216: Jennifer Lawrence and the Road to Stardom

Hi, my name's Jennifer Lawrence, and you're listening to Movie Meltdown. It's showtime. The following feature has been rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America. It is intended for mature audiences, and parental discretion is advised. Our nuclear reactor pumping out one million kilowatts of power.

Provide more cooling in the containment chamber. To your citizens, we have a movie meltdown. Well, Jennifer, just relax, take it slow, and let the good times roll. What's up and welcome to Movie Meltdown. I'm Brian.

I'm Fred. I'm Lucy. And we are coming to you live via digital recording from the Alley Theatre. And with that, we have not one but two new people sitting in this week, one of whom is connected to this place. So first, we'll get to Philip.

Philip, I've known you forever, so I've been trying for quite a while to lure you into the evils that is Movie Meltdown. So say hello, I suppose. Hi, everybody. Hi, everybody. Yeah, you've got a good amount of movie geek knowledge, and you'll tolerate me for short amounts of time.

So you're a good candidate already. Glad to be here. And then we also have Sterling. Greetings. You are connected to this theater that we are in right now.

So do you want to give people a rundown of the basics of the Alley Theater? Sure. The Alley Theater, which is located in Butchertown in a basement, is actually a fantastic place to be. They don't know that. It's Radiant.

Shh. Don't know. Oh, sorry. It's on the tower that you can see in Butchertown. You know, that one.

Oh, everything's covered in gold. It's shining. Yeah, it's beautiful. I do love this place, though. It's awesome, actually.

Yeah, it's located in the bottom floor of the Pointe. with an E at the end because we're fancy. It is fancy. And yeah, I just started as production manager here a couple of months ago. And anyway, welcome, Movie Meltdown. We are happy to have you.

Yeah, we got steered this direction. And I told you, I was like, I would have known. I would have been here sooner. Got all kinds of fun things we can do here. Oh, yeah.

Lots of toys to play with. So hopefully, yeah, in the future, we're trying to expand and do some fun stuff coming up in this next year. So yeah, we're going to try to work together on some of those projects. Cool, cool. Let's see.

That having been said, I won't go into it fully because it's not kicking in until next month, but we, as usual, are broke. And I bring it up all the time, but I decided let's just kind of focus it and we can have that fancy NPR mode of this is the only time this year we'll be asking you. We'll do that, but we're going to shoot for next month. So I'm actually going to do a focused month-long fundraiser kind of thing And I'm just putting it out there now because if you're getting any money back on your tax returns, save us a big chunk of it is what I'm saying. Because there will be like, it's a multi-tiered reward system.

You're going to get cool stuff out of it. So I'm just telling you, save a little cash right now. Just a heads up. So it's not officially started, but I'll let you know. I'm sure you'll be fully aware and sick of it before it's over with.

Other than that, for this week's Geek activity. Forget all the other old geek activities. This week, I had a geek activity years in the making. Now, you guys listening at home know what it is because you probably looked at the name of it when you downloaded it. You guys sitting here don't know.

I haven't clued you in on the amazing event that happened earlier this week. I think it's amazing because I didn't think it would ever actually pan out. Yeah, this past week, I interviewed Jennifer Lawrence. Wow. Cool.

Did not see it coming. I didn't either. I didn't, and I've been working on it for years. Like sending a letter to her house every week. Trying to get the restraining order taken off.

Jennifer, we can have an interview. All you have to do is get that restraining order taken away. So wait, did you know about this two weeks ago? No, I did not. When you were naysaying and talking about how it was never going to happen.

No and making fun of those other shows that also didn't have interviews with gender for like yeah just just saying you know anyway really it is i think that is sort of a feather in our cap if you will i for for a show of our level to be pulling in a oscar nominated i i'd say you can't really argue a-list actress at this point um that's that's kind of a big deal i don't know many like geeks in their basement on skype that are pulling that in so you know we're We're geeks in a theater. Thank you. A gold-plated theater. A basement theater. Tower theater.

Well, it's a really nice basement theater. It's a very nice basement. Come on. Look at these sets. They're fantastic.

Don't describe the. Sets, please. Gold- No, stop. Just stop. But yeah, I just, yeah.

Not to pat myself on the back, but hold on. Let me dislocate my shoulder. No, I think it's really... kind of cool that it happened. It took a long time and, uh, you know, it's, it wasn't long, but it was what we could do. So I'm, I'm, you know, I'm going with it.

So I figured with her, um, pending Oscar situation, we would kind of take a few minutes and talk about the Oscars. So I think that's, that's what we'll head into. We'll, we'll go ahead and take our break here. And, uh, when we come back in, I will be talking with Jennifer Lawrence. Jennifer, Jennifer, lives up on the hill.

Jennifer, Juniper, sitting very still. Is she sleeping? I don't think so. Is she breathing? Yes, very low.

Whatcha doing, Jennifer, my love? Jennifer, Oh, the time is now, the time is here. Now's the time. To abide a cheer. The tasty life where the price is right.

Well, look in here, you'll dig this site. The moment's handy for a piece of candy. Just name your brand, they're all so grand. Hey, what do you think of a nice blue rank? Hi.

Sergeant Chamberlain Frederick Ross. We have an appointment. No one can see. What Jennifer saw. He was standing right where you are.

Kind of breathless like you. Well, we had a real bad murderer up here a couple of years ago. A girl with no head and no hands. I believe the code is Jennifer. No one can imagine what Jennifer felt.

I think I found something horrible, sir. I think I. Found a hand. What's with all this Jennifer stuff? These cases aren't connected, John.

Yes, sir, I think they may be. He's a crazy man. To my certain knowledge, he has killed eight girls. Not a lot of support for that scenario, though, is there? But one man suspects why she could be next.

If I promise to stop being a cop, will you promise to stop being a witness? She's a little young for. You, bro. You had a lousy life with a lousy wife. Is that why you need to pick on this little blind girl?

Because you can control her. Our blind lady has been attacked again. Why does he want to kill me? Because he thinks you're a witness. There is no serial killer.

You stick her name up in neon and there is still no serial killer. I love you. Are my lips lying to you? John, what's happening? Is my mouth lying to you?

He was here. I've got a bad feeling about this. Is that you, John? I've been doing this too long to be wrong. What the.

There is a bad man out there. And I don't know if he's in the next room. Or in the next state. And I don't know what his trigger is. If he's in the room with her, she's dead.

Andy Garcia, Uma Thurman, and John Malkovich. Is anyone there? eight well i love the movies. Welcome to the biggest movie event of the year ladies and gentlemen prepare yourselves. Ladies and gentlemen, prepare yourselves. It's time for the Movie Meltdown Oscar Mayer Party.

With all the blitz, glamour, poor products, and vicious commentary you've come to know and love, the Academy Awards will never be the same. Bacon tastes good. Paw chops taste good. Coming soon to this feed. Don't miss it.

Oscar Meltdown. It's going to be artery clocking good. I went to school with 27 Jennifers 16 Jens, 10 Jennys, and then there was her Mmm, yeah You might be the one that I've been seeking for You might be the strange daylight boomer. You might be the girlie who shall lend all girls. You might be the sweet on the spike boomer.

I rode the bus with 27 Jennifers. All right, so we're here with Jennifer Lawrence. I guess, you know, at this point, we're weeks away from heading into the Oscars, so I thought we could address some of the Oscar situation, unless you're just kind of sick of it at this point. I'm assuming that's what everybody's asking you, no matter where you go at this point. Yep, it is.

But it's okay. It only lasts for a couple months. That's true. I mean, it is kind of a big deal, so I thought, you know, since we're heading into it, we could sort of touch on that. First, I wanted to go back and see, Mike, as far as when you were a kid, is that something you were interested in?

Were you kind of a kid that sat down and actually watched the ceremony and got into that? Yeah, well, I loved the answers. I always watched them growing up because it was I always thought, like, my brother used to watch, you know, the World Series and the Super Bowl, and I always thought, like, that was my Super Bowl, because I loved movies and I loved actors. Yeah, I loved watching that. Yeah.

It was my World Series. You got into the whole tradition and the, you know, the ceremony that goes on with it all. Yeah, well, I mean, not really. I didn't really have. I just talked to me on TV, really.

Yeah, just kind of, like, you know, the whole... pageantry that goes on with it yeah but i mean i guess knowing that knowing that you were kind of a fan of it what was it like when you got that nomination the first. Time and it's kind of so surreal and so unbelievable that i'm still in a state of not really being able to believe it. And i still can't absorb it um i think the only time the only time that i really felt it and felt like I absorbed that moment and understood it was the second that I heard my name be called. And then after that, I've just been floating on a cloud of belief ever since. Well, and then what, I mean, what was it like walking into that theater that first time too?

I mean. It was so crazy because I was able to bring my. Whole family with me, my brothers, my parents, and my sister-in-law, and just being able to. Like, to share that with everyone, with all of us kind of in this theater. Of what in hell are we doing?

It's crazy. It could not have been, it couldn't have been a better day. Yeah, that's definitely pretty far away from our hometown. I'm actually based out of Louisville, so we're... Oh, cool!

Yeah, so we're definitely pretty far away from Hollywood from the get-go there. I guess, you know, this time going in, before, you know, before we even get to that, how did you get involved in Silver Linings Playbook? Did they have you in mind when they were, you know, piecing the script together, or how did that happen? No, actually the opposite. I was, they weren't even going to consider me because I was too young, because I was supposed to be a widow.

So they were kind of looking at every other actress that was, you know, older. And and they didn't even really want to meet with me, I don't think, because they knew I was too young. But I got on Skype with David O. Russell, and we just did an audition, and hopefully, like, the thing changed his mind. And I went out to New York and met with him in person, and I got it.

David O. Russell's definitely got a reputation, and it's kind of, you know, been... had some stories about him as a director, so I guess what was your experience working with him as a director? Probably the most incredible experience of my entire life. I've actually never met someone who doesn't deserve a reputation more. I think that David had to go through whatever he had to go through to get to where he is now.

He's the warmest, sweetest, funniest person in the entire world, and he's a genius, and I don't think that. My experience could have been any better with him. I think he's... He's a lovely, lovely, lovely person. Yeah, yeah.

That's kind of what I... We talked to Lily Tomlin, and she... She was talking about her experience working with him on I Heart Huckabees, and even as much friction as they had, she still, you know, by the end of it, was still, like, loved him, and he was a genius, and, like, it's just, yeah, his work ethic is, you know, you spend that much time on set, I guess they start to drive each other crazy, but they still loved each other. Yeah, of course. Yeah, but also, I mean, David is just so, he just has a passion.

He's just so passionate about what he does that he brings that passion and that energy to set and just makes you want to make the movie so much better, like no matter how tired you are. He just has this, he's had this passion that's contagious and there's no kind of set like a David O. Russell set. People are just excited to be there. Well, once you got in there and found out you were working with Bradley Cooper, I mean, it's sort of a very different turn compared to what he had been doing.

I don't know, what did you expect going in working with, you know, had you met him before the movie? No, we hadn't met before the table read, and then our first day together was dance rehearsal, which is a really great way to get to know somebody if you're sweating on them immediately. Um, so, and then he, he was so nice, so funny, so wonderful. And on the first day of work, when I saw him as Pat, I just, I, he blew me away. I just thought he was incredible.

And I couldn't imagine anybody else doing, doing a better job than him. He was just incredible. And that, I mean, the whole cast, I mean, working with Robert De Niro and Jackie Weaver, I mean, it's, how, how overwhelming is it, is all of that? Well, you know what? It was really overwhelming on the flight in, thinking, oh, my God, I'm going to walk into a room with Jackie Weaver, Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper, and David O.

Russell. What am I going to do? This is going to be insane. And then you walk in, and I met them, and Bob is just the nicest. He's just warm, and he's normal, and it's just impossible to be starstruck by him when he's talking to you because he's just looking you in the eye, and he's just being...

And he's normal. And so he just instantly makes you comfortable. And Jackie is probably one of my favorite people, I think, on planet Earth. She's just sweet and. Funny and so lovely and so warm.

And it's the same thing with Bradley. All of these people are just so intimidating on their way in. And when you finally get to meet them, it's like, oh, great. Well, you mentioned the dancing. Had you done much of that beforehand?

Or how much prep did you have to do going into that segment? Oh, God, no. I'm a horrible dancer. We have about... I mean, we started rehearsing from day one.

And then we rehearsed pretty much every day that we could, even. While we were filming. So we rehearsed that dance for about a month. It was really hard. I mean, it was sometimes...

I remember being like, this is... Because I had just wrapped The Hunger Games, which was probably the most physically intense movie I've ever done. And I remember at times being like, this is more exhausting than not agreeing. Like, send me back out a little bit. I can't do that.

Well, I mean, as you're heading into that evening, do you have plans for, like, what you're going to do beforehand or how you're going to handle it once you get in there? I normally have my friends come up because it's such a long process getting ready because A lot of times your dress needs to be tailored to day up, so everybody gets their hours before, and. Then hair and makeup, and I called it the pit crew. The pit crew arrives, and it's really just hanging out for hours. I like to invite my friends just so I can have some normal, like, fun, and, like, it can make me laugh and kind of keep my mind off.

Of it so I don't get nervous. Yeah distractions yeah I only try to avoid caffeine because I'll have time I was so I mean obviously I was really excited to be there but I was just then when your nerves. And caffeine and like adrenaline hit I like walked. Down the red carpet like. No more espressos for you Well, then it's a weird situation where you've actually got, you know, all of the main areas covered, really, as far as all the other actors, all your co-stars, you know, the movie.

So I guess my question then was going to be something different of like, you know, obviously you're sort of rooting for all them. Is there anything like. anything else that's nominated or anything else you're sort of, you know, you're sort of rooting for as, like, an underdog, you know, documentary or, like, some other people that are going to be there that you're interested to see? I really, I think one of the most surprising things about Oscar season is the friends that you make. Like, Sally Field and I, I think, are going to start a carpool. And just, I mean, I love pieces of Southern Wild and Amour and And it's really, it never feels like a competition.

It's just, I feel like all of these people are my friends. And because it's not, it's art, you know, and it's just, we all have similar passions and we all have such a great part of our lives in common. And everybody is so supportive. I mean, I feel like I was laughing about with the writer of Argo last night. And I was telling Jennifer Garner, we both feel like Silver Linings and Argo are brothers.

Because every time Argo wins for something, we all stand up and start clapping. Anytime Silver Linings wins, they stand up and start clapping. It's just like the kind of brotherhood that you make with these things. Because nobody really just... And it is the truth.

I know that people get annoyed when people say this because it sounds like a cliche, but the truth is it's an honor to be nominated. And that's really... that's really the only thing that matters. Um, yeah, there has to be a winner because they need, they need TV ratings, but that's not really what matters to us. And, um, and it's just, it's just like an incredible time to get to, to get to know legends and to get to know these people who have inspired. Me my whole life.

Yeah. I mean, at that point, it's such an impressive group of people. You can flip a coin. It doesn't matter, but yeah, just to be included in that and now to be included in that twice, that's, you know, that's impressive. Yeah.

Thank you so much. Dave, I do not get superheroes. Oh my god, I don't get you. What don't you get? Towerbot here.

Well, the meatbags were going to say that if you're a geek and like podcasts, then you could try Tower of Technobabble at www.toweroftechnobabble.com. Then this started. Well, it's up to you. I'm gonna get my taser and put a stop to this. Towerbot out.

Okay, monkeys. It's noctilony. Hey guys, look what I've got. Check out these awesome earbuds I'm using right now. Look at that.

That's wood right there. That's actual wood. Why would you use wood to make technology? Because they're... It's like...

They're steam... Is. Steampunk really wood? I thought it was more of a brass thing. Well, you got to work the wood in to hold the brass together.

These are the fancy high-end steampunk versions with a mic built in, mind you. But yeah, where would I get these you under? Tweaked Audio. Way to pitch. You want to hear more, you say?

TweakedAudio.com. Hey, they are available in three styles and seven colors. And they sound pretty damn good. I kind of forgot because I hadn't had my old pair in a while and I was using the knockoff crappy ones I bought at the store. And I got these and put them in.

I was like, oh, shit, that's right. These are actually really good. So they are professional quality earbuds, mind you. And, you know, noise reducing, compatible with your iPods and most phones, unless you have a dumb phone. You should really get a smartphone, not a dumb phone.

But You just keep a bunch on hand for gifts when you don't know what the perfect thing is. Around the holidays, I was putting that word out. I was like, you know, go ahead and stock up. They're good for Hanukkah. They're good for Christmas.

Yeah, for a while there, we were thinking at the alley, we'd have a giant stack of iPads and be like, hey, guys, thanks for coming down. I'm sorry you didn't want to see the show, but here, take a free iPad. That's a pretty good promo, actually. Yeah, yeah. If it said, like, the alley on the back, you'd be like, hey, look at this.

The Tommy Fresh style of promotions. For all you Parks and. Rec fans out there. Yeah, he's on to something, though. Yeah.

If you give someone a free iPad, they're far more likely to look upon you favorably. I'm not wearing his old clothes, though. That's all I have to say. Yeah, that's a little weird. So, anyway, the...

The basic rundown here, if you need yourself some earbuds, tweakedaudio.com. And if you go there, there's a deal. There's a Meltdown deal. If you go, there's a discount code, and you put in Meltdown, you get 33% off and free shipping. That's all I'm saying.

You guys are excited, right? Yeah. Oh, yeah. As well you should be. A little more passion, guys.

Look, he's directing. Crap. Told me not to do that. It's like it's a theater or something. Tweet.io.com.

Use the Meltdown code. That's all I'm saying. Hi, this is Lily Tomlin, and I'm moving Meltdown with Brian. Tumble out of bed and I stumble to the kitchen Pour myself a cup of ambition And yawn and stretch and try to come to life Jump in the shower and the blood starts pumping. Out on the streets the traffic starts jumping.

With folks like me on the job from nine to five. It's part of your problem, you know. You haven't seen enough movies. All of life's riddles are. Answered in the movies.

And now, on with the show. On the stairway to stardom, you'll see tomorrow starts today. On the stairway to. Stardom, we're here to brighten up your day. We've got singers.

And dancers and actors performing for you. But there's more, so much more, and it's all right here for you. On the stairway to stardom. All right, we're back. And once again, I must say thank you to Jennifer Lawrence, who talked to me and put up with me more than anything.

So thank you to Jennifer. And yeah, we'll see what we can do. That was a minor version. I'm already throwing it out there. She needs to come sit down with us, come to the theater, come hang out with us.

So, you know, we're I'm putting the wheels in motion now. Yeah, she's a Hollywood actress. She should really want to be in a theater at this point. I think so. You've got to go back to her roots.

And especially this theater right here in her hometown. Exactly, where she too can put on reproductions of bad old sci-fi serials and Ed Wood movies. She would be awesome in Plan 9, which actually they are doing a remake, but I don't know if she's going to be cast in that one. But she can come here and do it. Yeah, because after all, Nine Plans for Ed Wood is debuting next weekend here at the Alley.

Ooh, that wasn't a plug. Very subtle. Yes. It's as subtle as that tweaked audio problem. Known for my subtlety.

So, yeah, we've gotten our Jennifer mania out of the way there. I tried to control myself. I think I conducted myself as professional as I could, so. With that, we're moving back into our other favorite area, the grind. This segment, we discussed a specific topic or question related to movies, and this week's topic comes from Fred.

Who, oddly enough, mentioned this whole sentence before he knew any of this. Yeah. So he specifically said he wanted to discuss, I believe he put it as, the phenomenon of stardom and industry enfranchisement. You were wondering why it seems that certain people, like Jennifer Lawrence, are being groomed for that sort of thing, while other actors are just actors. So I thought that would be good tie-in for both, since number one, we just talked to Jennifer Lawrence, and number two, we've got someone who deals with actors all the time.

So between all that, hopefully we get some sort of good conversation going here. So where would you like to begin? Who, me? Me? You suggested it.

I just suggested the topic. I didn't have anything to say about it. No, I just think it's kind of interesting, the whole. Difference between the art of acting and the star. It's always sort of struck me going way back to when I was a kid and I noticed Like, Burt Reynolds wasn't in movies.

He was somebody. Burt Reynolds is. Is Sharky's machine. Yeah. Is Gator.

Yeah. Was he Gator? Was he Smokey or the Bandit? I don't even remember. Do you know where you can find out?

Where? Jupiter, Florida. Really? Are you aware of the Burt Reynolds Museum? Why are we not recording there?

That's an excellent question. It is the most, I'm going to go ahead. This may be a bold statement and I don't like speaking in absolutes generally, but it is the greatest place in the world. That's a bold statement. It's in a strip mall, as you would imagine it would be.

It's under a dentist's office. Is it in a basement? Oh, nice. And when we went, we asked for the genesis. I hope I'm not totally derailing this conversation.

Can it get better than this? Go ahead. Mentioning Burt Reynolds and not mentioning the Burt Reynolds Museum would be a grave oversight. He, I guess, we asked how this thing began, which is a natural question. And we were told that back in the Lonnie days, when Lonnie left Burt, she got the house.

And she said, Bert, I don't want anything in the house. I just want the house. Get your shit and go. So he had just stacks of ephemera. Wait, what was the best one?

There was like a skylight from Striptease. That's actually like sort of the cornerstone of the entire collection. And it's like pictures of him with like people in the 70s and autographs and thank you notes and hotel room keys. Just all the stuff he's accumulated from being Burt Reynolds. Exactly.

So he started his own museum. Well, actually. I mean, only really a person like Burt Reynolds can do that. He's the only person who can do this. Well, I can see Tom Selleck taking a stab at it.

He put the stuff in storage and he had all these storage units for years and years and years. And one day he's, you know, I guess paying the bill for the storage unit. And I was like, what the hell am I doing? I'm paying to keep all this stuff when I could have people pay me to see it. So he rented the space below the dentist's office, and there it is.

It's also actually the Burt Reynolds Museum and Community Theater tie-in. And there is at the beginning, oh gosh, some eyes just lit up. I'm sorry, the idea of doing a production at Burt Reynolds Community Theater. Crossover promotion is what we're looking at. I'm just imagining a proscenium like the front of the stage with like a giant portrait of Burt Reynolds. like hanging over it as everyone's acting.

That's essentially what happens. And they teach class in the middle of it. Yeah, it'd be fantastic. So, anyway, sorry. Back to.

I don't know where to go after that. Yeah, right? I mean, the problem is what do you lead up with? I know where to go with that. There was a great joke.

I can't remember who it was about, but it was like some actress who had just had or adopted a baby and she went to a Hollywood party and she noticed that, like, All the celebrities there projected themselves onto the baby. Julia Roberts was there, and she came up to the baby and said, Oh. Your baby's so pretty. What a great smile. And then Nora Ephron was there, and she came over to the baby, and she said, Oh, your baby's so funny, so intelligent.

And then Lonnie Anderson was there, and she came over to the baby, and she said, Bert's an asshole. I didn't even realize they were together that far. I figured she was gone before striptease ever showed up. I don't know. I didn't realize they hung in together that long.

Well, he might have added some other stuff just to spice things up. Stuff in his new place that he was sick of looking at. Didn't he lose a lot of money in his little restaurant chain thing? Did he? Not as much as Britney Spears lost in hers.

Really? I think so. What was hers? Nyla. NY for New York, where she loved to live, and LA for Louisiana.

Where she was from. I assumed it was britney's fish joint well apparently the idea was basically to sell like up upscale fish joint type. Food to new yorkers and for whatever reason it lasted all of about maybe a. Week today's special scrawl box fresh also what they call their uh behind your back at the rehearsals yeah oh yeah oh dude that's me Hey, did you talk to the dancers? I think I may have told that story before I was driving out River Road, and at the Kingfish there, they had a sign.

Out front, Scrod Box. Not good advertising. It's almost as bad as in Murray, Kentucky. There was a place called Granny's Porch when I was in college there, and they had the worst advertising. I've probably told this already.

I think I've heard it. Yeah, it stayed in. Well, I haven't. The sign out front said... open face granny burger. It's like can you imagine the commercials on tv like timmy i want an open face granny.

Burger whoa it's gone it turned into every other kind of restaurant it would be like go out of business and then it was a mexican place for a while and they had. Like the creative writing workshops there But they still had the open-faced granny burger. Yeah, then it was some other kind of breakfast. But every time, all the food tasted the same. It was like they had a stove that only did one flavor.

There was nothing you could do to escape the granny's porch phenomenon. Open-faced granny burger just sounds like a a maneuver like yeah after the dirty sanchez i tried the. I don't know i think it sounds like a a b slasher or something i don't. Know i just imagine that as as the restaurant went through multiple iterations like in every one there was like the open-faced granny burger, then you had the open-faced granny fajitas, and then you had the open-faced granny breakfast sandwich. Open-faced granny dog.

Open-faced granny omelet. And then you had the scrod box. Granny scrod box. Open-faced granny scrod box. This is not good at all.

Yeah. I don't think granny's going to sponsor us either. You're not going to get that five bucks from your grandma in the mail anymore. I was counting on that to run this show. So do we want to get back on that question?

Sure, why not? What was it again? Stardom. I like people that focus the rest of these trying to sit monkeys in front. Of a microphone.

There are the star makers in the industry who just decide they're going to enfranchise somebody. Or there was the guy in The Godfather who wound up with a horse in his bed. He was not this part is perfect for Johnny Fontaine, and it would make him a huge star, and he's never going to get it. You know why? That was great.

It was like he was going to non-star him. Isn't that what producers and managers, they kind of set out to star you, and then when you piss them off, they non-star you. Yeah, I guess. But then there's that, who was that one actor, he was like in Deadwood, twice as two different characters like what the hell's his name yeah maybe he's on tv. Now yeah he's he's awesome like he is like.

He is but he like tries not to be noticed. Yeah stuff he's he's so good again somebody who can be one character and turn around and come back and be another character within the same show yeah and like you're not really yeah i mean he's i've seen him in so many like weird movies and like horror movies and like being dead serious and then He's on Raising Hope, and it's the goofiest slapstick perform, and he's genius at it. It's one of the few performances on TV right now that I will actually seek out and want to watch. Most stuff I could care less about, but that show's good, and he's amazing on it. In theater, we call those actors, and they just turn around and do something else.

It's crazy. Uh, I've seen him do it too. It's wild. This is one of those theater stories. Yeah, no, I don't know.

I, I mean, I don't pretend to fully understand as well as I would like to how well the movie industry works, but at the same time you can easily see. Um, and I know this too from experience that there are the people, there are the people in movies definitely who get elevated because they're a type of And you can see that in basically, I mean, unfortunately, I think this tends to happen to starlets a little bit more than to male stars. It's like, okay, we need a blonde younger type, you know, or we need a brunette glasses type or something like that. And whoever fits that pattern and they like their agent and, you know, in other words, it becomes a numbers game kind of. But then there are guys like a great example being Gary Busey or somebody who just shows up in like a million movies and you've seen them in a million movies before you even know who they are.

Um, and that's probably because they know everybody else. Like they know the casting people, they know the other actors, they know blah, blah, blah. So, you know, when there comes when, okay, well we need a guy to be in this role. Well, Hey, Gary's free this weekend. Like, you know, in other words, there are always those guys who people. people in the industry know them and they know they can fit fit into any production.

But they're not necessarily pumped as stars or really promoted as stars, but they wind up doing tons of work. Well, he turned a corner on his career and now he's more of a star for his craziness than anything else. But I mean, he did, if you go back to even all the way through the eighties, that he was just nonstop. He was a working actor. Oh yeah.

And, and it's true actually, like a lot of, I mean, people forget cause they tend to look at like, I think Hollywood and they see all the stars and they're like, those are the actors. But if you, if you, if you look at like, especially if you go and spend a couple of hours on IMDB, you'll see there's a huge number of working actors in Hollywood. They're in everything, like all kinds of movies that you've seen and they're, and you don't even realize just how permeated like your movie experience is with these people. They're kind of the silent stars in everything. There's a good amount of those that are just working.

Actually, I just watched a documentary. I think it was the, that guy who was in that thing. Have you seen that? It's, It's, that's what it is. It's nothing but.

The guy who was in the thing? No, it's like 23... It was somewhere like 20 or 25 different actors, and they're all, oh, yeah, that guy. They've worked in 40 films, and nobody has an idea what their name is. They're just like, oh, he's that guy that was in that one thing.

Everybody recognizes you. Everybody can sometimes even describe the movies you were in or the roles that you play, but has no idea what their name is. And most of them on there, I kind of fell into that category. There were a few that even I was like, okay, I know that one. I know I knew him by name, but like there were a lot of them that I was like, yep, recognize him.

Couldn't tell you what the hell his name is. So, I mean, it's, it's true. There's a huge amount of just working actors that are like, and those are kind of amazing. Like when you really can just continually work from one project to the next and constantly turn in solid performances like that, that, that kind of takes a different level of dedication than somebody who just kind of makes it and gets big and gets like leading roles kind of thrown at them. If, if, It takes you 20 years to get to that point that says something about you.

If you never get to that point, it really says something about you. Yeah. I think that there's been a shift in the industry. Obviously, there's been a shift in the industry. Back in the day when the studios controlled everything and we were working under the studio system, then it was to the benefit of the studio heads to really promote somebody because they were loyal to them and they worked for them and they.

Were a product. Now that people are free agents and they work for various producers and various studios, I think it's more up to the magazines. I mean, that's who stands to gain. So I think it's about pretty faces who interview well. And if the magazine folks think they can sell, then it's to their benefit to endorse them.

I can't believe there's still that level of that industry anymore. Like the print alone is still like, as big a thing as it is. And I think it's just habit. Like I think, especially because most of it is run by advertising. And I think advertisers are so behind the times that they won't latch on to anything internet yet.

Like they're still like holding on to dear life for those ads that they run every week and every month. And it's like, they just, they're so used to that because to me, I'm just like, when's the last time I've bought a magazine? Like, especially like a cheesy star filled man, you know, it's like those, I guess there's still a lot of people that just that's what they buy. They go to the grocery and they read that while they're in line and they buy it every week. But I don't know.

Like most people I know don't just get those. People don't really subscribe to stuff like they used to. Like it's just the shift has come on both ends of the spectrum there. And it's like the print, again, I can't believe it's dying except for the fact that advertisers won't change and won't realize that like most of the people aren't paying attention to where they're throwing their money now. It's not like they're charging us to look at them in the aisles either.

We all do that. I won't lie, although mostly I try to spend more time looking at the sun and other incarnations of Weekly World News because the articles are much more interesting. I thought you just meant staring at the sun. I spend more time staring at the sun than reading about the Kardashians. I can honestly say that's true, actually.

That's a better option, truthfully. I imagine they're probably read a lot by cashiers in all night stores. More than likely. Could you imagine working an all night job where it's like the only thing you can read is Us Weekly. It's like a seven level of hell somewhere.

And then they have the pipe game music that plays like ten songs over and over. The only thing worse would be like driving an ice cream truck. Pop goes the weasel. All day. Just drive you insane.

Oh man. There should be laws about that. People shouldn't be subjected. There's a reason those guys usually get busted doing something. Ice cream truck guys?

Yeah, I mean, you're going to go crazy. There was some actor who told a story about how he'd done that, and his biggest failure, he remembered, was, oh, well, he said, I can't remember who the actor was now, but he said it was like a real test of your morals because every now and then a kid would come out with a giant bill Obviously, he got out of his mom's purse and was like, is this enough to buy? Just enough for this. You can get two with that. You can get two.

And then he said also he wrecked the ice cream truck, which you have to be terrible to do that because it only. Goes 35 miles an hour. You have to nod off. I always want a guessing game of who the celebrity is. I feel like the next hour could be us lobbying candidates.

It's weird how I remember stories and I don't remember who's attached to them. I don't remember who told the Burt Reynolds joke. If you have any answers to these questions, please send them to. Geeks at MovieMeltdown.com. Every now and then something I have to look up.

A friend of my daughter said, One day she was like, do you know that movie where there's like a shed and there's a guy who goes into or through a thing or something? And it drove me crazy. And we thought it was a drop dead fret. No, no, it was not. And then we thought it was something else.

And it took me like three months and I found out what the movie was. Eventually I, pared it down. I immediately went through Evil Dead 2. Like a detective going over a cold case. Wicker Man remake.

Yeah. You just, I don't know. It would be like if the Incredible Inman got that one thing he couldn't solve. And after he came out of retirement and got out his old files and went through them. That's going to be a new show on CBS next year.

That would be a good show. The Incredible Inman returns. The Incredible Inman files. Don't leave us in suspense. What was the scene?

I don't remember. This is a story brought to you by Fred. It was some Disney movie. I've got it written down somewhere because at first I thought it was some other movie like a magical... There's a garage and a shed and a guy goes into or through a thing or something.

That sounded like a Disney movie from the 80s. Magical garage and shed. I've got it somewhere. I'll I'll post it online if anybody cares. Well, that's what I was thinking as you told that story.

I was like, you just need to take notes is what you need. I have this anecdote. Wait a minute. Let me reference that. See, I do take notes, but then they're on a hard drive at home.

What am I going to carry that around with me? An actual spiral notebook shoved in your pocket at all times. That's why Google is your best friend. Yeah, I suppose. Some things are just un-Google-able, though.

They cannot be Googled. You're trademarking that word right now, right? Don't say it, man. Society rests on faith. Well, I think, again, if you're going by those types, I think it's always been guilty of that, like Hollywood in general.

I think almost more than anything, and maybe the male actors back in the day were that. You had those types, and they stuck to those. I mean, Humphrey Bogart was awesome, but did he play anything that wasn't a Humphrey Bogart type? Like they would find a role and be like, this is your role. I can't give this to anybody else.

This movie has your name on it. So they were all kind of like that. I mean, Cagney was a very specific type. Spencer Tracy was always Spencer Tracy. What's Rhett Butler's name?

Oh, Clark Gable. Clark Gable. Yeah. Like he, like he could never play anything that wasn't Clark Gable, you know? I mean like, Or Cary Grant.

Yeah, they had a very specific thing. And I don't know if they just didn't want to stray out of it, or the studios at the time would not let them go outside of it, but it's rare that you get performances from those caliber actors that went in different directions, really. And every studio had a different one. We have Cary Grant, and we have this person that looks exactly like Cary Grant, but isn't Cary Grant, but does Cary Grant. But then back in the day, you know, they would do their parade of stars and they'd be like, these are the people that are with our studio this year.

And they would actually call attention to the Walter Brennans and the Thelma Ritters. And they were part of their family. And so I think that character actors did get more attention then just because they were appreciated for filling that niche, whereas today, back to my magazine. Theory, nobody cares. Today, who's the guy in Hurt Locker who's trying to be an action guy now?

He is an actor. They've given him like three franchises. He is an action guy. Let's say he is. Who's awesome.

I'm a little worried about him, though. I'm not sure. I just watched that Bourne thing. Oh, yeah. The new one.

The Bourne. Really? The Bourne sequel. I'm not sure about him. I don't know if he's doing what he ought to do.

The Bourne. It does seem like he's decided on the action track, and I'm just like, I don't know, that Hurt Locker thing. That was a non-action action movie. You add something in that, you don't have going anymore. Yeah, he's got it.

That's one of the reasons I like that guy. He's got some depth to him. Also, when he was staying up in a couple of the award shows I saw him in, he reminds me of some of those older male Hollywood actors. He seems like a regular guy. Yeah, he's not so clean cut.

He looks like he's got some mileage on him, you know? Like, he's been places and done things, actually. And that's what's weird, that they, like. Chris Pine or something. Yeah, that they, like, cast him when they did, because usually, especially to throw him in all these franchises, they like their, like, super young leading man so they can get 20 years out of him.

He's pretty old. Like, I didn't realize. Like, if you. Well, seriously. He's, like, in his 30s.

Well, no, they were bringing him up to be the new Tom Cruise in the Mission Impossible. He's, like, nine years younger than him or something. Like. He's barely, you know, if they were going to go super young and bring in a whole new generation, you'd think they'd go like, you know, somebody who's 20, not somebody who's just behind Tom Cruise. I think he might be going the wrong direction.

I think he's got a lot more potential with that. Something isn't coming off right. The drama stuff would probably do him better. That's not the money. My theory is he's probably just trying to build up a studio base right now.

He's trying to be in a number of productions, know some people, get some bank to his name before he can actually start doing some more. It's problematic for a lot of actors in today's world because if they break out doing drama, it's possible that they could just stay quietly doing drama for a long time. It's really hard to actually get a big name for yourself in dramatic work. Well, see, owe somebody money. I mean...

Maybe he goes to the dog races a lot. I don't know. Especially in his situation. I would almost say this with any actor. If you can hit that action market, you better do it now.

Unless you're Liam Neeson, who waits until he's 60 to become an action star. And then is awesome. And is amazing as an action star. But every other actor, once you hit 40, they're like, come on, really? People just like to talk trash as soon as they cast you in an action movie.

Even though now they keep trying to drag out all the old ones because Expendables 2 made money, but I mean, really, is anybody watching the. I don't know if you're Harrison Ford. The Red series. Red at least tapped into that. It was kind of making fun of that whole idea.

I don't know. I want to speak to a little bit about the point about character actors in the past, because I think that's pretty spot on. But, you know, we were talking about Hanna-Barbera earlier. Yes, we were. And how they had, like, this enormous cast of, like, weird characters and off-ball...

Like, That was part of the studio system back in the day because there was that time back when producers like David S. Elznick is the great example from Gone with the Wind. Producers were for years seen as the ultimate architects of films. They were the ones who got the money, picked the director, found the cast, et cetera, because they were the moguls of the studio system. And they were the ones who sort of put together a lot of those really epic blockbusters and So, yeah, they tended to hold on to their actors and make them into a kind of a crew that they would then shuttle from film to film and promote them as a group.

You know, like, oh, we're looking at the MGM constellation of stars. You know, we're looking at this group or that group. And in the 60s, we see the directors rose up and became more important. The producers started to be seen as backers of films, et cetera. Now, I don't know, if anything, I see now it's just kind of bifurcated because we have Now we have, like, the independent film scene, which tends to put more emphasis on character actors and on more unusual stuff like that.

But at the same time, though, we have the sort of atrophied remnants of the studio system that's all about the media and, like, pumping the names, etc. So, I don't know, that's kind of what I see going on, is there's a market for both, but they're no longer seen as part of the same market. Like, either you're watching indie films that are filled with weird character actors or... you're watching some Hollywood blockbuster with Chris Pine. I'm sorry, I'm picking on him, but it's true. Come on, he's pretty.

He is pretty. I didn't just say that. I did, I don't care. Based on your example, now all I want is a classic Hollywood version of Laugh-Olympics. Somebody get on that, please.

Message from the internet, please, Hollywood. But, I mean, it's kind of true that they've split now, and you really do have that, like, and I think it's also, like, audiences. I think audiences have totally split, and you've got your super artsy crowd that loves the indie movies and won't even sit through one of those mainstream movies. And it's the same attitude from the other end. It's like, I don't want to see them stupid talking movies.

I want explosions. I want those talkies. Yeah, it's like it is a huge divide that's come between those two crowds. You know, it's so weird that you say that because the other night, Because I'm on a different schedule. I had to transition in a weekend from an early morning to a late night schedule.

Which is why Fritz disappeared lately. So we're glad to have you back, by the way. So I'm glad to be back. I'm glad to have survived the whole thing. But it came down to this weekend.

And what I was going to do was stay up late so I could sleep in and adjust my schedule. And I thought, I want to watch something with explosions and shit. And. Something that will hold my interest. And I tried to find something streaming online that I could watch.

And I couldn't find it. Because everything I really knew I liked, I had seen already. And Skyfall wasn't on DVD yet. I was looking forward to that. It's coming out in a few days.

And I tried to find something. And I couldn't keep my eyes. I tried to watch The Expendables. Which I thought was like a bunch of action guys doing something. But no, it was all Sylvester Stallone.

Yeah. It was all Sylvester. And I couldn't watch it. Well, who made that movie is the real question. Whose baby is that?

Oh, wait. I don't know. It's my movie. I couldn't watch it. Then I tried to find something else.

I couldn't keep my eyes. So I wound up watching. Fish Tank. Tie in. And that kept me up.

Yeah. Which, you know... it's a great movie. I really liked it, but the pace is just glacial. It's like watching a slug move across a lawn, but that held my interest. I couldn't find a movie with explosions or anything because all the good ones I've seen already and all the others are just too tired.

Well, that one you substituted explosions for cursing. Yeah. Cause you get about it is. Yeah. Yeah.

So that's, that's what I watched to stay up. Um, So you don't fall into most people's thinking. But I think we all do that, really. I tried. That's the point.

I tried to be dumb. I really did. Yeah, I wanted to say something, but I just couldn't stay awake. Sylvester Stallone. Oh, my God.

Have you been to the Sylvester Stallone? Museums? Yes, I have actually many times. Where is this one? Is it on Jupiter also?

Sorry, in Jupiter? I imagine it has like a giant row of courthouse steps. So that you too can experience the pleasure of running up the steps and rocking. Yeah, the famous tracking shot. I do that every time I go up my stairs at home.

Jump up and down at the top. I'd just drink a bunch of raw eggs. I don't think that's recommended anymore. You're not supposed to. Okay, kids, we're actually just getting started on this conversation.

But this topic is just too much to be contained in one episode. So we're going to cap it off here, and when we return, we're going to continue on this road to stardom. So tune in next time where you'll hear intriguing remarks like these. Come on, let's rag on stars. That's the whole point of this question.

Guys, that third movie was terrible. Like, I directed it. It was terrible. And it was y'all's fault. So here's the idea.

For some reason, my mind wandered and I started thinking of those celebrities who were on Match Game. Obviously, they didn't see me there. You were waiting. Yeah, waiting. Gollum-like behind a chair.

Of course, it's always Gollum-like. They hear me when I talk to myself. Like, remember Chris O'Donnell? Hmm. Isn't it weird just to remember somebody like that?

I would just take a moment. We just don't think you're really there, you know? We don't think you have that you-ness that we need. Yeah, there are parts of it, I think, that are pretty horrible. But.

I still kind of root for the movie. And the other thing that was weird about him is he was in that famous circus fire. I was actually, here's a Margot Hemingway story. No one saw this one coming. Yeah, but he was a spectacular failure.

Yeah. It's not everybody can do that. It's easy to be like a run-of-the-mill failure. He was a spectacular failure. All this and more on the next Starfield episode of Movie Meltdown.

Check the crippled man sitting in the church. My conscience hurts. Flesh like me hits the dirt. She's paralyzed from her feet to her thighs. And the man who pulled the trigger didn't even lose his left eye.

Check Jimmy cutting hair at. The barber shop. He plays the bass guitar like David plays the harp. His knowledge name is Greek. Because whenever he speaks, he's got the wisdom of King Solomon.

Bags in his eyes from no sleep. Sometimes he thought of the fame in Madison Square Garden. So some seek stardom, but they forget Harlem. But she gave first of all. The kingdom of God.

That's what my pops told me. So if I fall, could. The choir catch me? I flew away on a mountain, got tempted by Satan, got bitten by a cobra, but the Lord took. My bend up.

So whose side am I on? I'm on the righteous. Always check the lyrics. No time to contradiction. Some seek stardom, then they forget Harlem.

Some seek stardom, then they forget Harlem. They keep their pockets full, but their souls run empty. Well, I'm your family, I beseech you, in hopes that I may reach you. My mother told me one day that judgment day would come someday. Born an adult black child with geeky hair, grown wise, and teachers just like me.

Cause I knew what my culture be. So now you're my brief history. I can't neglect my passion, see. Rockin's kinda new to me, cause my true love was poetry. White was good and black was black, but black was us and us.

We'll be right back. when i enter your vicinity you see my girl he never asked of me to show i knew i was free to go and be but alas i clearly see what's wrong with me you did your insecurity of me and my ability so really won't you let me be your has to ask too much from that to tell the truth and not the lie oh my Brothers keep their pockets full, but their souls run empty. Some say stardom, then it will get harder. Some say stardom, then it will get harder. Some say stardom. I got mine, I want you, get yours.

We never open doors that we neglect. And don't protect the ones that's left. People never really seem to care. And then they cry out, my people, why aren't we treated. Equal as we flee?

We flee our own communities. We leave our family in poverty. And then we blame it on another. So family, please recover. Walk a least, man, you're coming, you can blow now if you want till we're through.

Families keep their pockets full but their souls run empty. People keep their pockets full but their souls run empty. We keep our pockets full. But our souls run empty. Stop it.

We need one of those Bieber whatever. Everybody needs a little Bieber in their life. Come on, man. So says the Prince of Darkness. Thank you.

I've already been recognized for it, truly. This episode is a production of Movie Meltdown, produced and edited by The Oddity Studios, with opening music performed by The Empires. For more on how to sponsor or support the show, email producer at moviemeltdown.com. Talk hard!