The Future Blockbusters Draft, Part 2

0:04Matt Belloni:This episode is presented by AMC Network. A new chapter in Anne Rice's Immortal Universe begins with AMC's The Vampire Lestat. Get a backstage pass to the iconic frontman who Pace Magazine calls a Bowie-inspired rocker that will have fans screaming. Don't miss the legendary vampire Lestat de Liancourt in his own electrifying rock saga. Experience the glory and darkness. Binge The Vampire Lestat only on AMC+. Learn more at amcplus.com. This episode is brought to you by Netflix, presenting Beef. Now nominated for 16 Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series. Esquire raves its hands down the best TV show of the year.

0:44Matt Belloni:From Emmy-nominated creator, writer, and director Lee Sung Jin. Starring Emmy-nominated lead actor Oscar Isaac, lead actress Carrie Mulligan, supporting actor Charles Melton, and supporting actress Yoon-ya Jung. IGN hails it a masterpiece. Lee Sung-jin's series remains an untouchable force. Beef, the most nominated limited series of the year. Com. It is Tuesday, July 28th. Today it's part two of the very special two-part episode, The Future Blockbuster Draft. If you haven't listened to part one, please go back and do that. Lucas Shaw and I are each picking 10 elements. We're picking directors.

1:23Matt Belloni:actors or intellectual properties that we think will help us win the box office from now through the next 10 years. So we're going to get right to it. If you haven't listened, get up to speed. And then part two now of the future blockbuster draft. From The Ringer and Puck, I'm Matt Belony and this is The Town.

1:44Matt Belloni:Okay, we are here with Lucas Shaw, who is back for part two of the future blockbuster draft. Lucas, how do you feel it's going so far? I felt like part one went about as well as it could have. I got five of my top six picks. Coogler was the only one. Yeah. Just to say you got Spider-Man, Chris Nolan, Shrek, Demon Slayer and X-Men. And I have I have Super Mario Brothers, Ryan Coogler, Batman, Frozen and Michael B. Jordan. I think yours is a solid five too. I don't, you know. Yeah, I'm okay. I'm feeling good about it. I'd be happy to be either studio. I think this is where it gets just about fucking impossible.

2:25Am I allowed to say fuck? I forget. Of course you are. This is where it gets just about impossible, and I'm already trying to, like, reorder the next ten.

2:35Matt Belloni:Alright, so I'll catch you off guard then. You go first. I have concerns about what happens with this franchise, which you voiced in part one, but I'm gonna go with Minecraft. Oh, okay. That's totally fair. I think that there is interest. There is like a built-in audience for that property that is not going anywhere. You know, the first one almost got to a billion. I'm a little worried that Minecraft's going to be like Super Mario, where the second one is going to go from almost a billion to like 700 million. But I think that that is a property where there is like a real floor. And it appeals to at least sort of a segment of, you know, 20 years of people.

3:12and it's not going to feel tired for the period that we're talking about.

3:18Matt Belloni:Yeah, that's totally fair. My only worry with that one is that it's such a weird movie and it worked for such mysterious reasons like Jack Black and Jason Momoa and having the world and everything that it's going to be tough to replicate that. Could be. But the property is huge. And don't underestimate Jack Black. No, I know. He's a huge movie star. I mean, God, you could even pick Jack Black. That would be an interesting pick. Yeah. You then have to take Jumanji 3 then. He's like an accent to a lot of these things, which makes it hard to... Yeah. Yeah. All right. So my number six, and I take this with some reservations as well, but I'm going to go with K-pop Demon Hunters.

4:04Matt Belloni:Okay. On my list, but much lower down. So it's the only Netflix property that we have looked at here. And it's really, I think, going to be the only Netflix property that we pick, if I have to predict here. From a movie perspective, yes. Unless you're really all in on Red Notice 2. Yeah, I am not. So the next movie isn't coming until 2029. Yeah. But I got to assume that there is a plan. That once this next movie comes out, and remember, Sony makes the movies for Netflix, that they have a plan to keep these coming every few years for the next decade. that it's not going to take four years to get a sequel after 2029.

4:45Matt Belloni:I'm hoping at least. The wild card here is that so much of the success of the first movie was based on the music. Music is really tough to replicate, and we'll see if they can get the hitmakers in there. Well, but you could make that argument about Frozen. So much of the success of the first one was about the music. Yeah, and the music in the second one was the same composers, and they did a nice job. It's not quite the same as the hit from the first one, but they did a decent job on it. And maybe they'll be able to replicate it on K-pop Demon Hunters. But I just think that the upside there, it's instantly going to be massive.

5:19Matt Belloni:Who knows if by then Netflix will come to its senses and put the movie for an exclusive theatrical run. We'll see. But regardless, it's going to be massive. I think the second one is going to be huge no matter what. So I totally get it. you know, a bigger, you know, an even bigger hit last year than Minecraft was. I do. Yeah, I do. I do think that there's real execution risk going forward. And Netflix has really never managed a film franchise before. So, you know what? How dare you? What's the Chris Hemsworth one? Extraction. Yes. Extraction. And the Millie Bobby Brown. Enola Holmes. Fair. are different, different, different level.

6:01But yes, I know Millie Bobby Brown is not on our list.

6:06Matt Belloni:Are you just ignoring her immense draw on Netflix? I'll let you take her. I'm not taking it. All right. You give me your number seven. I am going to make a strange selection. Maybe I'm overreacting to this year. So one of the quibbles I had with the list, I think that Lord and Miller are like the most bankable director producers in Hollywood. So you're taking Lord Miller. Yeah. They just direct. What's controversial about that? And they produce a lot too. So the production is why. We're allowing producers. They directed Project Hail Mary, which was one of the most successful movies of the year.

6:45They are involved either as producers or directors in Spider-Verse and 21 Jump Street franchise. And we don't get the franchises, but I list that to say that if you look at their filmography and we're going to get to some other direct, later unlike some of the other really great directors they basically only do popcorn movies and they're they're good movies but they are not trying to make like the the art house project that's going to get someone their first acting but who cares i mean that but that's a reason to pick them no that's my point that's why i'm picking them is that if you are looking at kind of at filmmakers who consistently give popular movies to studios and and are very productive they're

7:29Matt Belloni:they're at the top of the list and but and you're saying that now and unless amazon really fucks up their oscar campaign for project hail mary which is a distinct possibility right they will get nominations and all of that stuff yes yeah they are going to be in that conversation after this year of prestige filmmakers because they're going to get a bunch of nominations for that movie when i look back on it and our draft from earlier this year one of the things i regretted was not having more confidence in project hail mary because of their track record as as directors and producers yep agreed so instead i went with disclosure day big whiff i forgot about the lego movie they also so yeah yes they do the lego movies although although are we getting another one of those?

8:16Again, we don't get the IP. It just proves that most of what they, you know.

8:20Matt Belloni:No, they're great. My only reservation with them is they also do television. Yeah. And they could decide to work on a TV show for a few years and then take a break from movies and you may not get that. 100%. But that's a solid choice. So my next pick is also a filmmaker who directs and produces. And it's a little bit of a risk because he's at the beginning of his career but I think that given where we're going right now in the business with the lower budget or genre movies are you taking Kane Parsons right now or Curry Barker which one I'm taking Zach Craig oh okay yeah why not because so it's not just weapons and it's not just this Resident Evil movie that he's got coming out which I think is going to be pretty big in the fall this is a guy that has become a brand to younger audiences.

9:12Matt Belloni:And I think he's meaningful going forward. I think that everybody in town wants to be in business with him. He will get chance after chance. And he's the kind of filmmaker that can produce a couple movies a year, maybe, and direct his own. So you get the volume there. I get it. He's, for me, he sort of got to leave the horror lane. Weapons got to 270, almost 300 million worldwide. This is where I'm just betraying my bias against horror movies because I don't like them and I don't enjoy it. So, but usually when we're talking about kind of franchises, horror is sort of like simmering below the surface because they are sort of like not, the ceiling is always going to be lower for the most part.

9:54You know, the biggest, biggest, biggest horror movie is going to get to about 400 million of the year. But I totally, yeah, he is an emerging filmmaker that to your point, everyone wants to work with and everything he's touched so far has worked. And so who wouldn't want to be in business with him?

10:10Matt Belloni:Some people might say, oh, Curry Barker. Curry Barker has one movie. No, if you had taken... Let's be clear. If you had taken either of the guys from this year, that is premature. That is way too premature. I mean, I hope they blossom into that, but you can't. I mean, even Craig, arguably, is a little bit premature, but I'm willing to make a bet on that guy. Yeah, I think he's got the track record now. And he's an adult, and people who worked with him, like, he's very focused. He could do multiple movies a year. I think the volume play is where it's at. All right, go with your number eight pick.

10:42Matt Belloni:I think now I finally have to pick an actor. Okay, oh, this will be interesting. You already took Michael B. Jordan, and we've discussed this in the past, who I think is the consensus number one pick. Okay, I think this is where I'll go, Zendaya. Yeah, that's a solid pick. If I'm trying to pick an actor, actress, who I think is going to be a global star over the next 10 years, the question with her, and we've talked about in the past, is like, what types of projects does she want to do? The biggest things that she has opened on her own are, or where she was the star, and there's no IP, were basically the invite and challengers.

11:17And they were solid, but those are$100 million movies. But those are indie sensibility movies. Getting those movies to 100 plus is incredible. But coming off of the Odyssey, coming off of Spider-Man, coming off of Dune, is there going to be a movie like that where she is the face of it and not the third lead or the fifth lead?

11:41Matt Belloni:Yeah, it's a good question. And she's going to have to step up to that leading role. Yeah. I could see her doing a really cool action movie. I could see her do it like, you know. But I believe it's, I believe the appetite is there. Okay. Yeah, my only reservation there is she's sort of proven herself with the IP stuff. And I could see her having a more artsy type trajectory where she uses the cachet to get smaller movies made and go the Angelina Jolie route where it's like, OK, I did Tomb Raider. Now I'm going to make 10 depressing movies that nobody's going to see. I totally hear you, and that is a risk.

12:24But Angelina Jolie had a phase of being the face of movies for like a decade.

12:34Matt Belloni:Maleficent. And she did a Marvel movie. It didn't work, but she did do a Marvel movie. Right. There were the Tomb Raider movies. There was Mr. and Mrs. Smith. She did a bunch of these action movies that established the bona fides. And I think as big a star as Zendaya is, she has not been the face of a huge studio movie. Yeah. Huge value add. Huge value add. Yeah. Yeah. And maybe it's because she doesn't want to do it. Yeah. I just want her to be a bigger star than Tom Holland. I just don't. Why? I don't know. We don't have to get into this, but I'm not betting on him. Let's just say that. He is not on my list.

13:16Matt Belloni:No. You had him as the 17th best actor in the Odyssey, right? I didn't get him at all. But I normally don't. So I'm in the minority. People love him. I did enjoy that he threw up on Hot Ones. Should have been you. No, I did not throw up. I wanted to throw up, but I did not. Okay, who you got? So my number eight pick may shock you. Okay. It's a filmmaker that is consistently underestimated. yet only makes hits. Okay. I can't wait to see where we're going with this. Sean Levy. Okay. Are you sending Richard White to the Christmas basket or something? Oh, does he represent him? He's a sort of, yeah.

14:01Oh, okay.

14:01Matt Belloni:I didn't even know that. But this guy, he's got a Star Wars movie coming out. And I know Star Wars is conspicuously absent from this list right now, given the state of the franchise. But I think he can make that work. He has consistently shown that he is an IP guy and can also do originals like with Free Guy. And he just has a commercial smart sensibility that studios love. He will get big projects. He also produces. He produced Backrooms via his company. He has his fingers in a lot of different projects. So there's going to be a lot of 21 laps projects that he probably has very little to do with, but will have his name on.

14:43Matt Belloni:And then there's going to be these movies. And I think once every two, three years, there'll be a Sean Levy directed blockbuster. So I'm going with him. I can't get there. No, no, don't respect him. No, that's rude. But that is rude. That's what I'm saying. I he feels more like I get maybe this is my bias, but he feels more like a a custodian or executor of other people's visions than someone who always has the vision himself. So yes, you know what? That's what Hollywood likes. That's what these studios like. I hear you. And that's important to have the adult who really knows how to do that. He's doing Star Wars.

15:25He's sort of managed a lot of these franchises.

15:29Matt Belloni:Yeah, he's got an adaptation of a Japanese video game series that he's doing for Netflix that's a producing project. Right, he's got deals at Netflix. I guess my feeling is, if you just say, here is a Sean Levy movie, do I think that people know who that is? But, okay, but is that the standard here? Sort of, what we're talking about. The standard is, does the industry know who he is? And they definitely do. No, I think we're talking about who are consumers showing up for. It's sort of, I thought, what we were going for. Yeah, I guess. I hear you, and look, you could say, free guy. It worked. The director of Night at the Museum and free guy.

16:11sure and star wars star fighter but i i don't know that there is um there's sort of a following for him in the way that there is no certainly not yeah which is what i thought which is i guess is what i thought we were going for if you're saying it's sort of like the john favreau question i realize maybe not the right time because of coming off of mandalorian but like sure disney trusts john favreau and the russo brothers and some of these people with their movies but But if Jon Favreau just makes the movie that he wants, I don't think my my my kind of faith in that being a hit are much lower. Not because he's a bad director, just because I don't think it's like it's the same.

16:50Matt Belloni:Yeah. Favreau is a good one, though, because he will always have he'll always be on the studio lists. Yeah. Even though Star Wars didn't work, he will he will do what he wants. And I think Favreau seems to have a lot of different interests. So I think Sean Levy, his company produces a ton of stuff and then he directs a big movie every couple of years. Yeah. All right. Give me your nine. We're getting down there. So this is interesting. I was going to go director or actor here, but since there's a lot of options for that, and I really only have one IP left on my list, I think when Bond comes back, it's going to be huge.

17:22And so I'm taking that. Yeah, that I was thinking of picking. It's just, I know there's a lot of risk. It's Amazon. They don't even know who they're, at least haven't announced to their casting as Bond. Yeah, I know.

17:38Matt Belloni:But they know they have Denis Villeneuve. And although nobody's picked him, I should have maybe picked him over Sean Levy. Well, I was debating between the two, but there's a reason. They have a proven director at the helm of it. They have a really good producer involved. And I just have faith that they know how important it is to not fuck that up. And if they had gone in the... If they had gone in the direction of a more strictly commercial director who was a franchise manager, I would be worried. But putting it in the hands of someone with a vision, I just think it's going to be good. He's going to cast the right person.

18:17They're going to reintroduce it in a way. And we're going to get at least two or three Bond movies over the next decade. And they're global. They're going to be 600 to a billion with each one. And I'm in.

18:30Matt Belloni:Yeah, and the whole problem with the Broccoli family where they could just decide not to make a movie for five years, that's not Amazon. Right. Amazon wants to crank these things out. There's a risk that they will oversaturate, but that's not in our time frame. Yeah, and maybe after this first one, Denis goes away or produces, and then others come in and do the other ones. But at least this is the key one. This is the Force Awakens of Amazon. They have to get this one right in order to, fuck it up for 10 years in a row and, and have the opportunity to, to make all the others. And listen, the Denis, he decided Timothy Chalamet was an action star when nobody else did.

19:13Matt Belloni:Yeah. And he was right. So I trust him on the casting and it's probably going to be great. I just wonder, um, I don't know. I wonder whether the long-term plan for bond is going to work out in Amazon. It might not, but I'm, I just think there's going to be a lot of pent-up enthusiasm because it will have been one of the longest stretches without a Bond movie that there's been. And I don't think that's going to hurt it. And also, is that character still cool? They've got to modernize that character, but I think they'll find a way to make it work. I have trust. Okay. This episode is brought to you by Accenture.

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