Critical Darlings: Bugonia And The (Oscar) Favourites with Marie Bardi-Salinas

30:55I would disagree with you slightly there about the tone of the movie. I don't think it's that mean. I think that there's a lot of like sensitivity and pathos, especially like with Emma Stone's character, Begonia kind of fell into this pattern of a lot of the fall Venice movies kind of coming out in theaters and flopping a little bit, which I know like David Sims was like, oh yeah, flop, fall. But there, you know, it definitely seemed to be part of a bigger pattern of these movies not connecting as much with audiences once they were released and then that leading to a like okay well this isn't going to be much of a factor in the oscar race even if it is well liked by critics yeah i mean it it felt like i think it was a question mark for me and maybe i would wouldn't have brought it up a couple months ago because of that it didn't do so well and it was i thought it was one of yorgos's one for me you You know, I thought like it's not this is not Academy facing.

32:03But I think honestly, the more that in flop fall, the more other movies kind of fell away. There was Begonia, a pretty good, really well acted movie that had some relevant, you know, sort of critique of modern life or whatever that, you know, that looked good. And I also think it helps that, like, they're kind of just like on the lanthum most trained now, like the bar for entry for him is a lot lower than it is. for other filmmakers. Yeah. I mean, I cannot still really wrap my head around why the Academy is like, we love this. This is our guy. Like, why this particular guy. And I like Yorgo's Lanthimos' films often a lot.

32:40But like, I will say it is interesting to think about Begonia succeeding where, say, like, Eddington did not. Yeah, kind of the same thought. And I mean, like, Eddington, directed by Ari Aster, who produced Begonia, they do cover a lot of the same territory. Emma Stone is in both of them, you know, but like, Eddington, I think, was perceived as genuinely misanthropic. And it didn't give you kind of like much by way of like a softer edge character to hold on to. Right. Like the ending in particular is just like very like a bleakly joke. Right. Yeah. Whereas Begonia does come around to, yes, like a slightly more mournful, I would say.

33:18Like it also like I think it leaves a lot of empathy for its main character, even as he is doing a lot of things that are monstrous, right? Like it, it, it allows for a lot of like understanding that he has had a horrible life. And I think that maybe is a little friendlier than like the ways that like something like Eddington, while I think tackling a lot of the same divisions, just like skewers all of its characters relentlessly, you know? Yeah. I don't think that Begonia is like making fun of these people as much as it's sort of sadly empathetic, you know? um and we can get into that sort of more in the plot stuff but but as far as like why the academy has embraced lanthimos so much i mean i think it's a facet of the academy changing you know different membership more non-american members um that that does kind of change the ph balance of the whole voting body um but i also think that on occasion the academy can just get kind of hooked on a filmmaker you know and even one is sort of strange like i think the closest analog even though he makes very different films than Linthi Most does.

34:27Like, the kind of David O. Russell madness of the late aughts into the 2010s where, like, he did three movies and it was The Fighter, Silver Linings, and American Hustle, right? Like, kind of in the span of a few years that, like, just got, like, bazillion Oscar nominations. Like, Silver Linings Playbook got four acting nominations, right? Five? No, five. Because it was De Niro, Jackie Weaver, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, or no. No, it was just four. But it was in every... Julia Stiles wasn't nominated? unfortunately no but it was not it that i mean that's its own feat to be nominated in every acting category yeah yeah and the fighter got bail an oscar uh melissa melissa and oscar but anyway like he had this run of these three big movies you know american hustle which the new york critical circle awarded the best film of the year were you part of no no i have so many questions but but for whatever reason there was just this run where the academy was like well if that guy makes a movie, like he's getting on the board, you know?

35:25And I don't think that's exactly what's happening with Lanthimos, because Lanthimos does make other things that the Academy does not pay attention to at all. But for whatever reason, I think, if I had to be kind of cynical about it, I think that as a sort of collective consciousness, the Academy has decided that Lanthimos is their acceptable brand of cool. Like, that's our pick for, like, see, we're kind of arty, you know? It's funny to be like, as opposed to say, like, Wes Anderson. He does get nominated for things on occasion, but not nearly as successfully, right? Like, and as regularly as Lanthimos has.

35:59And you're like, they both make movies that are like, skewed in this extremely kind of like, personal and distinctive direction. But like people, like the Academy is just like, no, like, is this too sealed off? I think that there's one major thing that Yorgos has going for his films that maybe someone like Wes doesn't, is that, especially with his collaborations with Emma Stone, And there is this sense that actors get to really play in a sandbox and they get to have these really ballsy, fun, distinct performances where I think, I mean, I do, there are a lot of performances in Wes Anderson movies that I love, like, you know, Ralph Fiennes and Grand Budapest Hotel.

36:41There is more of a, like, restraint in the style of those performances. And I think with Your Ghost, you have both the craft side of things, where the films look incredible and interesting and distinctive. With Poor Things, which we haven't mentioned, that did, you know, incredibly in a lot of below-the-line categories that year at the Oscars. but you also have the actor portion of it that feels unique. Yeah. And I do think that like, you know, we had said a couple weeks ago that like the sort of trite and offensive perhaps adage about, you know, why young men don't win the Oscars is because Academy voters vote for the woman they want to sleep with and the man they want to be, you know.

37:28I also think with like there's some version of that with Lanthimos where, you know, the acting branch is the biggest branch in the Academy. They're voting for a filmmaker they want to work with. Yeah. Because it looks fun. Yeah. And I think when like even at that party at that MoMA party, you could see people kind of like rushing Lanthimos and being like, like, hey, like the joke being that like I did a Q &A with him for this movie back in the fall. And like he is not like a chatty guy. No, no. He is someone who clearly does not love glad handing and like working the room. And it is funny to be like, no, you've got to do this all the time.

38:01I think there might be a reason why when he writes his own movies that his characters speak in a kind of flat, context-less way. Because he himself is a little bit like that. So how much do we think his collaboration, his ongoing regular collaboration with Emma Stone is the reason that... Doesn't hurt. Yeah. I mean, the Academy does seem to like these kinds of stories, right? Like the narrative of people who are just like, they have this incredible artistic partnership. even if it does it feels like that doesn't isn't necessarily great for you if you just get nominated so many times for like working with the same people right like uh it doesn't necessarily make you more inclined to win i do have that question about stone i mean like yeah you think about like diane wiest won two sporting actress oscars about almost a decade apart both for woody allen movies think about like marcia mason back in the 70s like two best actress nominations because she was in her husband neil simon's films you know um like there are there are those sort of partnerships i mean dicaprio and scorsese obviously that can be fruitful but with stone i don't know how you guys felt but i felt like when the nominations came out a couple weeks ago when her name was sort of announced people were sort of like great she's good in that movie but there was also kind of a grumble to it where people were like again like can't she work with a different filmmaker this feels very samey she just won like and she you know like Amanda Seyfried could have taken her spot or any number of other actors I worry that for the Stone Lanthimos thing that it's starting to turn a little bit like people are getting a little tired of it I think it started turning the second she won for poor things yeah yeah beating out Lily Gladstone who had been vastly considered the kind of favorite twin and you can see it on Stone's face yeah where she's like when she finally gets up to the stage she's like happy because she just won a fucking Oscar.

39:51But like, but like, yeah, when they call her name, there's this clear like, oh, that wasn't supposed to happen. Right. And I feel like maybe even a flicker of like, is the internet going to make me a villain? Right. We're doing. I think if you had asked me like 10 years ago, who would have been the closest millennial analog to Meryl Streep in terms of Oscar nominations, I don't know if I would have picked her. I think I would have. it jennifer lawrence i think felt like she was in a zone for a while and then also you have like saoirse ronan who is younger but she's still like get five nominations at this point yeah um but i think the like emma stone going from super bad to being again the millennial Meryl Streep in quotes is something slightly unexpected it is yeah and I think the Lawrence of it all I think you're right that she was probably the best candidate but I think she had to remove herself from that like I think I remember when she got nominated for Joy a David Russell movie that didn't perform quite as well otherwise but like I was like that's a I think a terrible movie and she's fine in it but she's really miscast but the Academy still nominated her for it it's a very similar analog although I do think that Begonia is a better movie yeah it is with a better more interesting performance but it's the third nomination or yeah right this is her this is Emma's third Your Ghost nomination exactly yeah and that's what Joy was for Lawrence and I think that I remember when the year in previous years when you know Lawrence obviously won for Silver Linings and then was nominated a year or two later for American Hustle she was kind of saying publicly I don't want to win this.

41:40But it kind of looked like she was going to. And I think that she was like, shit, shit, shit. If I win this, it's going to be really bad. I'm going to be overexposed. And then some of that she took with her. And that's why she walked away from starring in movies for a while. And this is also, a lot of this was David O. Russell's fault, but she kept getting cast as these women who were clearly 10 to 15 years older, if not more, than she was supposed to be. And you're looking at this woman who was also at the same time playing a famous teenager on this franchise. And is, like, you know, playing, like, a widow or playing, like, a, you know, beleaguered, like, single mom who invents a mop.

42:16But, like, yeah, like, these things where you're, like, obviously you are, like, she still has a baby face, too, you know? And I feel like there was this aspect of her just being, like, I need to seize control of this, like, seize it back by, like, taking a break. But, yeah, like, the fact that she kept getting nominated for these roles as well felt like it was, like, almost sealing her into this path. yeah and I think that that can be kind of dangerous and I'm sure that Stone feels differently about it because she has won twice and like you know working in the Lanthimos thing is not like working with David Russell I mean Jennifer Lawrence recently was like I understand that other people have had hardships with him he's been good to me but I hear what other people are saying because he's famously like a complete fucking monster yeah Stone seems to be in a much healthier creative partnership certainly and she's also she's producing these movies now So it feels more collaborative.

43:08It feels not just like she is a muse or something like that. You know, like this is an ongoing creative partnership. She is being active in making these happen. I just sort of selfishly want to see her work with other people. Yeah. I mean, she is. I mean, but like it's like Cruella, you know, which I hate it. But like. Or if she, you know, she's in Eddington, but it's such a small part of it. Yeah. And she's there to like help it get financed. You know, I feel like. Yeah. I mean, it's worth pointing out, though, like this is a year of like a bunch of partnerships. Right. Like you have Michael B.

43:35Jordan. he's been in a lot of Ryan Coogler movies have they worked together? yeah they have a few times Renata Reinsva has been in three of Joachim Trader's movies and then Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater they just met they just met they actually met at the Golden Globes it's weird it was weird you're like how did you make that movie together and they're like oh I'll resume well Ethan was just talking in his favorite bar to his friend Evie White and the bar itself was really really tall Yeah, well, it's that bar in Midtown that does that. It's weird. Yeah. Historical, but like a weird choice.

44:10Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, like, obviously there is a tradition of this and also obviously the Oscars do not mind it. But yeah, I do. I do feel like. Certainly just like looking at it from the outside and from a sense of the public. Like, it's hard to get excited about Emma Stone getting nominated again for a role in this type of movie. Like, yeah, it does feel a bit like she's been working in a particular mode. She's got very comfortable with it. She is, I think, good at it, but it would be nice to see her do something different. Yeah, I don't think she's in danger of, like, you know, Christoph Waltz winning two Oscars for essentially the same performance from the same director.

44:47I just, you know, by the way, I just saw the Luc Besson Dracula. Yeah, where he plays Van Helsing, but not called Van Helsing. And I'm like, is Christoph Waltz just playing himself in this movie? It's possible he doesn't know he's acting. Fully. I watched that movie and I was like, God, this is like the eighth time I've seen Christoph Waltz play Van Helsing. and then I looked at it I was like no Richard this is not but I just assumed he just like has that I guess because he's in Frankenstein that kind of is what confused me I think is he the first actor in a long time to be in like Frankenstein and Dracula like within months of each other that's a good question yeah I guess he could win a prize for that you could also argue that Mahershala Ali winning two like near back-to-back supporting actor you know especially for the second one for Green Book which people were like we have nothing against him in that movie but A he's a lead not supporting and be we don't like that movie uh well the academy certainly did but like i think that that was harmful to his career and i think it was harmful to waltz's um i don't think stone is quite in that same danger zone but you do have a problem when nominations are you know read on the thursday morning and people groan a little bit when they hear your name even if they like you in the movie i think she's wonderful in begonia re-watching it i was like good god like She's so good.

45:59And yet even I was like, oh, okay. We've been here before. And I think that's the problem.

46:12David? Yes. I am so excited about this episode's sponsor. Yes, me too. Might truly be the most excited I've ever had for anything to sponsor this podcast. We're excited to like sponsors that tell you how to like help your finances. Hey, easy. Okay, okay. Sorry, sorry, sorry. Easy. Today's episode of Blank Check is brought to you by Nirvana, the band, the show, the movie. Nirvana, the band, the show, the movie. Marie's here, too, because everyone's so excited. Yeah. I love this movie. I mean, I love this band, this show, this movie. Yes. Important correction. This film is finally coming to theaters.

46:48February 13th is the start of the theatrical rollout. Yeah. From our friends at Neon. Neon's bringing it out. We have been waiting impatiently for other people to see this film. We saw this at South by Southwest. One of the best screenings of my life. Truly. Truly. It was an unbelievable experience. Ben, you were there. Had a blast. And I had never seen or engaged with this show previously. Me neither. Most of the group had not. And you don't really need it. No. You don't need the context to enjoy. Absolutely. It's a big thing. I think you need to know what Toronto is. Because you knew nothing other than us hyping you up for you.

47:22Well, this was the problem. And we should say, it's a city in Canada. Yes. I went in you guys had just been like it's the best thing ever and not just you other people I can't believe how good and I was like this is so overhyped and here's the great thing about David I'm walking in like I felt mad about it where it's just like they've primed it too much for me I like that you acknowledge this because sometimes if we tell you something's good I see you go like put your fists up well I'm just like relax because I need to I can't go in with too much hype because that's not good for my critical experience of a movie and then I thought it was better than the hype This is the thing.

47:55This movie is truly a miracle. I think it is the funniest movie of the last 10 years easily. And listeners of the show know I am often bemoaning the state of the theatrical comedy. And this is a movie that provides the thing I've been longing for, which is you go see this with a crowd. It is just electric every five seconds, rolling laughter. And the movie just builds and builds and builds. This is a movie for Matt Johnson. Yes. Director Blackberry, one of my favorite movies the last couple of years. Him and Jay McCarroll started as a web series, became a TV series, and now is a movie. But you don't need to know any of that.

48:32This works as a clean entry point. It's a movie about two friends who are obsessed with their band playing at one venue. They want to play at the Rivoli. That's all you need to know about these guys. Before the lights went down at the South by Southwest screening, I believe you turned to me and said, what do I need to know? And I said, all you need to know is they want to play the Rivoli. They got to play the Rivoli. I've been to Toronto many times. Have you been to the Rivoli? Never. I've stayed on Queen West, though, and I've certainly walked by the Rivoli many times. And I've always been like, oh, yeah, the Rivoli.

49:00It's not Carnegie Hall. No, it's a fucking bar. And you never see these guys. What do you mean? It's the most important music venue in Canada. You never see these guys practice their music. But all you know is that every episode starts with here's the plan. Here's how we play the Rivoli. Right. We got to play the Rivoli. And this movie starts from there and explodes in unbelievable ways. I think this movie is truly like a magic trick beyond just how funny it is. And for how much it's caked in the deep lore of this Nirvana, the band, the show universe that's existed for 15 years, you can just go in knowing nothing and be blown away.

49:33And for a movie that seems kind of slapdash and roughly made from the start, it starts to pull off genuine like cinematic magic tricks where you cannot believe how this thing was made. What was my Letterboxd review, Griff? Did you see it? No, please tell me. LOL. How did they make that? Truly. That was how I felt. How did this get made? I was also just like, how did they make this? I don't get it. You don't understand how they're getting away with it legally. You don't understand how it was cleared for release. And there is a melding of scripted and non-scripted, them engaging with real people on the street where the line between what is planned and what is not boggles your brain.

50:13It was my favorite thing I saw all of 2025. And now it's coming out in 2026. Now, listen, I do have to do some talking points. Do some talking points. Nirvana, the band, the show, the movie is in theaters February 13th. Get tickets now. We must say this. Nirvana, the band, the show, the movie. They're very clear that we have to say the title of this thing a few times. Nirvana, the band, the show, the movie. Why? It's a really simple, easy title. Nirvana, the band, the show, the movie really is a kind of like going cold, expecting something fun. I don't think you need too much more than that. I know it sounds unwieldy or whatever, but just like I think you're going to have a pretty good time.

50:50If you trust our opinion at all, take this recommendation. Yes. Don't look it up. Go in. And I really, really doubt there is any chance you will be disappointed. In theaters, February 13th. Get your tickets now. Get your tickets. Nirvana, the man, the show, the movie.

51:15Should we talk? We going, yeah? Yeah, we want to be careful about spoilers. So I think this is where we'll put the heavy demarcation line down, right? Well, let's talk it first, and then we can go into, when we get into spoiler territory, maybe. But yeah, I will say, I remember seeing the movie that this is based on, Save the Green Planet, that Green fell a long time ago. And I did not love it. I think because, like, Begonia tries to grapple with this more, but it's kind of like that one big joke, right? Like one big, very mean joke. And it's like a funny one. But yeah, it's not a ton to sustain a whole movie on.

51:52And I did feel like Begonia does something to build off of that a bit with regard to, yes, like trying to be like how we live now, but also like giving Jesse Plemons character a lot more pathos. Yes, he's not like I when the movie started, I was like, OK, so he is a parody of a dangerous parody of like incels, but like terminally online people. And that is in that character, but then the script kind of... Which I was surprised by because I thought that the menu, which Will Tracy wrote, was so broad and it sort of attempts at social satire or whatever. I thought this was a lot more nuanced. Maybe that's the most touch or something.

52:32But I also kind of embarrassingly, because I am also very online, I like hearing a character in a glossy movie say, like I've read that think piece in the New York Times wait that's how I live horribly you know there's something kind of cathartic about that yeah well especially when he he holds his own against her when she tries to be like you're just so you're online poisoned like the kind of the response that I also would have had yeah you've been like you've just you've been spending way too much time on message boards like you've just poisoned yourself and he's like no like sure I've made this YouTube video in which I showed what your spaceship looked like, but also, like, no, I understand what you're saying and I reject it.

53:17Like, yeah, like, it does, like, kind of, it doesn't go as, like, immediately down, I think, an easier path than the way it could. Should we lay out the premise? Yes. Well, so, Begonia is about, it's set in Fayette County, Georgia, I believe it is, but it is about a pharmaceutical CEO played by Emma Snow named Michelle Fuller who gets kidnapped by a warehouse worker named Teddy Gatz who is also a full-time conspiracist who is convinced that the world has been invaded by Andromedan aliens who have been poisoning the planet and making everything worse and killing off the bees killing off the bees causing colony collapse disorder creating like poisons that have among other things put his mother in a coma.

54:10And basically, he and his, he's enlisted his cousin Don, and they're going to save the world by capturing and holding an Andromedan hostage and demanding face-to-face with the emperor to, it's unclear why he thinks he has any leverage to kind of get them to go, but he wants to be the representative of humanity and be like, we can talk this through. And yes, when you watch it, you're like, oh, he is a delusional person who has just fixated on this high-profile woman and is now kidnapped and is going to torture her. I have to say, re-watching it this week, amidst all of these many thousands more Epstein file pages being released dubiously by the Department of Justice, whatever, and you're reading it and you're like, oh, Noam Chomsky is involved.

54:59Katie Couric complimented his lasagna. I was kind of like, oh the conspiracy theorists were right like Pinsagate is kind of real like these people all know each other they're all doing nefarious things and so watching this movie I was like kind of more sympathetic to the Plemons character than I had been when I saw it in October because I was like I mean like like is he that crazy for thinking that there's this secret network of things entities pulling the strings because like we're kind of finding out more and more that there is there's also like a you know very distinct class imbalance between Michelle and Teddy and Don where you have the it's don't want to reduce it to like eat the rich but that is kind of if you boil it down to that that you have like a someone without societal power going against you know the girl boss of all girl bosses yeah and then that said girl boss not incorrectly necessarily tries to dismiss his conviction with like, well, you just see the internet got in your brain because you don't have the fortitude to like resist what it's trying to tell you.

56:08Like there is a condescension there that I think you see play out in the real world. Like all these Trump voters are just sort of brainwashed by Facebook and Fox News. And it's like, yes, that is partly true. But like a lot of them are thinking for themselves and they hear the other side and don't, you know, whatever. I mean, there's a lot of reason to not have trust in a pharmaceutical company. What do you mean? I don't know. Well, that was the weird thing about COVID where you're like, thanks, Pfizer. Why am I thanking Pfizer? They're awful. Yeah. Well, I think also like Emma Stone is great at leaning into just how off-putting that character is.

56:45I mean, I think my I saw this movie with a friend who told me she had like chills about the particular line where she's like, we've got to change in like corporate culture now. You're all free to live at 530 and go be with your friends or go with be with your families. except of course you know it's not compulsory and we still do have to meet quotas and like we're still a business and you know let your conscience be your guide you know it's like such a great like like no like we you know we support like work-life balance except like also you have to get your work done and also like maybe you shouldn't leave we also like meet her as she's they're filming her speak about diversity in a corporate video where she then complains about the overuse of the word diversity in the video and you know she continues to use a lot of corporate jargon when she condescends to Teddy like you know can we have a dialogue or like phrases like that that feel just so linkedin speak yeah yeah yeah and there's a metaphor running through the entire film on both sides about bees Teddy is a beekeeper and the movie opens with you know him taking care of the bees.

57:56But then when we first meet Emma Stone's character in her office, the office is stylized like a hive. You can sort of, this movie shoots a lot from underneath the characters, like from below as we're sort of like gazing up at them, which is kind of a, I don't know, unsettling. But so we see like the ceiling of the office and it's got these weird sort of patterns, like industrial sort of feeling. And then the music, which is incredible in this, I think it got a best score nomination. The music in this is awesome and is like very B-like. It's like buzzing the entire time. It's really cool. Yeah.

58:34Though also has the like bursts of kind of like swelling heroic music, you know, like sometimes in very incongruous moments. Like the battle to be like, who is the hero? Like both of these characters are like, I am the hero of this story. And you kind of, I think the movie does a good job of like keeping you very much on one side for a while and then allowing you to be like, wait, wait, hold on. Yeah. And the central question is like, is she an alien or not? Is sort of what you're feeling through the movie. I think that in those scenes where they're, you know, she's in the basement or at the dinner table and they're just having these dialogues, that's when the movie is like most electrifying.

59:13And it's because like... you know the it's it's really i found it hard to sort of like i kept waiting for the movie to kind of tip its hand and be like oh well this is the person you're supposed to kind of agree with and it just like i'm like you know it's you know it's like it's like you know it's like it's like it's like it's like i'm like it's like it's like I mean, you could say the same thing about Eddington. I mean, I remember when I did this Q &A, it was at the AMC in Lincoln Square on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. And so, you know, big, busy theater. It was packed because the people knew when they bought the ticket that there would be a Q &A with Emma Stone and stuff.

59:59And they seemed excited to see these movie stars 10 feet away from them, but really kind of nonplussed by the film. They just did not know how to sort of feel about it. like they weren't really like laughing at things people said during the Q &A because like I think they were just like I don't know what I just watched and and and I think that it makes it all the more surprising I guess that the Academy was like yep let's let's give it all the nominations because it it doesn't offer any easy kind of at least initially yeah I do think one of my favorite Emma Stone bits in this movie is the scene the first time she like very obviously trying to Placate Teddy, like, records a voice message being like, yes, I am an alien.

1:00:45I would like to speak to my alien supervisors, you know, on behalf of this. And, like, as he's listening to it, she's doing this, like, yes, yes, like, smile, like, this is what you want, right? Like, this is what you want. It's so good. I'm obsessed with the way she signs off, where she's like, okay, that's it, thanks, bye. Like, she is, she is very funny in this movie. Like, I do think Jesse Plemons is very good, to but like gets a lot less of the humor because his life is just like yeah so yeah tragic and also he's doing a lot of things that are so awful um shout out to how greasy he is incredibly greasy he looks terrible yes in a great way yeah yeah like he is he looks like he has never washed his hair um like maybe in his whole life were you guys friday night lights watchers uh the first season i just think it's so funny because like that show and i guess this has happened in the past with other series but like you that's a great show at least minus the second season which kind of goes off the rails um but uh you're watching it and there's like hunky hunky taylor kitsch uh very cute uh zach gilford who plays matt saracen the sort of other football star whatever uh and then jesse hummus is like the friend of the guy you know oh is he on the team is he not even on the team i think he's like the manager or something like yeah yeah something like that like he's not a player and it's just so funny to think like oh of those three young actors who are all about the same age you know all breaking out at the same time like that jesse plemons would be the one to like have this not just like good career but like lauded like every cool filmmaker wants to work with him and then taylor kitch did like john carter and that was the end of that yeah But he keeps proving why.

1:02:29And I think in this movie, I remember once before this came out, some colleagues at my old job had seen it early for something, and they were like, oh, this is Plemons' Oscar. And then he didn't even get nominated. Yeah, he didn't get nominated. Because it was a crowded field, I guess. When I re-watched the movie, I was like, oh, God, he's so good. I wish he got nominated. But then I looked at the five in the category, and I'm like, I wouldn't replace anyone. Should we get into spoiler territory a little bit, maybe? So, listeners, if you have not seen Begonia yet pause this go watch it it's on Peacock also you can watch the Olympics Peacock Olympic Zone it's great recommend it come back and then we'll talk about spoilers hey if you just want to skip the spoiler chat then fast forward 11 minutes yeah so I said earlier that like there's no definitive answers except there is eventually were you guys How did you feel about the reveal that all of this was real?

1:03:27Does that politicize it in a different way for you? I think that the bigger rug pull for me is not... I was like, of course she's going to be an alien. The movie would have nowhere to go if it were just like, she's just this woman who's being tortured and electrocuted and has to run away. I feel like the bigger rug pull is when she's like, no, here's the actual history of humanity. and it's that like you you know like we felt bad we accidentally killed the dinosaurs like whoops like we created like life in our image it's very Scientology yes it is or like yeah Scientology or like Prometheus you know where we're all like started by these kind of like disco looking guys like alien guys who just came and seeded life and then come back and you know I don't know what they want from us they'll never make a third Prometheus you know so even though they should.

1:04:23I love those movies. Anyway, but yeah, like, then to be like, you guys are like the kind of like misbegotten, like, worst version of this and you keep getting worse and like, we tried to fix you but we couldn't because like, you're unfixable and you're the reason. Like, we didn't cause any of this problem. Like, all of these problems are because of you. Like, I think like, that is like the bigger and like, tougher, like, kind of like twist in part because, yes, you have just watched like, learned so much about this guy who's like mother you know was like a drug user who had like not been around for him as much but he still loves and then who yeah like then was like put into a coma by this treatment and like you know and then the company was like well just for you we'll pay for her treatment you know that we did for this thing that we did to her like he just like his whole life is just like you know essentially kind of like having any bit of stability pulled away so then to have also his like grand theory that like someone else has been hurting the planet ripped away and to be like no this is all on you still like that's it's tough it's a tough moment and the moment when we find out too that he's sort of a serial killer that was the most surprising thing to me and that to me is what makes the character the hardest to like because if he had I guess chosen just her and then been right about it, it's a little easier to be on his side than he's, both of them have, you know, carved a path of destruction and death through this movie.

1:05:55And like, she even has that moment, right, where she's like, how many were Andromedans? It's like two. And he's like, okay, so you've killed a bunch of people. Yeah, just random people. Divide like two aliens. And we don't really know much about his methodology of how he determined who was an Andromedan. Right. He was kind of just abducting random people. Yes, yes. And keeping their parts in jars. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I think the thing about like, it's humanity's fault. I think the obvious, and with the bees and everything, the obvious read here would be like, oh, it's about the environment, it's about climate change, and I think that's definitely in there.

1:06:23But I think there's something else that's almost darker and sort of more philosophical, you know, that is really uncharitable to like, not just like a certain faction of, let's say, Americans or whatever, a political side of things. It's really uncharitable to everybody. And that's another reason why it's sort of surprising if you zoom out that this movie has found this kind of mainstream, Oscar-friendly acclaim because that's a really despairing sentiment in any year. In this year, it's especially bleak. Right. What she says is basically there's something fundamentally sick about humanity. It is just soul deep, right?

1:07:03An original sin that cannot be cured, essentially. We tried, and it just can't be. Yeah, you're like, you might as well just scrap it and start over. And the final sequence plays that out because everybody's dead except for the animals get to live. Right. Yeah. So the earth gets to continue but without us. I do think there is something kind of like beautiful and unifying about the fact that all of humanity is wiped out at the same time. Yeah. Like, I love how different all of the, you know, moments of people, you know, Mass death. The mass death moment. You've got, you know rich people on a yacht we've got factory workers we've got a couple having sex we've got a classroom of children all different countries all around the world we're all there is a connection right we all get unplugged at the same time and and if we don't work to save the planet like we're you know it affects it's going to affect rich people it's going to affect poor i mean there will be obviously economic differences in that but like yeah but ultimately we are headed in the same direction.

1:08:07And also, so like the kind of counterbalance to that though is like Don, right? Like the cousin who, as far as we know, is just like this sweet guy who has been pulled and is like not as oblivious as like, I think he's initially presented as just kind of like this, this Patsy who is getting pushed around by his cousin. And then like in that really just like, just devastating scene where he dies, like he, you know makes it clear he knows he does know what's going on and that he's like I'm doing this because I love Teddy he's like the only person in my life and like without him I have nothing like this is obviously going in a direction where like nothing like I like Teddy is not going to be around anymore so like just tell him I love him like it's so sad but you're like this character is like you know effectively blameless in this like compared to everyone else we meet and nevertheless he suffers terribly in ties.

1:09:01It's made clear in the movie that he didn't know about the previous people, right? It's unclear. I don't know. Because I think when he's doing the electroshock thing on Emma Stone and he says it's not like the others he says others. So I think that this is maybe the first one that he's been brought in on. Which makes it even more tragic because he doesn't know that like he thinks he's just like helping his cousin with this kind of crazy thing which you know is a violent thing but but he doesn't he doesn't know what what's what's preceded it you know yeah he is kind of blameless and so what does he represent in that i i don't know but um that scene was shocking yeah i did not see that was one aspect of the movie i did not see coming at all and again very bleak and i'm surprised that the academy was like sure and not wicked um the one thing they have in common uh notable knitwear both movies oh that's true You know, someone, Rebecca, co-worker, pointed out that the sex cardigan in Wicked for Good is basically the alien knitwear at the end.

1:10:06So, you know, like why... What are they telling us about Elphaba? Yeah. And also I'm just like, who is going to be bold and wear chunky knitwear to the Oscars? This is the year. The way that that final scene or those few shots sort of create a whole world is really wonderful. Yeah. And that's, I think... in some ways of looking at it, like the weirdest that Lanthimos has gotten. Like that's the most like far flung. That's like full sci-fi, like invented world. I mean, I guess Poor Things is kind of that a little bit, but like, but yeah, I think to see the movie like go that far into this kind of ridiculous abstraction, I think was unexpected and fun.

1:10:49Yeah, though, I mean, the expression on her face after she, you know, when she's about to pop the bubble, it is like a truly like, like kind of like, mournful yeah conflicted her hand has been forced yes yeah and yeah there is even if it is sort of yes the equivalent of being like we're gonna flush this fish down the toilet like the kind of like the way it happens just like the pop like the ease of it it still is something that clearly she is distressed by yeah I mean there's a lot of there are a lot of layers to the movie which I think if you like read like a little synopsis of it it would seem pretty obvious.

1:11:27Like, oh, it's a satire of blank. But I think, yeah, it does add a lot of complicating kind of emotion and stuff like that. And the more that we talk about it, the more that, you know, re-watching it, I was like, I really like this movie. And yet, when I was doing my best movies of the year list, it didn't even pop into my head. So why is that? It's a movie I really respect, and yet I'm not thrilled that it got Academy Award nominations. I mean, maybe for the score or something like that, but the best actress, whatever. Why is it that I have this kind of block about, maybe it's Maybe it's just Begonia.

1:11:57Maybe it's his movies in general where like I appreciate them, but they don't sort of sink that extra layer in for whatever reason. You know, like I loved The Favourite. Like I really I think The Favourite is like just a fully incredible movie. I have loved some of his other movies. I don't know. I think that this one, maybe it is that feeling of like you feel like you're seeing very talented people do something you are at least somewhat familiar with, you know, and I think I don't know, maybe you start to take people for granted in that way. Like, you know, even like Emma Stone, like we've pointed out, there was a sense of just like, oh, she's going to take a slot for this.

1:12:31But like Emma Stone is doing like really interesting work. She's doing interesting work as a producer. She's doing interesting work. Like she clearly has like she is seeking out like she has like she's working with Lanthimos because he has a singular voice that she really enjoys. And she likes getting kind of like doing strange and like kind of daring roles. I mean, these are all things that you think should be rewarded for, but it does feel like we've seen it. Well, and it's been... So, timeline-wise, so there's a big gap between The Favorite and Poor Things, and then we've had three movies within the span of two years.

1:13:10And Stone has spoken about how Bella Baxter, her character in Poor Things, which was such a physical transformation, and it required a lot of technical work, that like it's really sad in her and she kind of like had a really hard time like saying goodbye to the character and I could see if you're in that sort of mind space you know head space being like oh the same guy wants me to do two more movies with him sure like it'll be kind of like Bella's still around or I'm still sort of in some vague version of that world so it does make sense and then you know this like blotted filmmaker who you work well with is like hey do you want to play hey by the way it's secretly an alien like that's fun why would you say no to that They're going to shave your head.

1:13:50Yeah. It's going to be, yeah. Yeah. I think it's just like, maybe, it's just one of those things where you're like, we've seen other movies that we've loved more from this specific combination of people even. And then it becomes easier to kind of take this one for granted.

1:14:13Ding dong, ding dong. Oh my God. Hello, Creek. Hey, how's it going? And who are you? Mack Black. And what's that? That's my name. You asked who am I, and that's my name. What are you doing here? What do you want? I'm a construction worker, obviously, as you can tell from my general demeanor, temperament, and this hard hat here. Yeah. I'm sure you've noticed the interruption, the sound. Yeah, I guess I... Jack cameras. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. We've been hearing some construction noise. In the building. Mm-hmm. But I've been struggling. Yes. What's the matter? Construction project's not going well.

1:14:49I have no idea what's going on. I explained to you my name is Mac Black. I'm a construction worker. I've been working in the building. He's winding up. Dude, he's fast. He's winding up. Literally. I don't know what's going on in your life. I knocked on the door. I opened. I'm interrupting. I don't know what's going on in your life. You're struggling. What's going on? This construction project's not going well. Okay. Okay. I've been trying to build a better wardrobe. There it is. Yeah. And so what you're referring to, of course, is the sort of the furniture, the physical thing. Incorrect. That's a weird assumption for you to make.

1:15:20I'm talking about pieces that work together and hold up over time. Well, Mac, we've got news for you. Come on in, take a seat. I have a pair of pants and I've been jackhammering them for months and nothing's coming together. We have ad copy people can't see with prompts that are a little esoteric. And one of the people who works for our show responds to those prompts in interesting ways, but nobody knows what, like, it's like going to an improv show where you didn't hear what someone yelled out. David, excuse me. I'm sorry to interrupt. Mac doesn't know any of that. He's living his own life. You're right.

1:15:51Mac is such a thoughtfully realized character. Thank you. I'm a construction worker, surly demeanor, hard hat, and I've been taking the jackhammer. Is Mac short for Macintosh? Absolutely. Macintosh, Blackintosh. That's pretty funny. Thank you. Quince has the everyday essentials. You got to go to Quince to get a good wardrobe. Well, that's the recommendation I've been waiting for. What took you so long? Shut your chest. Turn his mic off. Quince has the everyday essentials I love with quality of the last, organic cotton sweaters, polos for every occasion, lighter jackets to keep you warm in the changing seasons.

1:16:24List goes on. I love Quince. I've got a nice quarter zip that I've been sporting around town. Well, well, well, you're looking pretty smart if I dare say so myself. You know, they got obviously very, very cheap and comfortable cashmere stuff, merino stuff, a lot of good clothes. I got myself a cashmere scarf from Quince. It's cold in New York City. You need to bundle. Now, I'm a little bit wary. Quince sounds good, but is this one of those companies that works with bottom factories and cuts in the middlemen? No, they're top only. Top factories cutting out the middlemen. Oh, that's the exact opposite.

1:17:02Just to be very clear. Yes. That's what I was worried about. You're not paying for brand markup. It's just quality clothing. Everything's built to hold up to daily wear and look good season after season, okay? And let's not forget that, of course, every night I sleep under a Quince comforter and Quince sheets. So it's not just your wardrobe. It's everyday life. Ben, can you say how much I appreciate that I feel like you're making the effort to communicate with me? You're making eye contact. You're giving me recommendations. What can I say? Unlike Silver Spoon Sims over here. Refresh your wardrobe with Quince.

1:17:32Go to quince.com slash check for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash check Free shipping and 365 day returns Quince dot com slash check That's great news because I live in London, Ontario Mac, see you later man By the way, big fan of the pod

1:17:54It's funny like in terms of the Emma Stone producing things I remember it was at Sundance a couple years ago Where before like a lot of the bigger or cooler movies there There was this logo for like Peachtree Films or whatever and I was like, what is that company? It seems to have arrived like overnight and all of a sudden it's behind like all of the coolest movies here. And then she, when I saw the TV Glow was produced by her. Which is so cool. That's the year it was. Exactly. Yeah. And there's a part of me though that's like, okay, so she's producing all this really interesting, sometimes challenging stuff like TV Glow.

1:18:27And a real pain. Right. So why isn't she in some of this stuff? I don't know. I don't know. I mean, you know, like there's this part of me that wants to be like, sure, she's using her movie stardom to get these things made. That's great. She doesn't need to be in all of them if she can just get them made. But like, yeah, I know. I would like to see her. I respect that she's not in those movies. I think of like the worst version of that is like Brad Pitt in 12 Years a Slave. Where he solves slavery? Yes. But I'm just like, okay, you know, it's great that you got this movie made, but you know, you being in it, I'm rolling my eyes, especially at that the specific part at that point in the film i'm rolling my eyes a bit yeah it's it was a total distraction and and it could have been like some other great lesser known actor who would have sold it yeah no that's that's a good point that that you could run the risk of it becoming vanity stuff yeah um i don't think that she would do that but like it's it if she's all of a sudden just like only producing stuff that has a great lead role for a woman between 35 and 45 like that would might be a little funny yeah i think that there I don't know how intentional it is, but there is some weird stuff going on in Begonia in terms of the actor's ages versus the character's ages.

1:19:42They even make a joke of it, right? Where he's like, would you believe this is a 45-year-old woman? And she's like... So she's playing like 10 years older. Right. Jesse Plemons is playing Alicia Silverstone's child, but I don't think they're at hard... That would quite work, yeah. Right. And then Stavi, who is, I guess, a little younger than me, or the same age, so like mid-30s, is playing the babysitter of Jesse Plemons. Right. So it's like there's a lot of them. That's true. But as long as they kind of acknowledge it, you know, I guess. Yeah. What do we think about Stavi being? So he's a podcaster, right?

1:20:23He's kind of with me. Wait, I will say this. Jesse Plemons is a year older than Stavi. so wait yes um so so yes if you think about the uh the kind of uh gap there too hard jesse oh okay this make jesse plemons is 37 i guess because kirsten dunst is older than him i assumed they were closer yeah she's like she's a cradle romper i love them as a couple i love how supportive she is of her man on instagram i think it's so romantic to get your first nominations together for the same movie so nice and that and for that one great scene i mean that's really what they both got nominated for that amazing dance scene but um but the stavi of it all i saw some people say that because lanthimos cast him so he's what kind of a dirtbag lefty kind of like that's his reputation comedian yeah yeah but like controversial at least he was less so less so than now other people also right have have emerged from that world.

1:21:24I just saw some people online which is like, whatever, saying that Lanthimos casting him is a statement of Lanthimos' politics. That he's kind of like an edgelord or whatever, blah blah blah. I don't know if I buy that. No, I think they're both Greek guys. And Stavi has a very interesting look. And he's good in it. I like Stavi in it. At that New York premiere, Yorgos was like, I think said something to the effect of like let me put the extra like extra greek on it when pronouncing his name so uh yes there is uh we'll have to cast john stamos next another greek and we had stavi on uh blank check he was talking about working with yorgos and like they both have this thing in common where they both have like an art world side to them but they also are bros like yorgos was a professional basketball player in the EuroLeague.

1:22:21Okay. Which is really, you should look up his like basketball player. I don't know if you call him headshots or whatever, but I'm like, damn. His glossies. Yeah. He had a lot more hair back in the day, but yeah, apparently he's like super, he's super into basketball still, which I think is really funny because that doesn't really come through. What if he makes a basketball movie? He should. Yeah. He should. He should remake the air up there. Oh, God. No. No one should remake that. So Emma Stone's only announced upcoming films are a Cruella picture. Okay. And another untitled movie. Is this just her trying?

1:23:06Is she just taking a break? She has kids, right? Young kids? Or at least one. I don't know. I could imagine that after she won that second Oscar and she has another Cruella movie coming out, those two things are like pretty like you're pretty exposed at that point like that she might want to kind of like kind of like Lawrence did in a less extreme way like retreat a little bit to kind of make people miss you you know the fact that she had like poor things kinds of kindness this I think Cruella was somewhere in there too and then she also had the curse right of course which she's great in yeah well she and Yorgos do have another collaboration coming up this weekend they did a Squarespace commercial for the Super Bowl.

1:23:50Oh, did they really? Yep. Wow. Okay. Gotta pay those bills, I guess. And yeah, Squarespace is definitely, they've already released like a poster for it. And it's like a new project from Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos. And it's like, okay, well, I think we've kind of hit a logical end point. Well, and if you get paid, you know, Super Bowl money commercial salary, like you don't need to work for a while, I guess. Did you see the Jurassic Park one? Oh my God. What is going on with their faces? It's really sacrilegious. It's some mix of like, they like DH them, right? But I don't even, I wonder if Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum like were there at all.

1:24:28Or if it's fake. They look like totally AI generated. It's really sinister. Directed by Tycho YTT. Did I make that up? Yes, it is. Laura Dern still looks like a real person. This is a new thing where like they're getting all these. I mean, I know like, you know, Ridley Scott made the Apple commercial all the years ago. But like this whole thing, like a Yorgos ad a Taika ad like that's we're getting really cynical right like that's I don't like that I just get to be like oh this is an auteurist commercial like feels I go yeah I mean Wes Anderson has done some ads though remember was it like a right well he did a whole short film that was an ad right Wes Anderson did like a whole bunch of Amex Amex that's it yeah yeah Spike Jones did the Ben Stiller and Benson Boone starring a Super Bowl ad this year for like I don't know I don't know.

1:25:15It feels like there's a difference between doing an ad for a lifestyle-y, like a perfume ad where you basically just get to do whatever you want and then just put a thing at the end, doing something for DraftKings. I feel like it feels weirder also for it to be part of how they tout the ad. You know? Coming soon. This new ad commercial. Major filmmakers have always done commercials. It's just been kind of like a dirty little secret that no one talks about. Like, especially if you're not someone who's like Chris Nolan level, how do you make money in between projects? You do commercials. So a lot of these guys have maintained their careers while doing these sorts of spots under the radar.

1:25:59I guess now with like the increasing, like, we no longer have this Gen X attitude where we're against selling out. It's not as shameful anymore to put your name on something. squarespace in particular like last year their super bowl ad was just a ripoff of uh banshees of an a sharon starring barry keoghan i don't know if if martin mcdonough directed it but and then they had the year before that there was like a scorsese ad that they did that he directed and starred in okay so this is like a thing so this is a thing that squarespace has been doing but uh yeah the i guess they're being a lot more filmmaker forward in general with advertising now which is i always wondered like when when thin red line came out in 1998 that was like uh terrence malik's first film in like was it 20 years at that point uh and then like he didn't work again for a while then he made a bunch of movies kind of in short succession and now you know whatever but i was like how did he make his money because he wasn't like teaching at university of texas he wasn't like on any sort of speaking circuit i wonder if terrence malick was secretly like directing mcdonald's ads or something he's he's uh he's had commercial representation for a while i mean the thing i don't know if he was directing stuff in that period right but um it is kind of crazy that after tree of life came out it seemed like every commercial especially for like fashion brands were just Malik ripoff.

1:27:31So like, Terry, get in there. Like, I think he did a Nike spot kind of recently or within the past 10 years. And it's like... Okay, well... Yeah. Jonathan Glazer has done a ton of ads. Like Glazer, like Jonathan Glazer, Spike Jones, Ridley Scott, David Fincher. Yeah. Those guys all kind of started in that world and then made the transition to... Well, to music videos also. Yes. Yeah. And there's no real music video pipeline in the same way. I mean, there are some music video directors who kind of like break into feature now but like it's just there's not it's not do you remember did you ever have those collections of I think Palm released them yeah the directors there was like Chris Cunningham David Fincher oh my god those are so important to my oh yeah like to my becoming a film that's like how I discovered Spike Jonze yeah yeah those are huge adaptation music video work and then it was like video of it it was DVDs that collected like the music videos that they did The director series.

1:28:30Oh, that's cool. Yeah, they were formative for me. And also they were like very important to try and have on your shelf, you know. Really beautifully designed. As an undergrad. Yeah, very distinctive. Hype Williams on there. Remember Hype Williams? No, he was, they were a little racist. Yeah, it was, yeah. Although, to be fair, a lot of the Hype Williams videos were just the same video, just with different people. Yeah, no, they were a really interesting run of, yeah, yeah. So we're going to cover the Lanthimos ad on next week's episode. Right. That's going to be the entirety. We're going to do frame by frame.

1:29:03Yeah. That's going to be a deep dive. Before we close out, do we think that Begonia has a chance of winning any of these things? No. Right? I don't think so. Yeah. I can't see a particular category in which it seems like it could win. And do we think that... I mean, Lanthimos has been heavily nominated for three films now, received two other nominations in the past, has not won anything, is he going to be one of those perennially appreciated but not rewarded kind of filmmakers? Because I feel like his movies, you know, The Favorite did win a big award. Obviously, Poor Things won several. But I don't know if he himself, as a writer or director, will get himself across the finish line.

1:29:47I don't know. Yeah, I feel like it will depend on the project. If he does another project like The Favorite that feels both like him, but also slightly friendlier, you know, that has like, I can see that happening. But yeah, I don't know. It's funny because he is like undeniably like seen as this distinctive directorial voice, right? But like not necessarily in a way that makes them I wonder if he ends up going the Wes Anderson route where he does a short film. And there you go. And then, because that's how he wins. Yeah. I mean, that's, yeah, that could be, I mean, I think that there are plenty of examples in the past of, like, very distinct directors with a particular kind of style and cadence, you know, not winning.

1:30:34Like, Tarantino has never won Best Director. Scorsese didn't win it until The Departed. Right. You know, Malick has not won. you know like i i there are plenty of idiosyncratic directors who have won in the past but i think for the most part it tends to trend a little bit more like populists you know sort of accessible filmmaking i guess sean dirk or sean baker rather maybe complicates that a little bit but he's an outlier richard yeah before we go yeah jacuzzi oh oh i'm in trouble i believe you to be an Andromedan. Oh. Because this morning, I like to read your reviews before we come on. And so I searched for both of you.

1:31:17I guess neither of you actually did write. I didn't have a job when this movie came out. Yeah, and my coworker, Bilga, was the one who reviewed this for us at Venice. Well, when I went to search Richard Lawson, Begonia, I came upon the famous site findarticles.com. Oh, love it. You know we're a great place to find articles, man? Yeah. Find article stuff. And with your byline, a piece whose title spoils the movie. It fully spoils the movie. So it won't say it right now. Yeah. But there's your byline, and it goes to a description that roughly fits your profile. It says you're a culture critic who lives in New York.

1:32:02That's right. But it's not a picture of you. It's certainly not. I don't think it's a picture of anyone. I think that's a made up picture. It also says that I'm an essayist known, which known for his writing on film media and contemporary society. So la dee da me, fake me. Yeah. Well, so unfortunately I am an Andromedan. I'm going to kill you all right now. No, this is AI, right? This is like, just like an AI fake website that's created to like, so when all the, the many thousands of people who are searching for me, the real me, they're getting directed this way. instead yeah i don't like that that what do you have one i didn't look we gotta get you one we just gotta get me that's great yeah yeah i'm sure it feels wonderful for uh them to just be funneling off your reputation but there there does some seem something i don't know appropriate for this movie that some alien other me has like written about this movie i looked up richard lawson's byline on that on fine on the wonderful website findarticles.com and i write i write a lot about nintendo switch um i i wrote glowingly about the news what is it called a skin for fortnight of chapel rhone okay okay as i think her title was like festival god or something like that and um like that's the character she is and i think she's coming to fortnight festival oh How are you unclear on this?

1:33:33I want to find the exact thing here because it's my opening is really great in my piece dated February the 4th at 1.05 a.m. Burning the midnight oil. I swore I'd never spend on a purely cosmetic item in a free to play game. I'm swearing. You've said it many times before. Then Chapel Rhone arrived in Fortnite and my resolve evaporated faster than a victory crown in Storm Circle 5. We all understand what that means, right? Her icon release isn't just another crossover. It's the rare drop that nails artistry, identity, and in-game utility so well that even a hardline no-spender like me finally tapped the V-Bucks button.

1:34:16That's how I write. Wow. That's how I write. Wow. You often said that. To its credit, it does know you're gay. I don't tap the V-Bucks button. It's true. I haven't tapped one of those since high school. yeah well thanks thanks other me um andromeda and me and thank you for bringing it to my attention it's now my favorite website this episode has been brought to you by findarticles.com if you need to find an article try find articles next week we're going to be heading to uh what is it switzerland i actually where does it austria place that is a good switzerland it seems yeah we're talking of course about sinners which takes No, we're talking about It's a real twist, you know, that reveal We're talking about Frankenstein, speaking of Christoph Waltz So please give that a watch and join us back here next week Thank you

1:35:26Video production and distribution by Anne Victoria Clark, Wolfgang Ruth, and Jennifer Jean.