's it's one of tho science fiction movies. It's much more allegory than it is story or sort of echo warning, you know. But that's great, and it was the it was John Destra directed. I believe Douglas Trumbull. Douglas Trumbull, right, that was. He's a different science, different special effects master crafts person. He did the Star Wars

stuff and this was his this is his directorial thing. Interesting. Maybe I'm confusing Dike straight again, but anyway, screenplayed by Michael Chimino and Steven Bochco, the TV guy. Yeah, Bochco is around for a long time. You know who young Bruce Dern looks like on this poster here he looks like Josh Clark. He does. Look at this Chuck. Isn't that eerie one image? His hair is kind of cropped out. I think he has a bushy mane of like mullety hair.

And this actually was before Star Wars because I remember that there was accusations that the two robots, the two cute robots Huey and Louis. We're um sort of an inspiration for two Huey and Louie. That was his nickname for al Right, next film, Soylent Green. Yes, of course it's apparently people. It is next movie. I guess that one spoiled the original Westworld film. Yes, I have seen it with you, Brenner. Okay, the film Moon Yes with Sam Rock Sam Rock while directed by Duncan Jones my

friend on Twitter. Okay, he's a really nice guy. Next, we have the classic Jaine Fonda film Barbarrella. Of course, we have the classic Jain fund of science fiction film on Golden Pond. I have really that's science fiction. But today was the Golden Pond actually in a pod on Brucetern spaceship. It was on Golden Pod Katherine Eppard and Henry found to have to take a shuttle out there. That would be a real sort of new New West

World retake on Golden Bond. To get on the shuttle, you old bookin the air locks, Henry, do you hear the air lots? The loons? The loons is the famous line. That's what I'm referencing. I don't think people see on Golden Pond anymore. Man, I love that movie. That was a big HBO movie from that was that was one that was heavy rotation in culture. And now Gone Gone got mad about You? Oh wow, people don't think about mad about You anymore. I don't think Chuck had until

it's here. It's act moment. Now now they're now they're they are rebooting that about You finally, you know, but after decades of Seinfeld and Friends Nosstalgia. They're finally rebooting mat about You. But that's rebooting, isn't showing the old show or no, no restarting it doing it again. But that's purely through the I think the force of will of Paul Riser, who, by the way, is an incredible actor and a great guy. Just letting you know, but he should have gotten seven Emmys for Oak Red Oaks.

Didn't didn't see that it was robbed. So next was there. I was there. I was there at the American Comedy Awards when Chris Rock crafted a joke making fun of Paul Riser. He's Chris Rock is going to be in the new season of Fargo, which I'm pretty excited about. Still haven't seen any of Fargo. The TV show is so good. Yeah, I saw a little bit the first one. Well this, yeah, there's a three Yeah you know Holly right. Yeah. And he made Legion, which I love and I think

he's incredibly talented. But I would say the first season of Fargo was just a little you know what the problem was, Um, it was a little bit just too much wearing the movie clothes. You know. It was just kind of felt it wasn't going in new directions. At first the Billy Bob Thornton was great in it, yeah, but the second one was totally not like that those Season two was Jesse Plemons and Kirsten Dunes. It was

Jean Smart. It was so awesome. What's the Season three was you and McGregor in a dual role as as twins. That was really really good. But why am I blanking on this person's name, Bilbo Baggins? Not even Holme The Office? You know, I mean Fargo season one, Black Panther, Sherlock, Sherlock the Office did he played on the Office. He was the gym character Jim, Only his name wasn't Jim Tim Tim the original? Oh yeah, the guy. Do you know what people are screaming at their devices? I was recording.

I was recording a podcast the other day. Martin Freeman. Martin Freeman is one of the greats. Love Martin Freeman, love him in Sherlock terrific, no one, no one, everyone. The reason he gets cast and everything because everyone loves him, you know what I mean. He's kind of very pleasant demeanor and he's also very versatile. But I it's not nothing to do with him. Take the job. He did a great job and Fargo, it's just like there's you know, there are American actors because he didn't do a great

accent either, neither of you and McGregor. Uh, we'll talk about this more when we talk about endgame about accents. But I just feel like on the on movie Crush main. Sure, but I just like, we come on, American actors, let's get out there, Let's get these roles. Yeah, there are Midwestern actors. Yeah, and I don't think you know, let's let's try. I want to flip this idea out to

you guys. I heard British actor being interviewed on NPR and uh, the interviewer said, so, what's the deal with British actors being able to do American accents so well but not the other way around? And this British actor said, well, it's because we grew up steeped in American cinema, whereas Americans don't necessarily grow up steeped in you know, British culture. Ie, well, you're you know, I grew up watching Brian Blessed on I Claudius, can let me tell you what this It

was an education gardens alive. That was that was that was exclusively for all the Brian Blessed heads out there. Brian Blessed. Oh well, First all, he played what's his name, hawk King hawk Leader in Flash Gordon from Flash No, No, No No. He was a good guy, was the I think they were called the Hawkman actually, and he was the one who shouted gardens alive and may have never seen. Very very famous British character actor also voiced Boss Nass

in The Phantom Menace. Next District nine, Great, okay, Next Beneath the Planet of the Apes. I think that this is, yes, I have that's the second one. I don't know. I think it's the one where there are humans living underground who are weird? Where Dana Gold when you need him Dana Gold Power Podcast, Great podcast Subscribe, Next film Dark Star, No No, John Carpenter like a lesser John Carpenter Phone and lesser whatever. I just haven't seen it. Ramsey flashed

that one to me on the phone. I never even heard of it. It was It was very much in in my growing up science fiction e Etha or Ecosystem. It was known it was a comedy, a science fiction comedy, and I gathered that it was a little bit of a I kind of feel like it was a little bit of a stoner comedy. And I only think that that may be true because my older friend, who was a little bit of a stoner, was really into it. Why haven't I seen it? Am I right? And right?

I know it's like Radio Gaga out here in podcast land? Am I right? I don't even know what that means. Just dad joke to dad jokes. Yeah, And I kind of took it as it so I was and I was a very good kid, so I didn't want to get near that stoner comedy. Thought you might get high just by watching the movie. Was a little worried it's fair. Might need you know, maybe we should watch it tonight. Chut, we could. We should preview it a little bit, all right,

Go go go? Next film, Destination Moon? Was that the the original? I don't know what this is, Ramsey dug it up. I think that was me. Actually, it's from like the fifties. It's probably a low blow I've never seen. But this is not voy to the Moon. This is not the air. How dare you know it's not? It's Destination Moon? No, well, I don't know. You seem he seemed like a guy that might have seen an obscured sci fi movie from the fifties. Who was in it? Do you do you ever see Angry Red Planet from

that period of time? That was inline novel Red Planet? Yeah, Angry Red Planet was a staple on Channel fifty six afternoons when I was growing up in Brookline. Or maybe it was a creature double feature on Saturdays, but Channel fifty six all the same, fifty six for life eat at Channel thirty eight. The capsule review of Angry Red Planet in the in the TV guide the description on whose astronauts go to Mars, fight giant monsters then head home.

That's the trajectory either A lot of strong sounding male leads in this movie, John Archer, Warner Anderson, Tom Powders and Dick Wesson. But the fame one, one of the famous first films is they Go the French silent film where they go the rocket to the Moon and the land of the Moon's Eye. Right, Ice Pirates, the Ice Pirates. No, I never did, I never ever did see that. I guess science fiction comedy is not. It doesn't work all

the time. Robert Urich Spencer for High, Big, Big Celebrity and Boston during Cell Battery salesman better known for Spencer for higher I know you've seen this one. This is a gimme you're welcome, Time Bandits. Yes, of course, all right, let's do a quick talent. You think that's someone who loves British character. I think it's not. I wonder if Brian Blessing some Time Bandits. I'm gonna look at it three all right, I think it's nine to six. It's

pretty good heading into the final five. John the Fly the Ridge, Yes, okay, John, I'm trying to find out if Brian Blessed was in Time Bandit's what the creature from the Black Lagoon. There's that book The Woman Who a woman wrote, uh, a nonfiction book about the woman

who created the creature. We just did a little bit on her on stuff you should know because she was famously fired for being a woman by this jerk guy and the story didn't come out until much later, and so we're trying to Her name was Millicent Patrick, Yes, and the book about her life as the lady from the Black Lagoon. Right, she designed the costume. Yeah, stuff you should know. Just did an episode on movie special effects and we gave her her due Mallory Omira is

the author. Check it out. Next Cocoon, Yeah, of course, telling with the old people yep. Okay, well, also Cocoon too, So it's a could be could answer either way. I got it, got it? Uh? Next the movie Czar does. Yes, I saw it at paul if Tompkins's house, okay, when I was famous for that outfit, Yes, and for its overall weirdness sort of a bathing suit thong situation where it's like a mid Sean Connery, very hairy that that poster. I mean, I'm grateful to the movie for giving us

that image. But the rest of the all the other frames of the movie do not need to exist. They did how did this get made? On it? Which is a lot of fun. The other frames garbage? They got one frame, that's good. You know what. Some people don't even get one frame. Some movies don't even get a frame. And then finally John Yes, number twenty x Markina, No, I am not gotten around to seeing that, and I'm very good. Alright, do we have a total Ramsey? What

do we got? Sevens? Alright? Anything over deeper said means you win? Oh good, that's good, all right, nice job he was not Brian Blessed was not in Time Bandits, and I would I fired Brian Blessed. I would be very very frustrated. Quinn Tellius Fargus, where is my Time Bandits? It's a great last name, Blessed, Brian Blessed, I know who this is. Of course. All right, we're gonna move

on to a social studies segment, Movie Crush. Yes, and John, this is where I get on the movie Crush Facebook page and I pose a question to the listeners to the movie crushers, and then we read some of their stuff, and then you guys chime in with your own answers as well. And you know, let me let me like the movie Crush Facebook page. Oh you bastard, haven't liked it yet. Well, I'm not a book I don't live

in the Facebook world that much. And I'm looking at it now and confetti just went off on my screen when you liked it. Oh yeah, hooray. All right, John, I asked the movie crushers this very simple question, who is your favorite m c U hero? And why? Uh huh do you have yours already or do you want to think about it? I got it, all right? Well, we'll get to you both in a second. Let me

go through some of these old friends. John millsap says Tom Holland Spider Man is Stanley's creation, right off the page, perfect teen energy. Uh delete that question, not the MCU oh johnson very recently no longer. Sorry John, Yeah, you're right, technically, Sony Sonny got greedy, top fan and oldest of pals. I'm gonna say it right this time, Alex Glasnovitch. I think Bruce Bruce Banner by Mark Ruffalo is is fleshed out, an empathetic hero out there in these movies. Also the

most fleshy. I see what I did there, because he's shirtless. Sorry, I thought you were fat shaming Martin. He has a normal body. The Hulk is fleshy, He's green and fleshy. Rob Craigels is Thor one of the most powerful, powerful characters, still looks for redemption and uh after seeming failure, great arc, great art. And it's a character too that I was like, this is gonna be goofy, how are they going to

do this? And they made it delightful. He's so funny. Boy, he's great, He's he's everything you want and a character like that. The first the first I didn't see I've never seen the Dark World. Uh I missed that one. But it didn't matter. There was a little bit. I was like, wait, what happened? How they get who cares? And it's never and as much as yeah, well that's when they clued into what the character is. He's comically and yeah, he really did evolve and then and then

changed again. We'll talk more about this on the movie Crush Main. That's right, old friend Andrew Ryan White says, Tony Stark ultimate redemptive character. Fair hard to argue. Everyone, you know what the m c U is good at arcs, good arcs. Yeah, they got good arcs. Don Morris, old friends,

says star Lord Man. From the first second he danced across that screen, I mean that ship was so funny kicking those lizards, and I mean, and you know, the Guardians of the Galaxy let people know that they were gonna be that this is a big universe and they were gonna be different kinds of movies in this shared universe, in different moods and tones. That was man, he really shipped the bed with Thanos though, Man, he like overreacted

and screwed everything up for everybody. He really shortsighted jerkwak. I didn't know that Noel was the Internet, because yeah, people got mad at it was annoying because I liked the character so much. He just overdid it and there was a device. I get that, but it just had bothered me because I didn't think the character, No, it wasn't it. I mean, I think that that's what makes Marvel movies good, is that the characters are fallible and

it's really screwed up. It's really, really, really really screwed up. Do you think he owned up to it? Did he feel like he owned it? And the next movie I can't even remember, it's not mentioned, does not come up, and I don't know that he learned anything from it. We didn't spend much time with him, but it was but yeah, that that that moment is supposed to be that enervating and angrifying. You know, one of those is

a word. It was Shannon reading McQueen, says Nick Fury, some some mysterious and secretive love seeing some of the backstory and Captain Marvel. That was fun. Old friend Kevin Herbond says, I love how mcu Lets the little guys be heroes too. The old guy in Germany that wouldn't kneel for Loki. Yeah, the Shield Tech and Winter soldier that wouldn't launch the Hell carriers even with a gun to his head. Yeah, that's yeah. Nice. Regular human heroics. Do you have one who was your h human hero

or or my favorite favorite m c U hero? Did you forget where you were for a minute? No, no, but we were talking about the ordinary humans. Who I mean the main question here? Uh yeah, Captain American. Okay, Well, Captain America was not a character that I cared about at all as a comic book reader. Very very hard

character to get a beat on. If you look at the history of Captain America, you know, he wavers between you know, the the propaganda patriotism of the era in which he was born and created in World War Two by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, to a more self reflective Captain America in the nineteen seventies who questions the value of patriotism in itself. Postwatergate, Captain America and the comics went off and gave up being Captain America to become Nomad for a period of time, a person without

a country see the name. And all of these arcs were reflected in the in the MCU Captain America. But one of the thing that the comic book character never had in order to ground all of these takes on Captain America and make it one whole human person that you cared about, was Chris Evans. And Chris Evans, you know, when he was cast as Captain America, I had seen him in Half a Fantastic four movie when he was the human Torch and he was great in that movie,

but he was like young hot shot. I'm like, how could this guy be capt ever be Captain America? And boy did he own it? And he create he created a whole human being that you care about. And it was the first time I cared about that character in the in my long history of comics. And he had to do it from this template that had that you know. You know, there is Spider Man Peter Parker straight off the page, right, there is Sony Stark straight off the page.

Although I think I think obviously Robert Downey Jr. Brought a lot of new elements to Tony start or no one knew who he was, and he was a total cipher of a character. It wasn't until they movies later that they locked in on, oh, he's the tragic comic relief, you know what I mean. They made him the comic relief and they made him the tragic relief and that was amazing, And Chris Hemsworth was was awesome at it, and Quill is Quill and everyone's great. Captain America was

Captain America from the beginning. You believed in who he was at the start, and you followed his journey and it felt completely consistent, and I just thought it was a triumph to make as bland a character as that interesting, and that, to me is an element of what the

whole m c U is like. They translated something from the page to the screen and in a way that no one had done it before, with a mix of taking it seriously, taking it lightly, reimagining being being honoring, you know, honoring the source material, but messing with them when they had to, and appreciating they need to be real human beings. But to mention the insane continuity and crossover in the whole way weaves together and the post credits,

I mean it's a feat I mean it's unreal. Really, yes, absolutely, so that was my son. Any frame of any movie with Cap with Chris Evans is Captain America. You know what, you got one, here's your favorite hero. I like Thor a lot. I just I mean, you know, I'm not a big Marvel guy like I. I've came to this largely from the movies. I read like Watchman and more like the Vertigo kind of comics and Sandman and stuff.

But I was never really a Marvel loyalist. So I'm learning all of these character arts from the movie didn't comic books at all, except for Ritchie Rich and Archie. So uh true. I feel that Riverdale. I haven't seen it. Oh yeah, to check that out. It's good, it's good, it's interesting. I'm gonna go with I'm gonna I'm gonna go with Thor. I think and and Cap like those are my guys. Yeah, hard to not pick those two. What does Sony think they're doing? Stealing blond blonde white males?

I get it. What do they think they're gonna do? Stealing next Spider Man back? Like all the Sony Spider Man movies suck like, I mean, the early ones, I guess with those are good couple of more. Then they lost their way with the other dude, and then immediately when the Marvel one came out, they were great, and now what are they gonna, like, how are they gonna

here's do it. I completely understand why Sony wants Spider Man Ben because they first of all, they own him, sure, you know, so he was on loan to the m c U, and when they loaned him to the m c U, they had nothing to They had nothing to lose and everything to gain because the m c U was you know, Disney, Marvel Studios. We're clearly creatively on the right track. They knew what to do, and they knew a way to execute it, and Sony had no plans, and they had just come off of the total uh

FCS show of the making of and releasing of Fantastic four. Um, so they had no faith in their own creative enterprise, and they're like, why not take this money? That makes perfect sense because we can't we don't know what to do with this character. But then on accident, almost they didn't realize they were about to release the greatest Spider Man movie of all time, which is Spider Man into

the Spider Verse. Which is as great. It's one of the most beautiful, well constructed, thrilling like it's it's thrilling as a movie. It's throwing is what it represents for storytelling and an animated movies. Um, I mean, it's just it's such an incredible feat That was Sony. Yeah, that's what they did. Instead they gave they gave Spider Man to the m c U. But then, uh, and I really wanted to do justice to the filmmakers because I

it was sverse. So hang on on section. I can't get enough of that Spider Ham It's great, it's so funny. And that's Laney John Maloney. That's what I said last night after nine martinis. So it's co directed by Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman and Bob Paris Ketti and Rodney I I we've friends in coming from back in the old McSweeney's days.

So I was like, go team. But but Peter Ramsey is an incredible filmmaker, and um you know, he's a person of color making a superhero movie about a person of color in a way that is not at all provocative, just exciting, do you know what I mean? And so all of a sudden Sunny realizes they're sitting on this brain trust that know how to make Spider Man. Question. I had no idea, but I think it makes perfect sense.

And I think they expected into the Spider Verse to just go off into the into the night and con street to video or whatever, because it's an animate movie, and they like that upon first glance, Like when I saw the trailers, I was like, oh, it's a cute little Spider Man cartoon, and then it was this powerhouse, psychedelic Marvel and yeah, I thought it was fantastic. So they I think they they're feeling there. And they had the success with Venom, to which I did not see

but apparently did very well. So like, hey, we own the whole Spider Verse. Let's get our Marquee character back and deal with it. And I think it's really, um, it's very bittersweet. Yeah, all right, John, I never felt sadder about corporate in fighting. The Cola Wars didn't do it for you, Pepsi versus versus Coke. Look, it's not just because I'm in Atlanta, Pepsi. Yeah, exactly. Sorry, all right, John, We're gonna finish today with a comic card. This is

where we take. I go into a restaurant and that's a pepsi restaurant. I walk out. Oh yeah, I had the very least roll my eyes. I do enjoy diet a diet mountain dew from time to time. Is that a pepsi product? Yeah, dont do a pepsi product. And I do enjoy a diet mountain dew from time to time, especially the bodega at the end of my street in Brooklyn, sometimes, says him in cans. And it's just like a great day.

We finished with comic card, which is questions from the listeners, and I told them you were coming on, and so we have some Hodgman specific questions. I can't wait, and we're going to take a few of those. Who is John Hodgman. John Hodgman is the author of Medallion Status coming up October preorder Hodgment preorder, but doubly slash Medollons hads goat Nick Kelly, old pal, says John toes seeing friends of yours in a movie take you out of the movie or make you feel more invested. I think

it's a really good question. Well, it's interesting because you mentioned John mullaney is the voice of Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider Ham and Spiderman into the Spider Verse, and John John and I, Uh, I know each other. We've never hung out, but we used to run in the same comedic circles years ago before he hit it real big, and he was very kind and he and Nick Kroll had me on their Oh Hello Broadway run. I was

a guest, which was a treat. He is by far one of the nicest people in the world, and yet when I see him or anyone I know on screen, it absolutely takes me out of the movie. Is like, why did they get that job? I'm around and it doesn't matter what the job, Like, I could be completely wrong for the job, and I'm like, Oh, John mulaney gets another But I don't have funny voice to lots of funny voices. I was on Adventure Time. I was on I was on Venture Brothers Two Voices. I was

in I was in Coraline. I was the father and other father in Coraline. God damnit, who are you on Adventure Time? I love Adventure Time. I was the King of the Blob. That was the king of the slime Kingdom, Yes, slime king and uh and yet and yet for all of the deep professional jealousy, you know, as gore Vidal said, it's not it's not enough that you succeed your your your peers must suffer for all the the dysfunctional professional

jealousy that takes me out of movies. Even Sweat into the Spider Verse was so good that even I couldn't get mad. I was so happy for John mulaney and he was so great and then obviously so Alright, old Pal Michael Griffith. On that note, John, are they all your old pals? You get old pal status if Oh, it's a status loyalty program within the movie Crush universe. Okay, I thought they were just all your friends from high school. No, no no, no, these are old pals, people that are

really active. How do you earn the old pal status? You answer? You know, you get involved on the Facebook stuff and I recognize your name after it appears over and over so On Delta Airlines, you can you can buy diamond Medallion status at the end of the year for thousands of dollars. Could I do that? Could I get old Pal status? Old Pal Michael Griffith says this, John, I'd like to know what your favorite voice over work that you've done has been just talking about it personally.

I'm a fan of your work in the Venture Brothers. Well, thank you very much much. Uh, I'm not because that character Snoopy on Venture Brothers. Why I'm an enormous fan of Venture Brothers, and Doc and Jackson publicly make it um that that voice sounds too much like me and there and so my own self loathing kicks in and I don't like it. But recently I've had the extreme pleasure of of of working for Disney on the New Duck Tails And there's a character that I voiced in

season two called John D. Rocker Duck. Who is it was? Was created by Carl Uh? That was it? Carl not Carl Barks. Oh, never mind, he was. He was a member of the original Duck Tails comic strip universe, a rival billionaire to Scrooge McDuck. But then they kind of got dropped from American comics and no one ever remembered him except for the Italians, where he became a huge

character and in Europe. A lot of those uh duck Scrooge McDuck comics in Europe were written in Italy and Rocker Duck became this big character, this iconic character in Italy and throughout Europe as a result. But he had never been animated before, and so I was the first person to ever voice this character. So it was very exciting for me. Do you get to originate? I got to originate the voice of John D. Rocker Duck. That's great. Who is this historic character within this world that people

care about? What was the voice? Do it? Well? Hard? Is that it? I'm John D. Rocker Duck. You can't put up your dukes, mad billionaire? What did the Adventure Time characters sound like? Let's run through these? I think it was just me. Okay, but wait a minute, I just I'm dropping some news here on on movie crush minis. Yeah, it's now been revealed that John D. Rocker Duck survived and we'll return in season three Nice as part of Foul the evil organization f A f O w L

Foul Nice. What was that acronym stand for uh? Friend of Wildlife Lands? Got it? It's important? No, I don't remember Fiendish. Something we do want to shout out Karma Haw Maddie because she did ask what you thought of Spider Man leaving the m c U. So we'll consider that answered. But it's a it's a real drag. It's a real drag, fiendish organization for a world larceny, which is classically let me see, let's do let's do a couple of more here and then we'll wrap this one up.

I had a good one. But yeah, I liked doing Rocket Duck because he didn't sound like me and it felt like acting. I liked that. All right, John, here's one. This is for one of the oldest apals, Debbie Franka Dakas. John, do you think movies accurately portray Ivy League college life? Uh? What movie? So? Iby? No? Is that I attended Yale University. That's an accredited for your institution in southern Connecticut. So you know what's out there? Paper Chase never saw it,

school ties never saw it. That one with Brendan Fraser. Oh yeah, that's a Harvard one, right, I think so? Yeah? And Soulman is Harvard to good lord? Um, how accurate with soul Man. Let's just say it accurately portrayed its times and how we thought about race at that time. It's true, all right, I'm looking at Ivy League movies.

The Skulls. The Skulls is loosely based on Bones Skull and Bones Senior Secret Society at Yale, where supposedly, if you get tapped into Skull and Bones, you are initiated into a worldwide secret world government or something. Now you're supposed to do a guest spot on my other show Stuff That Don't want you to know later where supposedly are going to tell a story about happening upon one of these types of meetings. So no, scoopa here, I don't happen upon it. I was invited to Fantastic. It

was not Skull and Bones. It was booking Snake. That's a tease check out, Yeah, do it. Um. It was Chicken and Waffles. Chicken and Waffles Secret Society. Uh yeah, that one. That that one. I mean the only thing, the thing that I flashed in my mind was Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Crystal Skulls or whatever in the Kingdom of the Crystal Skulls, because that's supposedly set. Like there's a whole motorcycle chase scene at his college which is supposed to be I think Princeton, but they

shot it at Yale. Yeah, and and I enjoyed seeing that campus because you don't see it often on film, So that was the most accurate portrayal of Yale. I would say Motorcycle Chase at least at least you get to see the Linonia and Brother's room in Sterling Memorial Library, a place right where I took many a napse, any knaps. All right, we'll finish up with once again with old pal Alex Klasnovich, John and could be Noel as well

and me. What's a movie that you can't wait to share with your kids when they're adults, but are too young for now? Your kids are older, they can probably see most of anything, right, Yeah, but I had that experience for sure. What was one of the big ones for you? Um? I remember showing my daughter The Brood by David Cronenberg around Halloween. Nice, that was That was a big one for me. Uh. Rosemary's Baby also was one.

Now that's my daughter's favorite movie. I haven't seen rosem but I did not show Rosemary's Baby because like there's there are lots of movies now. So our daughter is seventeen or sons fourteen, you know, I remember, like for

my son, it's like, yeah, go see our movies. I don't care, like, you know, like it's good to see movies that are a little bit above your pay grade in terms of language content like it's it's I remember seeing movies where I was like, I'm not sure I should be seeing this, and that kind of opens up some thinking about I think it also isn't like an instant license to like be a bad kid or something. It all depends on how it's handled by the parent.

And if it's it's, if it's this awful, secretive thing, they're much more likely to sneak off and do it

anyway and then rebel by doing the things. That's that's you're absolutely right, and you know, like I should I showed him I Claudius the six BBC mini series and he loves I Claudius and that has nudity and and sexual content in it, and like they're they're like, it's the production values are very love So it's like a bunch of British character actors pretending to have an orgy orgy, a bunch of British character actors pretending to have an orgy in a in a rec room made out of cardboard.

It's not very you know what I mean, But like I can't. I really I want him. I want him to see Midsummer the Arioster movie because I think I think it's one of the greatest movie I've ever seen and revisit that we we we just a lot of people are mixed about it. I'm not, but like and I have no I would have no problem if he snuck over to see Midsummer on his own at the Nighthawk Theater in Prospect Park, but I don't want to

sit through that sex scene with him. About that and like my my daughter a year or two ago, I was watching Call Me by Your Name, which has some some hugging and kissing, and it's a great movie, and it was that was where I was, like, I articulated that feeling of like, it's not that it's inappropriate for you, it's totally appropriate for you as it is for me. I'm a grown person. But we don't want to be watching this movie together. Both of you. Don't want to

have your dad watching this movie with you. I will excuse myself and go up to dare we say, recuse mine? I'm really looking forward to is uh obviously obviously et and the Goonies is really the big one that I can't wait to show Ruby E t could do pretty early. Yeah, I think she's close. And here did ET come out something like that? Yeah? So yeah, I was eleven. We were the perfect tage because we were the age of tie. I'm sure I did. I do now, I got close,

probably more than I would have been. I'm not and I'm but like I was so, as I discussed in my book Medallion Status, but not ley slash Medallion Status. Try stories from secret rooms upgrade. Now, Um, I didn't. I didn't cry ever during my childhood, and it was not a point of pride. It was I got nervous that I was something was wrong with me. So I felt a little bit of leaf when I got close, and I got a little misty. What about now? Are

you more emotional now with stuff? Yes? Well, it comes up in the in the context of an audition for a play for in the role, and I had to cry on command on stages, one of those actory things that I had never done before and was terrified of, especially since I had I had this problem in my life, which I did well. Yeah, I mean I I had. I had formulated a theory as a child to explain my weirdness in this regard and in general, which is, well,

maybe I'm an android, maybe I'm incapable of tears. Oh, I thought you were going to say you were a sociopath. So for the stage play, the way you got to cry was you thought about not killing people and that

made you so sad. No. But what I hadn't appreciated was that between seeing ET two or three or whatever, and when I was auditioning for this role, time had passed and my mom had passed away, and I had had kids, and the kids were getting older, and we're disappearing before my head, and I didn't realize that I had this ship to draw from. And the minute I was rehearsing my lines walking down the street and I hit that line, burst into tears immediately, sobbing, racking tears.

It was intense, and I was great because hey, I knew I could do it and be like my neighbors on the street didn't want to talk to me. It was great. And I went into the audition and the woman who wrote the play, Hallie Feiffer, was like, and I was nervous and I couldn't do it again, and I did again. It's like bloom tears, huge tears, and how I was like, are you okay? And I'm like, I'm fantastic, he said, this is the first time I

cried in years old and such a liberation. And that's when I realized that my superpower is I'm like Bruce Banner and Avengers isn't always crying. At any moment. I can just turn around and stare down the Chitari invading army and just be like, oh, that's good. Yeah, all right everyone. That's all the time we have for this week.

Thanks to John for being here. Pre order medallion status bit Doutley slash Medallion study I T DOT L Y slash all capital letters M E D A L L I O N S T A t U S probably made that easier if I was shortening the U r L anyway, probably John book, Yeah, exactly by me. I never that's right by me. You don't have to read me, all right, Thanks everybody, We'll see you next week. This

is fun by Old Pals. For more podcasts for my Heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.