283: Greg Sestero - From The Room to Johnny Suede

I'm Peter Weller and you're listening to Movie Meltdown. Your move, creep. 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. It's showtime, folks.

Enjoy the show. Our nuclear reactor pumping out one million kilowatts of power. What's up and welcome to Movie Meltdown. I'm Brian and with me this week is Wes, who you will remember from. Our recent River City Film Festival episode.

River City Festival of Films. It's a very long title. Which went really well, I have to say. Very well. We were super pleased, and we'll definitely be back next year.

Very cool. And we were talking with you about some of your upcoming events, which you put this together. So on that note, I'll let you introduce our other guests. Okay. With me is one of my colleagues, my boss, Brian Lashbrook.

He is the IT manager, graphic designer, artist, and all-around good guy for the Davis County Public Library. You were overly flattered, right? You didn't pay to say that, right? Right, right. We have our salary evaluations coming up, so I had to add a little bit.

And to my left, which I guess it doesn't matter since you're listening to this, is the man of the hour, Mr. Greg Sestero, who you will know from The Room. Glad to be here. Thanks for having me. No problem.

I'm glad to have you. And we are hosting a screening, which I'm in plug mode still. I've been doing that on Facebook constantly for the past month. But yeah, we're having a screening of the room tonight, and Greg's going to do a disaster artist presentation. So it should be awesome.

Well, I usually try to get in relatively early with our guests and see what led them down their path. Were you like a kid that got into movies and performing when you were young? Yeah, I was interested in movies from a very young age. You know, the whole Star Wars thing. I was there.

Randomly, I saw a movie. I saw Home Alone, of all movies, which is kind of a weird one to propel you. into pursuing a movie career, but I wrote a screenplay at the age of 12, a sequel to Home Alone, and included a part for myself. Nice. And I sent it to John Hughes, and I really thought the movie was going to get made. Ultimately, it didn't, but I got a letter back from Hughes saying that he really admired that kind of effort and to keep going, and so that was kind of the start for me.

Very cool. And then I guess what... Did you just wait until you got 18, or did you start doing plays? Yeah, a few years later, I actually got into doing print work. In my senior year of high school, I went to Italy.

When I came back from that is when I tried to start breaking in. I got some bit parts in movies and TV shows, and that ultimately led me to meeting Tommy Wiseau in an acting class in San Francisco. And was that... Before or after, I was going to say that the role they really probably all, you know, from is retro puppet master, which I was, I mean, I bring up because I actually remember watching all of those full moon feature kind of things. I didn't know how did that come about?

Was that one of those? It was, I moved to LA shortly after, um, meeting Tommy and like my fourth audition in LA, I was just going out for whatever I could. And that was like my fourth audition. I ended up getting it. So I didn't, You know, wow, okay, I got a lead in a movie.

Let's see where this goes. My question is, where did they shoot it? In Bucharest, Romania. That's what I was going to say. I was like, he was notorious for shooting in Romania.

Yeah. They got a really good deal, I'm assuming. Yeah, and it was like 10 degrees below zero. Wow. Our director here at the library is a big fan of that movie, too.

It's, yeah. That whole series is pretty fun. Like, he, I don't know, they were just sort of banking on that straight-to-VHS thing that had sort of just kicked in at that point. Yeah, that's right. I mean, I enjoyed making it.

It was kind of my first real lead in a movie, and it was fun being over there and shooting it. I wasn't familiar with the series, but, you know, it was a role that I figured would hopefully lead to something else, or at least get you a real. I think a lot of people used that as a stepping stone. But he had some pretty, you know, he had Lance Hendrickson in some of his, and he had, you know, he had... several other pretty big stars. So it's, yeah.

But any weird Romanian stories? I would think there has to be something weird. Going on off camera. Yeah, well, going to the set one day, there was a lot of wild dogs running around. There were, I mean, it was, you know, 10 degrees below zero.

It was freezing, and you had kids wearing very little clothes begging in the streets. So it was kind of so a little bit of everything there. Really? Is that the The time was that after the fall. Of the wall, I guess.

It was 98, I think so. Yeah. Ten years ago. Yeah. I'm assuming that's what opened the door.

Yeah. Because I think so many of his movies were Romanian. Yeah. During that time, they were shooting everything over there. Yeah.

Which I still think a lot of indie budget stuff goes there because they just, the deals that they're throwing at them, I think everything is so cheap, probably because there's kids baking in the stream. Yeah. It's weird. Decisions like that are so weird when you find out where things are really shot at. A lot of the Marvel movies are shot in Cleveland.

It's crazy to see that passed off as New York successfully. Well, I guess you mentioned Tommy. What were your thoughts as you got into that class that first time and met that guy? I had taken some acting classes, so I had kind of seen people go up, and for the most part they were nervous to perform. I was nervous to perform.

We were all kind of finding our way. And he would just go up there and just attack. He would obliterate every scene he was in. Every monologue he was in would just be, everyone would be scratching their head, what did I just watch? And the teacher would kind of try to approach him lightly and then he would fight with the teacher.

So one time he did this, he reformed a scene from Streetcar Named Desire and it was just mesmerizingly terrible. And I said, okay, I gotta find out who this guy is. And I had just gotten close to getting a role in a movie that was going to be shot in the Bay Area, and I thought that would be kind of like a, you know, a small break, and I ended up getting in. So I was at rock bottom, and I said, you know what, I'll just approach this guy and do a scene with him. And we just kind of, from then on, started this very strange friendship.

At the time, were you, I don't know, he's such a strange character. I mean, you know better than most. I mean, did you immediately go, where are you from? That accent is so unusual, I've yet to figure out what, What is going on? Yeah, it's funny because when I recorded the audio book, the reviewer said that it was one of the most bizarre accents, that it was like a Russian and French accent.

Yeah, it's not like it's one at all. Yeah, but really when I met him, I just kind of let him run the show. I didn't really pry too much because I knew early on if I asked a few questions, I wasn't going to get much. So I just kind of got on the roller coaster and just accepted where it was going to go. And how ambitious was he at that early on?

Um he was always he was very positive at that point um and once i kind of moved to la and started kind of you know i got that retro puppet master and got a few things that's when he felt like he was going to move to la and and try his thing and when that didn't really pan out that's when he was really wanting to take matters. Into his own hands so he was already working on the screenplay. You think at that point Not that I know of. I know he started working on it when we were roommates. He started writing the movie.

So as it unfolded, you were still not necessarily wanting to be involved in the acting end of it? Yeah, I figured I would just kind of help him make the movie, kind of put it together, and then I would run away as fast as I could. Write another name on it, I guess. Well, yeah, I.... Even then, though, it's so hard to get your movie seen.

There's so many good movies that don't have any distribution. So I figured when I ended up being in it, I figured nobody was going to really see it anyway. And that's true of so many movies. It hit a weird lottery. There's so many that never get distribution, never get picked up on, get seen outside of a film fest or something.

Yeah, you would do anything for your movie to actually get seen. But this one, I thought there was no chance. Wow. It's like the most successful vanity project ever. Yeah.

One reviewer said it was a vanity project gone horribly wrong. So, I mean, as you're watching it come together, I mean, do you just sort of like let him run with it or do you watch it? To be like, Tommy, you really want to do that? You know, like, you're seeing some of these things unfold. It was kind of fun just letting him run with it.

Yeah. Because he really was into it and really had this vision, and I felt like that was the best way to go about it. Yeah. So I guess, how far was it before you started seeing, because I mean, I assume it opened and didn't do well, that first wave, it had that, you know, it doesn't get to be the cult thing until it doesn't work another way. It's the same thing Rocky Horror went through.

It was just like it had a year of nothing, and then someone else discovered it, and it became this whole new thing. Yeah, it didn't really, it was in a few theaters for a couple weeks because the prerequisite to have A film submitted for an Academy Award. It had to play in theaters, I guess. And so Tommy. Tommy was thoroughly convinced.

Yeah, so he had to... He followed... Yeah, he followed the guidelines. And I don't think anybody really showed up to see it outside of a few college students that had peeked in there and couldn't believe what they saw. And they invited friends and got them in for free.

It's like $ 1, 900 in the first week. And I think it was all from those kids. I don't think anybody showed up. So.... So it kind of started from there, and then a little over half a year later, you had college kids showing up and kind of laughing with it, and then it just kind of became an L.A. thing for a few years, and then a writer from Entertainment Weekly came to town and saw a screening of it, and he couldn't believe what he saw.

So he wrote an article, and then ever since then, it's kind of started to go to New York, and then London, and it's just kind of taken off from there. So what was your initial reaction to it? go with your original thought and run away from it? I mean, now you've gotten to the point where it's okay and you don't mind it, but was there that first reaction of, oh, God, this is taking off and I didn't really want it to? Well, for me, it was just kind of funny for people to experience the movie because when we finished it, I had a rough cut and I showed it to family and friends, and they said we had so much fun with it, and we kept rewinding, pausing, laughing, so I... kind of was tempted I wanted other people to see it you know we had this kind of fantasy about having a packed house waiting for the next Star Wars and then turning this movie on and seeing people's reactions so it was sort of like a sick fantasy to have a packed house watch this movie.

We should do that with episode 7 there was a. Thing did you guys see with the Guardians of the Galaxy what happened there was a theater I forgot where everybody showed up to see Guardians of the Galaxy but by some sort of mistake they ended up showing like that animated owl movie the guardians of gahool or whatever like i don't know if some mix-up happened with the film chemistry. That's a pretty big mix-up. Um but anyway so when i started seeing these kids watch it i was i was i wanted to ask them what do they think of the movie so i at that point i was just having fun with it it's not it's not a movie you can take seriously especially for me i think anybody that watches the film they can see i really kind of phoned in or mailed in whatever my part of that Wesley.

Let me borrow his copy, and I watched it alone, which. Is a mistake. Yeah. You need to have at least five friends of you. At one point in one theater, I think it was in Arizona, when he shoots himself, he gets a standing ovation.

It was one of the show's riff tracks. The best line is, Oh, hi, Gordon. Well, I was just going to say, you're, even at that point, not taking it seriously, but was Tommy still? Like, he still seemed like, for a very long time, he was super. Oh, he's still serious.

Yeah, it's like, he now, I think, kind of had to adjust his take because he knows how it's seen, but how long was it? He still feels like it's a great movie. Yeah, yeah. He's always felt that way. You know, I think he got some advice from someone in the industry that he valued their opinion, and so he tacked on the experience this quirky new black comedy kind of later on but he still believes it's a great dramatic film well and.

Then what point did you start seeing you wanted to document this or tell your thoughts on it which which eventually became the book. Um well the story was so ingrained it was such a surreal experience and i had told stories to people about it and um and they always just kind of wanted more. And then I felt like when the movie, there was an audience for the movie now and people actually were watching it. I always felt like the story behind it was even more amazing. You know, it was even more baffling and, and, um, I thought it was a great chance to kind of get to the root of what this whole thing's about.

And I thought there was a kind of some interesting points on, you know, the American dream and Tommy's journey and this unlikely friendship. So, It just kind of came together over the years of touring with the movie and kind of seeing the crowd and basing it on their questions. And were you at any point considering making it into your version of a movie, which now is happening anyway? But I was like, did you ever think of making it like a documentary at some point? I always kind of saw it as like an Ed Wood type movie or Sunset Boulevard.

I thought it had those themes and I always thought it would make A really great movie, so the fact that that's happening is really great. Who would you cast as Tommy? I think James Franco is going to play Tommy. Would you pick somebody? I didn't think of him initially, but now that that's come about, I think he'll do a really fantastic job.

For a while there, when I was working on the book, I kind of envisioned Javier Bardem playing Tommy. That would be interesting. I think it's definitely a bold choice, but I think it's a young audience that loves this movie, and I think James has a really good tie with the young audience. He'll have to dress up as John Travolta in Pulp Fiction, I think. Is that Tommy's look?

Yeah, exactly. Don't throw an extra belt on there. James is committed, though. I mean, even watching him in Spring Breakers, like, I don't even know that he 100% realizes how silly that performance is. Because, again, he's so ingrained in it.

Like, he becomes that character in that. So watching that, that's what kind of makes me think he probably is right for this role. Yeah, I think. That was a really good sample of what he can do. Yeah.

It's a crazy performance, but, like, he is 100% committed. He can make it work. So usually we'll try to just do, even with our regular people on the show, we'll just do what we've been watching lately or just kind of movies that we like in general. So we've done a little of that today anyway. But what type of stuff do you normally watch?

I guess you can go back to classics that you love and then some newer stuff you've seen. Some of the classics I really love are like Sunset Boulevard, Double Indemnity. I think Billy Wilder. Those are two of his greatest films. underrated film yeah definitely and then I was kind of late to the party but I saw recently watched all the seasons of Breaking Bad yeah and I felt like some of those last few episodes were some of the most you know amazing moments that I've experienced in any form of entertainment so I just absolutely love that and then really the film that I've seen recently that because there's a while there I just went to the movies and there's I just didn't walk out with any sort of feeling I just yeah I would kind of either get bored during the film or just lose interest.

A movie that really got me recently was Boyhood. I still haven't seen it. That looks amazing. Yeah, it was just so well done and such a different experience. I mean, I love his work.

I love Bernie. There are a few filmmakers that do that kind of stuff anyway. He has that weird back and forth with he'll do something kind of commercial. And then he'll turn around and do something crazy. And, like, this is one of those that, like, I don't know that anybody else would have tried.

And, like, to have that much conviction to spend, you know, 15 years committed to this one project. And, yeah. And actually, yeah, to pull it off. Yeah. And it's just, yeah, it was such a great film.

Even without... that aspect it was just the way the story was told and I thought it was really. I mean they could have changed actors a few times I guess they've done that in many other movies over the years but yeah it's it tells you what a weird different kind of filmmaking world we're in now that people will commit themselves to I mean even the other actors that like you know you've got Ethan Hawke that's like alright I'm friends with you you know we're gonna hang out over the next 15 years anyway let's keep shooting stuff every you know couple. Of months that started in Nashville this weekend I'm gonna try to get down there to see it yeah It's just such an amazing concept. So it's good to hear it came through.

It actually worked out. Do you guys have anything? As far as what we've been watching, I'm in the midst of a bad movie retrospective here at the library, and I watched a few of our entries in that. The last thing I watched was Sergeant Pepper. That's the last one we showed.

Basically with these events, they're like mystery science theater parties. We encourage the audience to make fun of the film. We'll have one guest speaker at each of them that is kind of aware of the movie, like an expert on the movie or the theme of the movie. and this last one we had where we showed Sergeant Pepper my friend Dory who Greg was able to meet last night she's a Beatles historian who lives in Liverpool right now but she's originally from Owensboro so she was in for this she spoke a little bit about what she does as a musicologist and kind of the culture that produced the movie and that was bad have you seen the Sergeant Pepper film. I remember bits and pieces of it from Cable, and I think I'm still kind of scarred.

Yeah. They take songs from the Sgt. Pepper album and other Beatles albums, and they try their best to string a plot together. It's basically like some legendary band, the Sgt. Pepper's band.

They have these instruments that will grant wishes somehow or something. They do. The town was like Happy Town, USA, or any town. I can't remember exactly. And George Burns was the mayor, Mr.

Kite. And he is the only person that speaks in the whole movie. It's a jukebox musical. That's what they call those, but it's just random songs. Then the instruments get stolen by me and Mr.

Musser, who for some reason is a real estate agent. They never explain that in the movie. He's just an evil real estate agent who has two robot women with him. And they give him massages and parts of it. Kind of a little racy for a PG movie.

But yeah, these instruments get stolen, and the Sgt. Pepper's band has to go get them. The end of the movie, which... I don't think you would care about spoilers, because I think the makers actually spoiled this one. Billy Preston appears as Sergeant Pepper on the top of the building.

And he has a version of Get Back, he sings while he does this. Shoots some kind of psychedelic lightning from his fingertips and erases all the damage done by the villains in the movie. A character comes back alive. The love interest, who is actually named Strawberry Field. And the whole movie never happened, so one of the jokes that was made when that happened was, like, thank you, Billy Preston. we're erasing the movie.

Um, if only you could erase it from our memories. Right. And, uh, it was, uh, it's obviously that you've seen the SpongeBob. Right. It was the inspiration for that, where SpongeBob turns into a wizard.

Yeah, it's, it's definitely close. Brian made that comparison that night. This is very accurate. But yeah, that, uh, those, that's kind of been what's on my plate. I can't, I'm trying, I was sitting here thinking as you guys were talking about the last thing I saw in the theater was, and I can't really remember.

I know the next thing I'm going to see is Guardians of the Galaxy. I'm very excited about that. Um, And I also acquired a VHS copy of Mazes and Monsters, which I'm pretty excited about. Ah, the VHS company. Yes.

We have a great indie store. If you're ever in Owensboro, not to give an unpaid endorsement, but there's a place here I love called Star Tracks that has new releases, but they have just shelves and shelves of VHS tapes, and everything's for sale that they rent. It's kind of like our version of Wild and Wooly, essentially. They have some great stuff in there. He pulled a Howard the Duck VHS the other day, so I'm going to post that on there.

I run their Facebook page, so. We'll disclose it. I'll put it next to mine. Oh, you've got Howard Duck on VHS? I believe I do.

Yeah. He's about to make a comeback. I don't know if I should say that out loud. He's coming back. But, yeah, that's basically been about all I've been watching lately.

I was paid to watch Sergeant Peppers on Walk Down. It's not worth my job. I quit. We showed Solar Babies 2, the first one. That's a classic.

That's a title. That's a classic. And that was, Jim, our director here, talked about that one. I guess Mel Brooks' company produced that. That was like one of the first things that he didn't direct that they produced.

I guess, I don't know, it's like Mad Max with kids and roller skates. And Jamie Girtz, and that's all you need to know. True. She did have some sweet hair back then. That's right.

And her hair got progressively bigger as the movie went on. In her life. Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, Guardians is next on my agenda, and I hope on Monday to see that, I think.

Got anything, Brian? Yeah. I'm trying to think what I've... Besides the Daily Ghosts of Power Rangers, I've been going through the whole Power Rangers. On purpose?

Yeah, my daughter. If you have a kid, you have an out. If you were just sitting at home watching them all. I don't have a kid, so I don't have an excuse for owning Princess Bride Part 1. Or Princess Diaries, excuse me.

Princess Bride's good. I can't pretend like I haven't seen it. It's amazing how after 20 years old or something, there's a million. The Power Rangers. Yeah, because we've run into several of them.

Oh yeah, there are a lot of conventions. Yeah, all of a sudden. It's weird. The convention world shifted in these last few years. Everything was like 80s slasher movies, 80s comedies.

It was all that, and then all of a sudden this new wave of 90s era kids came along, and everything like that one we went to a few months ago was like the entire cast of the Power Rangers. They were so excited because the guy who did the voice of Darkwing Duck was there, and I'm like, This is just a whole new wave of kids now. It's a different world. There's going to be a comic convention here soon, and I know Grizzly Adams is going to be a guest. And Eddie Monster.

You're going backwards on that. 70s, 60s. We move a little slower in Kentucky. I definitely want to get a picture with him just simply because of the line at Billy Madison. Grizzly Adams did have a beard.

Or Happy Gilmore, I'm sorry. I did watch something recently under this camera. No, that's what I was just telling him about. I really like that. Like, I'm thrilled with that.

I did not expect hardly anything going in. I'd heard a little bit from guys on the show that said they liked it. But, yeah, I was kind of blown away. It's visually amazing. You have to have kind of an open mind.

It's not for everyone. But, yeah, it's so just amazing to look at. Tell me a bit about that one. I'm not familiar. I don't know if you can.

Yeah. It's based on a science fiction novel by the same name. Yeah. Yeah, it is, and I don't know how close they stick to that story. It may be relatively close, because again, it's just...

It's so vague in a lot of the places. They really don't spell anything out for you, which is kind of why I respect it. I'm like, we're so used to having boring movies spoon-feed every bit of information, that this one, things just start happening, and you... you can be you know again if you have any sense you can piece together what's going on but like they don't necessarily spell out who this character is or what their motivation is you just sort of have to assess all that as the movie goes. On i'm a david lynch fan so i probably. Yeah so it's it's along those lines that that's what i was telling him a little while ago it's like it it goes long stretches where there's no dialogue you will just enter into this weird situation and people won't talk and things will happen and you're just kind of like that was weird all right and The wrap-up's equally as disturbing and awesome.

So, yeah, it's worth seeing. It's like a movie that Stanley. Kubrick could have made. Yeah, it's not far from that kind of weird and genius at the same time. But they did some weird, they shot it a weird way, too.

Scarlett Johansson was wearing a wig, and they talked to people on the streets who were driving around with cameras in their van. Yeah. Yeah it was all unscripted i think that early stuff which i'm like if you're just somewhere because she's picking up guys basically so if you're just some weird dude on the street and scarlett johnson comes and picks you up i don't know i would assume you know a handful of people that were lucky enough to fall in that situation it's yet to happen to me i don't. Understand speaking of keurig uh he did the killing. Right one of them i think there's an earlier one too yeah.

Yeah that's um I think that's the one that I'm thinking of. We had a noir conversation last night, and that's one of my favorite noir films. It's very good. That's another one of those. It goes back so far, most people forget that's even in his catalog.

There's The Killing TV Show, too, which threw me off when I first heard about it. That just came back, and that's one thing I want to start on, too. It's a Netflix original now. They're finishing it up. I love the mood of the first season of that.

It kind of lost it toward the end, but it was pretty tight at first. It was one of those cases where they produced far too many episodes for the story they had. But I like the acting on that show, and I like the story, but it kind of has too much padding in it, I guess. What I really got into now is this comic book called Saga. Anybody heard of it?

I don't know. It's on Image, and it's just this weird space odyssey type thing. Totally adult, I mean, but it's pretty trippy. Yeah. At this point do you see them turning it into a movie since every comic book or graphic novel now gets at least somebody somewhere is working in a room trying to turn it into a movie is it the kind of thing that would work uh they'd probably try it yeah it would be I guess they could do Guardians of the Galaxy they could probably you can kind of do anything if you can do Guardians of the Galaxy.

I'm so excited for that this is a great thing about our job we see so much stuff come through so we have all this great content right in front of us and we don't have to look very far so it's a They have no filter, like, you know, stuff we get, a wide variety of stuff, and you can pretty much suggest a purchase, and if it looks promising, we'll pull it in. It's a really great working environment. That's cool. Although all my. Suggestions for comic books seem to go to the black hole.

They finally got the Watchmen, right? Yeah, they got Watchmen. I mean, that's considered literature at this point. Oh, it was Kabuki, not Watchmen, that you asked for for a while. Yeah.

Okay. I gave up on that. Yeah. I asked for Grant Morrison's other title, The Invisibles. Oh, yeah.

He'll get there. Just keep trying. Yeah, that's about it for my end. Leave, I want you to leave. Please, leave.

Your stupid comments in your pocket. What do you know about it? Were you even invited? I never saw you before. Don't you know she loves me And you are not above me Let me show you the door.

You don't understand I am the other man. I know it's got to end. How can I explain? Oh, I'm in so much pain. Cause Johnny is my best friend.

Anyway, my sex life's fine. His future life is lying. And Johnny says to me, what a story. She's getting loud and three's a crowd. So maybe I should.

Leave before she has me. You don't understand. I am the other man. I know it's got to end. it's intermission time so how about taking a break get out and stretch a little and relax before the show begins again And why not make it. Refreshment time, too?

We have lots of tasty, delicious treats waiting for you at the refreshment center. There's hot popcorn, so golden good and fresh out of the popper. And all kinds of refreshing ice-cold soft drinks. Sizzling hot dogs just bursting with juicy goodness. Ice cream so smooth and delicious, you'll hanker for more.

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So step right up and make yourself at home. Hi, I am Tommy Wiseau. Director, star of the hit movie. The Room. I'd like to wish you a happy.

Happy Memorial Day. Be cool, enjoy yourself. It's a beautiful day. A lot of people be afraid. They're afraid to enjoy themselves.

For God's sake, it's Memorial Day. Don't be afraid. Enjoy the summer with your friends, for God's sake. Hi, doggy. Oh, you caught it.

Good. What are you doing on the computer? Go outside. It's so beautiful. Happy Memorial Day.

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Sounds better. I'm C. Thomas Howell and you're listening to Movie Meltdown. It's time for Sofa Theater. Many stories have been told of man's search for meaning in his life.

But none of them quite like this one. Johnny's life had no meaning. It seemed to be going nowhere. Then one night, meaning struck him in the form of black suede shoes, and there was no stopping him now. What are those, bedroom slippers?

They're one-of-a-kind black suede shoes. My name's Suede. Jan Suede. Johnny Suede. You're kidding me, right?

Now, with Yvonne, I'm making sure she knows I can take it or leave it. Brad Pitt is Johnny Suede, a smooth comedy. Well, it's one for the money, two for the show, three to get ready. Now go, cat, go. But don't you step on my blue suede shoes.

You can do anything, but they're all for my blue suede shoes. Well, you can knock me down, step in my face, slander my name all over the place. Well, I guess to move into the next stage here, I figure, you know, you've probably talked about The Room a million times, Greg. So I was like, let's, you know, we go through our series and we'll pick different movies and talk about them anyway. So I was like That one's known as a bad movie, depending on who you talk to.

I was like, let's have you pick one that you think is kind of a fun bad movie, or maybe a movie that people would say is bad, but they could be wrong. So your option was Johnny Suede. Yeah, Johnny Suede, I wouldn't say it's like a bad movie. I mean, The Room is technically bad. It does everything wrong, but it has a watchability to it.

It's really just... It's an alien-type film. When it comes to Johnny Suede, it had a lot of talent there. I mean, Catherine Keener's great, Brad Pitt's great. It just was trying to be something, and I think it was either ahead of its time or just totally missed its time.

It may have missed its time. Yeah. It was just something I thought was really quirky and odd about it, and there were some dialogue and some storylines that were just. Really, like, you kind of wanted to figure out what they were about, and it just has this dorkiness to it that I really enjoyed watching it, you know, over and over. Well, for the rundown here of the details, I'll at least throw them out there.

This week's Sova Theater feature is Johnny Suede. The year is 1991. The director, are we going with DeCilio? Tom DeCilio? I think so, yeah.

I'm not sure. I don't remember if I've heard it spoken before. The plot, according to IMDb, is a struggling young musician and devoted fan of Ricky Nelson wants to be just like his idol and become. A rock star. Again, IMDb with their killer plot summary.

So, spoiler alert, I guess. I don't know that we can really spoil this. No, I just. Just for the sake of saying it, we threw it out there. I discovered this movie when I was right struggling to trying to become an actor.

And I kind of identified with Johnny Suede trying to become a musician. I was depressed, and this movie was depressing, but it was really funny. Yeah, there's these little midget guys that appear and start yelling stuff. It's like a dream sequence, and then Samuel L. Jackson has two lines in it.

It's just really... And then the romance that happens, and I think Nick Cave is in it. Yeah, Nick Cave was amazing in that. I'd say it's really. I don't know if I'd say it's a bad movie like The Room.

I just think it was coming from a mind who had made some really, really interesting films, and he just took a chance. And I think, you know, obviously this is a totally different caliber, but Drive was... I absolutely loved Drive. I thought it was brilliant. And then, you know, they did Only God Forgives, and I felt like that was.

That didn't really do what drive did for me so i think going back to tom basilio i think he did living in oblivion and it was yeah it was it was really great i think he just took a chance and so on something he he believed in and just you know it came out different drives. A good example though because i think i i can see and i have heard people say like it's a very polarizing movie there are people that love it and they're people like i hated that movie and like I can see where what they're doing on screen could work both ways. You could be totally devoted to how well it works, or you could just not click with it at all. Be like, this is just not my movie. So that's a good version of kind of what was going on here.

That's what I wanted to throw out there first, I think, was usually with most of these movies, movies in general, I guess, and especially even the quirky ones, I can kind of get what they're going for. You know, even if it's weird and off the skin, being a good example, it's like it's very weird and different. Right. But I get, like, what. They're going for and what they're trying to do and what they're trying to say.

So many times in Johnny's way, I'm just sitting here going, I don't know what they're going for. Yeah, and I think that's what makes it so weird. Yeah. I couldn't figure it out. I read that it came from a, like, Tom DiCilio had a one-man show.

Yeah. And it kind of evolved from that. Which, I don't know what to do with that either. Because I'm not even trying to... I don't know how you would work that in.

His little monologue about suede in the beginning in the Black and White Dream sequence, I can see that being a one-man show thing. Suede is a funny thing. It's rough but soft. It's strong but quiet. And it doesn't wrinkle.

And it doesn't crack. And it doesn't stand out so much in a crowd of leather and vinyl. You don't notice it at first, but once you do, you can't take your eyes off of it, and you wonder how in the hell you ever overlooked it in the first place. Yeah, I mean, is he supposed to be the Johnny Suede? These are all his crazy thoughts.

Yeah. Well, I think another thing I read, too, is that he originally planned on playing him himself. It seems like I saw that somewhere. Interesting. Well, no, they were pushing for Timothy Hutton, I think.

Yeah, that was one of them. They really wanted to play the lead, and he was gunning for the unknown, Brad Pitt. I thought Brad Pitt was a cool role for him. It was. It's one of those I remember that, which that's what I wanted to ask you.

You were sort of inspired by him at that point. Were you also inspired by the hair? Did you want to do the hair? The hair was very... Yeah, the hair made it really funny.

Seeing him walk around his apartment in his underwear with that hair, I. Think he still probably does that. Angelina yells at him, put some clothes on, the kids are. That was like the third thing Brad Pitt did, right? Johnny Suede?

Yeah. He had done a couple films, he did like Cool World. That might have been right around this time. Yeah, right around that time. I think Thelma and Louise was 90.

Wasn't it? 91, same year. But he must have maybe made it before or whatever. Yeah, so it was good to try out a few different parts. Like I said, I thought he kind of made the movie work.

He went for the oddness of Johnny Sway and I think the way he played it is what made it funny. I think he's finding himself at that point. Again, being that early in his career too. Because I remember watching Cool World and thinking... That guy.

You know, I'm like, the movie has all these weird problems going on, but I'm like, that's what came through. It's like, you know, this guy is obviously going to be leading man. Right. Because he takes that movie and it's like, Gabriel Byrne's in it, a very, you know, well-respected actor already at that point, but he totally walks away with that movie. And it's like, that's kind of the situation here.

This could have been a complete train wreck, but I think. Yeah, exactly. You get that performance out of Brad Pitt that you're like, well, I think that's what makes it more perplexing. And Calvin Keener, too, was... kind of saves it halfway through where she seems really distraught and weird and then them coming together it's just kind of like this really bizarre connection but they are able to bring something to it that makes it you know watchable at least for me are you a. Big fan of hers in general i always feel like she's such an odd choice for so many roles But she's good.

It's one of those I don't know how to balance it out. Yeah, that's what I'd say. I think she's always good. Yeah, she's always good and, again, super committed. Like, you can tell how, like, into, even the silly lines that she has to deliver here.

Like, she's the one that's delivering them probably the most real and the most heartfelt. Well, ever since Johnny Suede, I've kind of rooted for her. Yeah. That's cool. But even in this, she's so abrasive.

Yeah. Especially balancing, because we have this weird, like, book-ended romances, and I'm like, The first one makes no sense. And that girl is just mousy and yet constantly feels like she's lying to him or putting him on. You have to figure out what was going on in that first romance. She's just like the worst girlfriend you could ever ask for.

And then she's going out with that weird photographer. Yeah, that was just so ridiculous. Which again, do we think this whole thing feels like its own fictional world? Yeah, I think that's kind of what he was going for. I think he had an idea and.

You know, that's why for the book it was, I wanted to work with somebody, collaborate with somebody, because sometimes if you have these ideas and you know you have nobody to reel you in, you can kind of go off and end up with what you feel is a great idea in your head, but when you execute it, it's just, people don't follow it. It becomes Johnny's. I'm definitely going to use that strawberry ice cream one next time I'm at the club. Well, that was, I mean, as I got into this, I'm like, we have characters that are Freakstorm and Flipped Out, and I'm like, this is a comic book, right? I'm like, there's, There's no real-world scenarios that this is going on.

The music was amazing. Like, Link Wray, you can't get much better than that. This is for the never girl. The girl I never knew. The one who.

Never pledged to love. Or promised to be true. The one who never held me or wished for me. One whose lips. I never kissed or felt her heart so near But if.

I ever find her I. Know just what I'll. Say Here I am. Your never boy to take you far. Away even and that's that's another one of those that falls in the middle it's like i don't know what the thing like i guess it would be funnier if he was just terrible right but like there's moments when i'm like that song's passable like his voice isn't bad like i think if they would have played one way or the other like yeah he was so terrible and only he couldn't see it it might have been funnier or if he was just really good and like somehow i couldn't catch a break but like they play somewhere in the middle where you're just like the whole time going Am I supposed to laugh at his songs?

A couple songs were kind of cheesy. The first one's pretty funny, but by the time the one he does with the band, I kind of agree with her. I'm like, I like it. Yeah, that one was good. I don't know what you're going for, but I like the song.

She said what she was thinking. I don't really know what it was about. Yeah, I thought that was a good song. That's the polished one. That was pretty good.

That scene with Nick Cave in that alley I like, too. Oh, yeah. It's a song about his daddy. I'm going to give that to you. His hair, according to some other stuff I read, was allegedly influenced by Jim Jarmusch.

Yeah, I can see that. I think Tom DeCillo was a DP on some of his stuff, so they had a connection there. This is the Nick Cave? Yeah. I was going to say, because he looks like he's doing a Jarmusch impersonation.

I mean, there's so many. Again, that whole weird relationship at the beginning, I don't know what. Yeah, that girl was just... You wanted to just kill yourself. She was kind of like Elisa in the room.

Yeah. Can I think? You don't know what she's thinking, that she likes this guy, that she doesn't like you. She seems like she's messing with him, but at the same time, I'm like, I don't even know to what end. She doesn't seem like she's getting anything out of it.

It's kind of like the room, too, where he's like, maybe I'll hit you a couple times and we'll have some fun, too. And she's like, gets all upset. Can't believe this happened. Yeah. People get strange these days.

It seems like that's all, like you at first start to feel for her, and then as she goes on, you're just like, so wait, is that? whole thing a lie like and if so why is she telling him this yeah like there's so many things they set up yes you think it's gonna come back around exactly and. The way it ends i thought was it's good you see it's a dead movie it laughs at itself but then it takes itself seriously so you don't quite know where it maybe that was the intention. It has moments that it takes itself like almost more than seriously like it has some sort of grand purpose and i don't know i was like again i like this filmmaker so i'd like to think he did but like as you get into the like the hand Why does he find that hand on the ground?

And then immediately they follow it with that scene where he's talking about the best way to hold on to something is with an open hand. His hand is sitting in the windowsill. He's delivering this. It's very hammy at that point. Probably the weirdest scene for me was when he follows that girl home.

Yeah. That was the weirdest scene. And she was like, all right, come on in. Frank's with me. Let's go.

And then. Let's go. And then he gets back and he's like, oh, I... that whole, the way that whole scene plays out with her, it was, it was very, um, it felt very personal. Like, it felt like something that you, you know, that I could go through. It may have happened at some point.

Yeah, it felt like the way it was shot, it was very believable, like, and I thought that scene, um, I remember I showed it to a few friends and at that point they didn't really get it and they were like, something happened, I hope somebody gets killed here or whatever and so they, she attacks his, you know, his hair and that whole thing plays out and, Yeah, it was just kind of depressing and realistic. Jesus, what's the matter with you, man? What's the matter with me? I just pawned my guitar, that's what. Why?

So I could have something else to eat besides goddamn carrots, you know? I'll tell you, man. If I had a gun right now, I'd do something. Like what? Like, you see that barbershop over there, man?

I bet there's $ 300 sitting in the register. We walk in. Show them the gun? They give us the cash, right? Yeah, man, hey.

Hey, that's not a bad idea, Johnny. I know. I could get my guitar out of hot. Hey, man, I could get me a new keyboard. Oh.

We could start the band. So when we gonna get the band started, man? I just told you, as soon as we get a gun. Because that's the other thing. I'm like, they do this weird setup with the gun.

And what end for that, really? I'm just like, they build this whole big thing as to, like, he's this almost wide-eyed, innocent character, but then all I want's a gun. All I want to do is go and rob people, and then I'll make everything okay. So I'm like, okay, now is he making some weird comment on violence? But then they forget it, and then it comes back.

Later, and then, like... Or they're painting or whatever. They're painting, and he gets the bullet, and he's so excited that he's got the bullet, and he almost shoots that guy. Like, it's just... so much of that feels like he's trying to say something like he's trying to make some sort of weird comment about the violence or, you know, it's like some grand, you know, purpose for this character as you, you know, he was innocent and then this came along and changed him. But like, then it does that one 80 by the end and you're just, wait, did we forget about all this stuff?

Like it really doesn't resolve any of the stuff they set up with the weird hand and the gun and, the little guy that shows up. What fictional world does that little character that falls down the stairs exist in? Or the fake scene where at the end where she comes back and she's, you know, and he's like starts crying or whatever. I'm missing all these indie movies. Yeah.

I mean, that was one of those, like this came along at that time and this director is one of those because, I mean, you get to Because I remember I loved Living in Oblivion. And I remember thinking that was such an impressive thing. But it was one of those, like it hit right in the middle of that 90s indie film boom. And you almost like, he was already ahead of the game because he was already kind of making fun of indie films within that movie. Like they do all those scenes of like, it's the dream sequences.

And actually you've got, what's his name from Game of Thrones? That was like one of his early... Steve Richon? Yeah, Dinklage is in it. And he, making comments, he's like, why in these movies are there always midgets in dreams?

You know, it's like, this is the only role I can get. So you've got him making, like, this really smart-ass comment about indie films, like, in the middle of the 90s when, you know, you're at the peak of that kind of stuff, just sort of itting. So again, he's a very smart filmmaker. Yeah, and like I said, sometimes you have ideas that really work in your head, really work on paper, and then you They just don't translate as well. So then even the voiceover part, it starts with that, it ends with that, but it's not like we're led through the whole way with this weird voiceover.

It seems like I read somewhere there's a director's cut without the voiceover because that wasn't a decision on the part of the director. Maybe so. Because it seems so jammed in there and at the same time accomplishes nothing. It kind of actually reminded me of the voiceover in Assassination of Jesse James, another Brad Pitt movie. Because that voiceover there seemed really out of place too.

But I love that movie. It's a great movie. Yeah, especially that wrap up. I'm like, he comes on, he tells you what may or may not have happened, but nobody knows. Wait, what are you telling me then?

And then, like, what became of the shoe? And like, man, nobody knows that either. Like, what was the point of this voiceover? It is very Billy Preston-like. Yeah, it's just, let's cap this off with something.

Sounds like you're describing Firewall with me, the sequel. Right. Yeah, I mean, there's moments when it feels like it could be that weird and surreal. I could see David Lynch doing something like that with his obsession with that era of music that he likes. He would have used Chris Isaac.

Yeah. With giant hair. I love Chris Isaac. But, yeah, I don't know. I mean, there's so much of that that gets weird.

And, like, the first dream sequence there in black and white with the girls. That other one with him and the lizard and the gun again. I'm like, what? Again, it's like he's planting these seeds like he's going to say something. Or, like, the letter on the wall that he didn't get in.

Or even that. The Nancy Sinatra. All that stuff writing on the wall. It's like, are we supposed to assume that he was always Johnny Swain? Or did he adopt that name?

But by the next scene, the friend's already calling him that. That's why I was like, as he wrote that on the wall, I was like, okay, is this him finding his identity and this is his new rock star persona or something? But then now his friends are calling him that like they've always called him that. He's telling people, oh, that's always been my name. But again, he's very.

The shoes are projecting it into their minds. I guess. He's very boastful in many situations. I don't know. I don't know what we're supposed to do with that either.

Is that a made-up persona? I don't know. There's so much of this that doesn't make any sense. And yet it's still kind of amazing to look at. Okay, kids, we're wrapping up this discussion, but I feel like we've just scratched.

The surface of this strange film. I've since tried to explain what this movie is to other people, and it's just so hard to pin down. It's not like it's insane, crazy, or super surreal, or anything like that. It just continues from scene to scene, but oddly doesn't make any sense. Did we forget to mention that the shoes fall from the sky in the beginning?

They just fall from heaven? Somebody threw them out a window? I don't know. They just fall from the sky. It's never really addressed again why they did.

So, I mean, what's the interesting part? I don't know. We'll wrap it up. But I do want to give you this one last scene as an example of the sort of nonsense that takes place from scene to scene. So Johnny and girlfriend number one are hanging out in his apartment and he's playing music for her, which by all accounts, he only has 145 of Ricky Nelson and he just keeps flipping it over.

Even though it makes no sense, because he's got a full album sleeve pinned to his wall of Ricky, but he keeps playing that 145. But maybe he lost the record? I don't know. Anyway, she's completely not impressed with Ricky. She asks if he can play something else.

They get into a whole thing about her not liking Ricky Nelson music. Then they get into this odd discussion about a plant. I thought you said this plant didn't need much attention. Well, have you been watering it? Of course I've been watering it.

I think it was dead when you gave it to me. I wouldn't give you a dead plant. Hey, does this plant look dead or not? Weird enough interaction. So he then looks through his window across the street and goes seeing the other creepy boyfriend, the photographer, through his window.

So he then goes chasing her down the stairs. He gets about halfway down and she's lurking in the shadows and suddenly asks him. D called. Gonna go grab a beer. Can I wait upstairs until you come back?

If you want. So she goes back upstairs in the apartment. It's been like eight seconds since she walked out. When she was just mad at him in the apartment and now suddenly she asks if she can go wait for him upstairs while he gets a beer? And he was chasing her.

Why did he bother? He was just trying to be cool, I suppose, and had to play it off like he wasn't chasing her down the stairs. But why did she change her mind and go back upstairs? And then, as she gets back up to the top of the stairs, you'll hear her quietly put on the Ricky Nelson 45. What?

If you guys can figure out what's going on, on in this movie, hopefully you've already watched it. If not, go check it out. And if you can make any sense out of some of the more unusual aspects of this film, please write to us at geeksatmoviemeltdown.com and explain things or just give us your general thoughts on the movie. It's an odd one. Speaking of technically bad movies have you seen.

Miami connection oh yes yes i have. It's a special special alamo draft house we salute you for bringing that one back so good are you familiar with that greg. Um yeah i know i know but i haven't seen it. Yeah it's very funny that's another one we want to screen here actually. Yeah, it was funny.

They showed it at Wild and Moldy. After hours, they brought the staff in, and they sat there. So it's like a bunch of geeks that love movies anyway, sitting there just mostly laughing. There's not even much to make fun of it. It's so amusing that you just have to kind of go along for the whole ride on that one.

I like the, what was it called, when the music... This kind of exposition in the storyline. The montage? The bad ninjas. Oh, I see what you're saying.

Where they tell the movie story inside the song. Stupid cocaine. So what was it? Ninja bikers bringing cocaine to Florida. That happens.

Stupid cocaine in it. I can't remember now. It's been a while since I've seen it. But yeah, it's a good one. Could you please tell me to put my comments in my pocket?

Leave your stupid comments in your pocket. That's actually, that line is written in the original script. He didn't veer from the script at all. A little bit. The real script's even more unsayable.

I'm looking forward to that portion of your program. Yeah, it's so great. I have to say, the book, that was just like, I'm glad I watched the movie right as the book came out, because it was It's really good. Oh, right on. It's pretty honest, you know, pretty out there.

Because it's like, how do you explain it? Yeah, I mean, I feel like that was the best way to, like, share the experience, you know? Yeah, it's a great book, and I'm looking forward to the audio, too. Sounds like it'll be a good road trip to you. For sure.

Yeah, just some of the parts, I think the funniest part was probably. Where He had one line, and he was coming out. He was coming out onto the roof, which is in the parking lot, out of this little tin shack thing, and he can't get the line right or something. And it's the line he wrote. He probably throws his water bottle down.

Oh, so that, yeah. That, I mean, that scene, you can watch that thing on YouTube. You need to do it. I mean, since he had everything so scripted out, was there improv room for you guys? Not really.

I mean, you pretty much had to stick to... What he wrote. Where it would all fall apart. Carefully played. Yeah.

Did we ever discover where his personal fortune came from? Apparently he was a really successful retail guy in the 80s, and I think that's, you know, there's more to it, but that's all that you can get. He's selling underwear now. Yep. Underwear, T-shirts, and everything.

Jeans. Yeah, I visited the underwear website. I was tempted to order some of those just for novelty's sake. Just says Tommy really big. Right.

Not to be confused with the other Tommy. Nope, there's only one. It's like a Highlander. Scare away all your future girlfriends. Right.

That other two. Just make sure to get the hip-hop sag with the Tommy sticking out. Good stuff. So has the experience of the rooms kind of brought you. two together as friends and kind of you know just the whole phenomenon is that yeah i mean i. Think you know having known him as long as i have and going through an experience like this you know i think you're always going to have some sort of you know bond after that but.

Yeah like disaster victims. Or yeah exactly was there a point when you you had to kind of question how far you could push it without like upsetting him because i mean you you've Got a very good sense of humor about it, but Tommy's still convinced it's an amazing movie. Well, a lot of things, like when I interviewed him for the book, I tried to get a feeling to do really an honest portrait of him and what he thinks and not put stuff in there that I felt like wasn't necessary. Do you think it hurts him a little bit that the movie is seen the way it is? I think he just sees the people that show up and then just looks at it that way.

I mean, it's amazing, really, to have that kind of, you know, here you are in Winsborough, Kentucky, talking about this movie that was on a billboard in L.A. For five years. Yeah, how long was the billboard out? Five years. Was it five?

I couldn't remember. Did he originally have plans to do more with it, and does he still? Like, in his mind, is there a sequel that he needs to put out? I think he wants to make other movies, but I don't know, I don't think he ever thought of a sequel. He was wanting to do 3-D for a while, right?

Yeah, I think when the whole 3D thing took off, he was interested in that. I don't want to see those sex scenes in 3D. By the time he puts it in 3D, I think the 3D thing will be capering off. I think there is a way to, again, expand what's already out there. We were discussing Lebowski Fest earlier.

You could almost build an entire event around that movie and expand on it and make it a running thing. It is something like that you could do. I think he tours almost every month somewhere with the movie, so it's kind of like that. But yeah, I think doing a once-a-year thing would be cool. That would be interesting.

It would make a great play. I think they did a stage version, right? Yeah, like a while back, like one night. I've got cancer. Can you tell us anything about your new movie you're working on?

Yeah, I did a movie with the guys who do five-second films. They're doing a feature called Um, it's kind of a spoof horror comedy. Uh, it was really, really fun to be a part of and kind of do something new. Uh, Patton Oswalt is going to be in it, Andrew WK and a couple other people. And it comes out later this year, but, um, yeah, it's like this fraternity of guys that kind of run and keep, they keep running into these murders and there's no one or two, it's just number three.

So, um, I think it's going to be, it's going to be great. Nice. I didn't know Andrew WK was acting now. I know we had a discussion about that earlier. That should be interesting to see.

His shows are a trip. I've seen them on video. I've never been to one, but he. He parties hard. Yeah.

He's got like a... Is it the New York Times he writes for now? It was some legit source, and he does like... People write questions in, and he answers them. There was this really sincere thing he wrote to a kid writing in about...

I guess his dog had to be put to sleep. His parents knew it was time for the dog to be put to sleep, but he didn't want to accept it, and he wrote in to Andrew WK about it, and like, It's a real heartfelt, very emotional answer to this kid's question. In juxtaposition to his music, he's really intellectual. In his music, he just likes, I guess, to get out of the system. Most of his music sounds exactly the same, but it's all super fun.

But he's actually a classically trained pianist. He can really play. But it's Dude Bro Party Massacre 3, right? I'm looking forward to that. It sounds hilarious.

Do you know where that's going to end up as far as distribution? I'm not sure. I think it's going to be at Sundance, but for now. I know it's probably going to be at the end of this year. I was going to ask your thoughts on the way the system has changed, even just since you've started, and especially since he was trying to put the room together.

This new world has opened up in these last 10 years that just continues to get bigger with indie films, and now we've got digital distribution, and we've got Netflix, and all these other online capabilities that are out there. So I don't know. What has it been like working with it the other way, and how much have you seen it change with people trying to get their product out there? It's definitely a lot easier to get your stuff out there. It doesn't feel as exclusive, you know.

You have movies coming out on theaters, and then they're out on Netflix right away. Maybe I was even a new. There's some releases I think you buy on Vimeo. Yeah. And some stuff they're releasing online first, and then if it gets a good response, they're going to different cities with it, which is totally opposite.

Of what you would expect. Yeah, I mean, it's definitely a lot more efficient. Yeah. But it used to be kind of cool to have a movie come out, and then you have to wait for a DVD. But I think the goal is to have people see your work, and, you know, it's like True Detective.

You can get it on, you know, on Amazon now. And so, you know, I think for a consumer, it's great. Yeah. Do you have your own movie ideas? Do you want to get into directing?

I think it would be a heck of a challenge. I'd definitely be down for it. Really just kind of staying creative and working on things that I'm really into. I learned my lesson. You never know what project you're going to do that an audience is going to respond to.

So ideally working on something that you're really into, I think, is what I'm looking for. like the book was something that was kind of the first time I ever had creative control on a project and it was it was a great experience to be able to do that so I'd love to do more projects like that I. Want to start my own campaign to have you cast as Nathan Drake in Uncharted the movie throw that out there to the. Internet yeah That sounds pretty cool. If you can get that great Kickstarter. Right.

I think you have to fight Nathan Fillion for that one. Yeah. They kept throwing that around for him. Right. It was Nathan Fillion and I think Bradley Cooper for a while.

It's been in a few different hands. You make a great movie. Kind of like a new version of Indiana Jones. Sure, yeah. It's a very cinematic game.

Which we kind of need, really, after that fourth one. It'd be interesting to just see that actually work well with just handing it off to somebody else. They talked about making a fifth one, right? Didn't they say Shia? Yeah, I think it's still sort of up in the air.

Didn't they talk about handing the reins to Shia for a while? I think even early on they went, that's not good. Yeah, I think that ended pretty fast. But I think they were actually going to bring Harrison Ford back to do a fifth one. Like, he's breaking ankles.

He can't run around and be indie anymore. I think it would be good to have him kind of in the dad role like Last Crusade. Yeah. That would be good it would be interesting yeah for it to be full circle as far as his career to now be playing the older Indra's. Game was actually pretty decent I don't know if you got a chance to see.

That I saw parts of it I don't know I was not I was not clicking I'm not I got the point of what they were going for but it just seemed like it was a lot of down. Time yeah the pacing was a little off but visually it was good and. The performances were okay special effects were good Harrison Ford was there Mr. Gruff doing his thing Get off my spaceship. Whatever he says now.

Get off my plane. Well, I guess what is the best way for people to find you and see what you're doing as far as touring or find out more about the book or. All of that? You can get the book pretty much, I guess, wherever books are sold. I do have a website.

It's thedisasterartistbook.com, and it has tour dates and kind of updates with the book, so. and then just go find you touring about the country. How many of these are you doing? I've done quite a few. I've gone just about everywhere there is to go at this point. I've got a few dates left.

The paperback release comes out in October, so I'm going to probably be doing something at the American Film Institute in Washington, D.C., and a few more things. And obviously with the adaptation, I'm sure it will continue with that. I think that would work out, yeah, once that. it's, I think a lot more people will come looking for your book. So that's good for you. That'll tie in really well.

Well, I thank you for being here with us. Thank you guys for letting us come hang around in the building. You want to promote what you guys have going on here? Uh, yeah. I mean, we're doing our, uh, our schlock Rama bad movie festival still like, uh, it's, The weird way our licenses work for that, we can't actually say the titles when we publicly advertise for the upcoming shows.

I've played that game too. Yeah, we can say plot descriptions, but yeah, we've got two more of those coming up. One on August 8th, and I can tell you the film is about giant bunny rabbits attacking the Southwest. We may or may not have already covered that. Right, maybe.

We can play the trailer, but it's basically the title of it. Yeah, the trailer. I love the old trailer. That trailer was so good because they specifically, I guess the people putting the trailer together maybe weren't the filmmakers, which is usually how it goes anyway. And they realized, this is ridiculous.

We can't market this. So they specifically cut it to look like a great horror movie. It is just kind of weird and creepy, and you don't see the monster like most good trailers should do. And they just say the title like 1,000 times in like two minutes. And even then, they specifically titled it something that no one in this country knows what that means.

But that one's on August 8th, and we're going to have John Kenneth Muir, who's an author who's wrote a lot about various horror films, and he has a book that has parts of this movie or parts about this movie in it. And we are showing our last film on August 22nd. And I can tell you, it's about a Dungeons & Dragons student. Or a student in college, rather, that kind of gets obsessed with a Dungeons & Dragons-like game. His parents pull him out of one college, move him to another.

Then he plays a live-action role-playing game and goes crazy. And that night, we're actually starting at 6. Based on a true story. Yeah. Well.

That character also liked to dress in drag. This is all the same story, right? Right. Around that same time. It starts running together.

But with that one, we're starting at 6. Usually these start at 7.30 because we're playing Dungeons & Dragons with a scenario designed by someone on staff who is actually a Dungeons & Dragons author, a published author. It's not Gary Gax. Right. He's a really hard get these days.

Right. But he has designed a campaign with characters from this movie, so we're going to play through that for an hour and a half. Yeah, it should be fun. And also we have something called Volumes of Blood. This will be my last plug, I promise.

Volumes of Blood is an original horror anthology. Some libraries make a killing. Right. That's the tagline. We have a regional film retrospective here called Unscripted.

And what that is, people from the area, sometimes out of state, maybe like people who live in L.A. but have a connection to Owensboro, we show their short films. Then the director will talk about them either in person or via remote. Then we'll show the film again and do a live commentary. It's pretty successful. We make a good night out of it.

We'll give away bad movie posters. We'll give away gift cards from movie rental places. We still have a couple of those. They're usually really fun, but a film school component was added to that. The last one we did, two shorts were shot.

We have two floors at this library that the public can access. We had an open submission for screenplays. We solicited 10-page screenplays, roughly like a 10-minute film And we took those submissions in, and then a panel selected two of those. And then we had two directors who have actually made projects come into the library with a crew made up of people with experience and amateurs. They made two films here, one of which went on to festivals and has been written about on Ain't It Cool and a few other bigger websites.

So that has expanded for this next go-round. Here in like two weeks, I think, we're going to start shooting the first of five horror anthology, or excuse me, vignettes. and then they'll be tied together with a wraparound. So it'll be like a feature-length film with just different parts to it. But yeah, it's Volumes of Blood, and it's being overseen by a local filmmaker named PJ Starks. He was cast on it.

Yeah, it was the two of us that did the Festival of Films interview on this show. But yeah, it should be good. We have a Kickstarter up for it now. That's being ran by PJ. That's an independent thing of the library.

But if you go to Kickstarter and look for Volumes of Blood... If you want to get involved, there's a lot of cool little prizes, including the chance to have a role on it. The film's got people from... I know one person who was involved with Dawn of the Dead is in it. I'm blanking on the name right now.

But there are some pretty cool people attached to it now. But yeah, it should be good. And I think they're aiming for that to release in 2015. I'm a producer, so I should probably know these things. But I don't know.

I'm learning as I go. If you go to the Kickstarter page, it'll help. by the volumes of blood that are used for the movie. Right. Yeah, that's what that budget's for, special effects and stuff. It's going to happen even if the Kickstarter doesn't get met, but that's just going to make it a lot cooler if we can get that little extra bit of money.

All right. Well, thank you for hosting us. No problem. Thank you for sitting in with us, Greg. Thank you.

I have one question. Did Angry Birds have to pay commissions for the music from the room? I was watching the room, and I thought, this sounds just like Angry Birds. Now that you mention it, I think you're right. I have to go back and try that out.

The score is interesting. I love the R & B music. I read the R & B person actually was like the Sunday Rose song that was on American Idol. Yeah, a few years back. They did that Star Wars version of Angry Birds.

Can we get a room. Version of Angry Birds? That would be great. They were supposed to do a Kiss version of Angry Birds too. That would have been interesting.

Selling those little birds. I think that's the way to do it. Yeah. Otherwise, that about does it. We will return next week.

Same geek time, same geek feed. Thanks for listening. All right, D, give me some of that rockin' beat. I want to work in Midtown. Wear a three-piece suit.

I want to hire a limo Just to hear my driver toot I want a fancy penthouse So high it's hit. From the middle. Cause when I have these things I want Then I. Won't want you You're just a girl with a look on your. Face Nothing much more than that.

I'll find another girl to take your place And. I'll do it in seconds flat. Do it in seconds. Flat I wanna meet a model Who's only got one name She'll. Take me out to parties You treat.

Me to cocaine I wanna make her love me Just like you used to do Cause when I have these things I want. Then I won't want you I. Like the song I'm not really sure what it's about, but I liked it. Leave your stupid comments in your pocket. This episode is a production of Movie Meltdown, produced and edited by The Oddity Studios, with the opening music performed by The Empires.

For more on how to sponsor or support the show, email producer at moviemeltdown.com. Talk hard!