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- [00:00]
Host
Yo, Canal Street Dreams. Welcome back. We have a very, very special guest. Honestly, probably my favorite writer that writes about tv, film, entertainment, culture generally has a wonderful substack called Hung up, the one and only Hunter Harris. Thank you.
- [00:16]
Hunter Harris
Hi. Welcome. Thank you. Thank you for having me.
- [00:21]
Host
No, definitely, like, your account and your chat is the one I follow for award shows. Like, when the award shows are coming out, I'm like, I'm in the Hunter Harris chat.
- [00:29]
Hunter Harris
The chat is, like, the place to be. It's poppin. It feels Twitter and, like, the good days, especially in award show nights, because it's like, we're all just like, watching this thing together and, like, making jokes and just shooting the. So it's fun.
- [00:42]
Host
Yeah. I think with the chat, like, substacks, Twitter, you just have to find the person that their brain is kind of like your Venn diagram as well. Like, you're noticing the same. You like, dislike kind of similar. And your brain. I'm just like, yeah, I would like to watch this award show through the prism of this person's brain.
- [00:58]
Hunter Harris
The prism of someone who is, like, mentally unwell.
- [01:04]
Host
Same on well, Girls.
- [01:05]
Hunter Harris
Yeah, exactly that. I. I also feel like. I don't know. When I started on substack years ago, I was like, oh, my God, community building sounds like, so corporate and gross. But then when you're just like, I'm gonna be, like, talking in a group chat about this thing with my friends anyway, so why not open this up to, like, a larger audience? It doesn't. It really, like, doesn't not. It doesn't feel like work, but it really doesn't feel like work.
- [01:25]
Host
Yeah, no, Like, I. I'm not the biggest fan of, like, the listicle newsletters or the, like, industry gossip, but yours feels voicey and it's like, it feels like I'm reading essays, you know, and I like that.
- [01:39]
Hunter Harris
Good.
- [01:39]
Host
Like, it's still professional writing in a way. You know, in many, many ways. Like, I really enjoy it because, like, substack, I feel like this was like, a big year for substack. A lot of people went on a lot of brands and they all kind of follow the same format of, like, let's rip news headlines and send out the newsletter.
- [01:58]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [01:59]
Host
I feel like you go deeper.
- [02:00]
Hunter Harris
Well, thank you. Everything does kind of feel like aggregate. But then there are some newsletters. I don't know if you read as seen on. That's like a sort of, like, brand, like, marketing newsletter that I think is so smart because I like, want her ideas about, like, culture, but a lot of other stuff is just kind of like a list of links or, like, shopping the shopping ones. I'm like, literally, can you put less effort into this? Like, you just. It's like just a link to your shop. My. The newsletter magazine by Laura Reilly is not like that at all. And, like, this is curated and cool and, like, I'm really getting a sense of someone's taste and not just, like, how they can monetize in another way.
- [02:38]
Host
Yeah, because the gift got the gift giving buying listicle substacks just feel like an extension of old Instagram.
- [02:46]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [02:47]
Host
Like, I know how to buy things. Check it out.
- [02:49]
Hunter Harris
Yeah, it just kills me when it's like, a gift guide. And it. It goes to, like, Like, Like a head scratcher thing, like the scalp massager. And it's like, are you being for real?
- [03:00]
Guest 2
And it's just like, here, for, like, dads, you try this, like, coffee cup, and you're like, it's the same thing that's been happening 10 years.
- [03:07]
Hunter Harris
Yes.
- [03:08]
Guest 2
Same list.
- [03:08]
Hunter Harris
How many times can I give my dad a calendar? Although I will say my biggest, like, holiday hack is to I make a custom calendar for my family of photos of my dog. And, like, literally all look forward to it so much. My great uncle, who's, like, 89, is like, this is my favorite thing in the world.
- [03:24]
Host
That's cute. Like, custom, because she makes a photo book of our year every year.
- [03:28]
Hunter Harris
Oh, yeah, that's so lovely.
- [03:29]
Guest 2
I like. I like to, like, scrapbook it up too.
- [03:31]
Hunter Harris
Yeah. So it's, like, real.
- [03:33]
Guest 2
Like, I'll just get the photo because we don't have a printer. Like, I feel like no millennial ever has a printer in their house.
- [03:38]
Hunter Harris
Unfortun, I did grow up this year, and I got a printer.
- [03:41]
Guest 2
See, I really want to get one because I'm so sick of, like, outsourcing the printing all the time. It gets old. You're like, I have to go to a FedEx. I have to go somewhere. I'm, like, texting my friends. I'm like, does anyone have a printer? But I'll have the photos printed out, and then I like to, like, get into it.
- [03:55]
Hunter Harris
I love that. I'm like, I want to, like, cut.
- [03:56]
Guest 2
Them out and put stickers and, like, do all the fun stuff.
- [03:59]
Hunter Harris
We need to bring back scrapbook.
- [04:00]
Guest 2
It's so fun. And then it's just like, you, like, aren't on your phone for a couple hours, and then I'm like, oh, my God, I didn't doom scroll tonight. I actually, like, did something with my life And I feel good.
- [04:09]
Hunter Harris
Totally. I feel that.
- [04:11]
Host
And then how do you interact with Hollywood these days? Because I read all the articles. But, like, you also are a screenwriter.
- [04:17]
Hunter Harris
Yeah, so I'm, like, working on a feature I've written for some TV shows, but I don't know, I actually. Okay. I'm doing the Artist's Way, so it's a cry for help. But I am thinking about, like, the newsletter is like, one sort of, like, creative practice, and like, you know, the sort of narrative stuff is like another. It's like using a different part of your brain. And it's kind of nice to, like, be very online, like, from the hours of whatever, nine to five, and then to take a step back and be like, okay, so what am I, like, thinking about? Dreaming about what feels sort of like something that's like, you know, all fiction and. And. Yeah. And also I watch movies all the time. Like, truly not even for work. I just love it. So it. It feels really inspiring, I think, to, like, play in that space.
- [05:03]
Host
Yeah. And I feel like there are a lot of shows that try to be shows for Chronically Online people now. Like, adults on fx, right?
- [05:11]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [05:11]
Host
An attempt.
- [05:12]
Hunter Harris
I don't.
- [05:12]
Host
I don't know if Atlanta. I love la, like, maybe landed a little closer as. As kind of like, queen of Chronically Online. What are the shows that you like or you think are, like, representing, like, online culture?
- [05:25]
Hunter Harris
Well, oh, my goodness. I. I don't know. I think. I think it's hard because, like, you can definitely watch something and get a sense of, like, oh, this is, like, going to be a screenshot that, like, some Instagram account is going to, like, meme and like, Like, I think some. Some episodes of the White Lotus are like that, honestly. And that's kind of top of mind for me because I'm. I've been rewatching Enlightened Mike White's first HBO show with Laura Dern. And it is absolutely. I'm actually going to write about it this week. It's absolutely incredible. And I think that, like, I don't know, it's like, what's so funny? It's like, Like V. Like, insecure. Stuff that feels like, honestly has nothing to do with the Internet. Is this stuff that feels like most representative of the Internet that's kind of. I don't know if you saw the movie Eddington this year. I thought it was absolute poo poo and, like, kind of embarrassing that that movie came out the same years, like, one battle after another, which they both kind of hit the same Themes, but in totally opposite ways. Eddington, to me, was, like, trying to mimic the Internet and experience of being online, whereas, like, one battle after another felt like, had a real center in a way that, like, I think when you make stuff about the. I also went to this Ari Aster Q and A where he was like, I wanted to make it, like, Twitter. And it's like, that's the exact wrong impulse.
- [06:41]
Host
Yeah, I totally agree. I think it's. It's that. That's why I kind of brought up the question, because I feel like over time, over the last 30 years, when a show's like, this is generational. I want to be generational. I want to represent a generation almost, like, by nature, when you set out to do that, you're not going to.
- [06:57]
Hunter Harris
Yeah, yeah. I mean, what are the shows that people are talking about at every moment on the Internet right now? It's like Sex and the City. It's like the Sopranos. It's Girls. Oh, my gosh. It's always girls, Truly. And those are not, maybe girls a little bit, but also Atlanta in the same way. It's like, they're not, like, engineered to be, like, for think pieces, but they did just, like, happen at the time of, like, think piece economy.
- [07:20]
Host
And they were engineered to be specific to the writer and that scene that they were portraying.
- [07:25]
Hunter Harris
Yeah. What was I watching the other day that I don't know. I was watching something, and it kind of felt like this never, like, made a case for itself as, like, being set in New York or something like that. And I kind of feel like everything is just, like, set on a coast, and it's not like, okay, but what is, like, the culture that we're, like, tapping right now? Like, this could be in, like, Austin. It could be in Chicago. Like, nothing about this, like, has, like, a real sense of place, and that's what I really look for.
- [07:52]
Host
Yeah. And when we were making Vices Broke the Dock, it was very interesting because we were pushed by many people to be like, you need to talk more about the financial downfall. That's what me and my friends are interested in. I'm like, you guys work in Hollywood. You read trades. Like, the normal person does not have a reason to read Deadline, you know? And I was like, we can't make the film for people that read Deadline or go to film festivals. It's like 00001. And they didn't get it that, like, Gen Z would be interested in looking back at this, like, DIY indie sleaze scene. Totally. But it Ended up being the younger programmers at mubi were able to explain to the old people like, yo, Eddie made a time cap. That's what we're interested in.
- [08:33]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [08:34]
Host
And I was like, everyone's looking backwards. Like, we were looking backwards.
- [08:37]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [08:37]
Host
When we were coming up. Yeah. Trying to figure shit out.
- [08:39]
Hunter Harris
No, I. This. I actually wanted to come today to talk to you about this because I loved the doc and I also. I feel like I was like a little bit like, post Vice. And also, like, I went to Catholic school. Like, I'm pretty type A. The Vice stuff felt like, so, like, like cool. Like too cool for me, basically. But what I liked about the doc is it really, like, was like, captured moment in time. Like, meet me in the bathroom. Like, where you don't have to. I didn't go to any of those shows, but I still, like, understood how the stuff that I'm listening to today really came from, like, this sort of, I don't know, like a similar mood. And I. I thought that you captured that very well.
- [09:19]
Host
Thanks. Yeah, I. I just wanted to immerse people in it and meet the people and be like, this is what it felt like working at Vice and, like, take the cool guy mask off.
- [09:30]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [09:30]
Host
So to speak.
- [09:31]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [09:31]
Host
Because I think a lot of people were not able to access the good kind of like, earnest part of Vice because what we were selling was like, cool and danger. And it was like by the end, we became corny and a parody of ourselves.
- [09:45]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [09:46]
Host
And I actually thought that the thing that I went to after Vice was Vulture, the Cut. Like, that has become the place where people. We're like, all right, we're kind of bored of this super hyper masculine, like, fear mongering, liberal vice thing.
- [10:01]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [10:01]
Host
And I think everyone moved to the Cut and Vulture. That's where you were at.
- [10:06]
Hunter Harris
Yeah. But it's so funny because, like, when I was whatever, in college, like, reading. Reading Vulture, but also reading, you know, Gawker and Jezebel and stuff. I think in my head I was like a big, you know, reader. I would think that, like, oh, my God, like, you walk in a Grant lane and you're just like, high fiving everyone. Like, this is so cool. Like, oh, my God, like, what would it be like to, like, work at GQ in, like, 2012? Like, you must like, I don't know. And then I. I don't know. It's like you have this idea that, like, you have such a sense of purpose every single day. And it's like, oh, it's like just a job. Like, you are just, like, making, like, pennies and, like, making cool stuff with your friends, of course. But also, like, there's no sense of, like, it's like, all, you know, hindsight is 20 20. It all feels, like, more glamorous and.
- [10:52]
Host
Oh, yeah, especially if you're mentioning Grantland. Like, that was the nerdiest dude. Like, nerd central for Dud Shout Out. Rembert. I love Rembert. But, like, the rest of that thing was hysterical. Like, nerdy frat dudes or dudes that didn't even get into frats.
- [11:05]
Hunter Harris
Yeah, you know, but not that.
- [11:08]
Host
Yeah, but. But it really was. It was like, Grant Lanterns is full of dudes that didn't get into frats. Working for Bill Simmons. That's my personal take. But the Vice Boy Jezebel Girl thing was very real.
- [11:19]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [11:20]
Host
Like, yeah, that's. That was a date you saw many times. Like, Jezebel Rider, Vice Boy.
- [11:25]
Hunter Harris
That feels so, like, time capsule for real. Oh, my gosh. No, I loved Grantland, and I feel like a lot of my own writing has been shaped by reading Grantland for just for fun. I remember when Rimbert did this thing where he drank hypnotic for, like, a day, and it was like, first of all, what is this? Like, how do you even pitch this? It was so crazy. And then also, there was, like, they did, like, a Tom Cruise week that I thought was so fun. And, like, Trey Serrano, his stuff there, like, all of that stuff that felt super voicey. Very like, I want to, like, talk to this person and hang out with them. And it doesn't have to feel like you're writing from, like, an empirical kind of, like, top of the mountain. You're, like, just talking to your friends.
- [12:06]
Host
Yeah. And that's absolutely. No, Grantland had a lot of good stuff. I'm just. I'm just giving my friends shit. Yeah. Like, Andy Greenwald, Jay Caspian King. They were all. They were all doing things.
- [12:17]
Hunter Harris
Yeah. Yes.
- [12:19]
Host
You know, but it's the magazine. The magazine Dating Venn diagrams were funny to me. Like, it probably predates you guys, but, like, the. The mass appeal boy and the misbehave, like, they were dating each other.
- [12:30]
Hunter Harris
You're six. Okay. Don't understand.
- [12:33]
Host
Vice Jezebel. Like, what. What are the magazine Dating Venn diagrams now? Are there any.
- [12:40]
Guest 2
Sub stack and, like, line cook? No, but, like, it's like, the aspiring line cook. Like, so I'm. I'm gonna. I'm gonna throw somebody under the bus. But it's the aspiring line cook who, like, actually has A corporate job.
- [12:53]
Hunter Harris
You tour totally 100. That's because it's hot. That's so funny.
- [12:58]
Host
Yes. Shout out Austin.
- [13:00]
Hunter Harris
Go.
- [13:00]
Guest 2
I was thinking about it. I was like, it's eventually like now it's about him. But I was like, but he's just like really good at it. But now there's. There's like so many other dudes that I like see on the Internet that are like a day in my life is a line cook in Brooklyn and I'm like, how are you all line cooks in Brooklyn? And how are you all like hot and like well groomed? Like what the is going on?
- [13:19]
Host
That is a combo we've seen a lot at the friends and family dinners. Is like big subsack rider, line cook, boyfriend. Like, wow.
- [13:26]
Guest 2
But it's like line cook, like model boyfriend. I'm like, where is this like a.
- [13:30]
Hunter Harris
New thing too closely?
- [13:32]
Guest 2
Like it used to be like if you were a hot guy, you would be like in. You'd like go on TikTok or something and then like blow up and then you know, try to like have a pack sun release line. Now it's like, I'm going to be.
- [13:42]
Host
A line cook in the dining room. Like there's a line cook with Frederick Mall on. No, I'm not.
- [13:48]
Guest 2
I'm like, my man is in the back.
- [13:50]
Host
I'm good.
- [13:51]
Guest 2
I already got my. I got my line cook.
- [13:52]
Host
You got a line?
- [13:53]
Hunter Harris
I got him.
- [13:54]
Guest 2
I was like, I met you. You were doing big things. And I said, let's be line cook.
- [13:58]
Host
Substack rider line cook. I didn't. That's. That's pretty good.
- [14:03]
Guest 2
But also there's always. There's so many that have always existed. Like any just like good girl with a drug dealer. Like there's. It's literally Catholic school drug dealer boyfriend. Pipeline is real. That exists for me. It wasn't magazines. It was just like tropes.
- [14:17]
Host
Is this now that people aren't drinking and doing drugs? It's like the drug is food. So it's like, yeah, that's. That's the line, I guess.
- [14:23]
Guest 2
Yeah.
- [14:23]
Hunter Harris
I was talking to someone last night. Are like, what community is crazier food people or like movie people? And I said food people.
- [14:31]
Host
Absolutely.
- [14:32]
Hunter Harris
Because I think the hours are so crazy. Like they're just crazier. And also you're like surrounded by like, you know, vices. And it also feels like so like erotic in some way. Like handle food all day. And with movie people it's like, yeah, you do ultimately just like redeadline at some point.
- [14:48]
Host
And it's like, okay, yeah, like, food people too. It's like, we're generally broker, so you have nothing to lose. So heads are just going so hard.
- [14:55]
Hunter Harris
Hard.
- [14:55]
Host
Movie people, like, they do similar drugs and similar things, but it's in a very, like, Sophia Coppola, Lana Del Rey way of, like, I'm bored. So the vices come from boredom and neuroses, or they're like sort of the.
- [15:08]
Hunter Harris
Entourage way of, like, I want to do everything as, like, intensely as I possibly can and, like, be, you know, so ostentatious with this stuff, and it kind of comes off in a different way.
- [15:19]
Host
Yeah, like, bro. Hollywood producer. Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely.
- [15:22]
Hunter Harris
Do you watch the studio?
- [15:24]
Host
Yeah.
- [15:24]
Hunter Harris
Do you like it?
- [15:25]
Host
Very accurate. Very accurate. I don't enjoy watching Seth Rogen do fashion. I have to be honest. Like, when he tries to be leather daddy and, like, I'm hot, I'm just like, dog. I don't know. You, like, resemble spongebob. But I do love the studio. Incredible show. Incredibly written. I think the most accurate show I've ever seen. I don't know, but what do you think?
- [15:48]
Hunter Harris
I like it. I think that sometimes I'm like, it's not as, like, Hollywoody as, like, Curb. Like, some episodes of Curb were, like, so inside baseball in a way that I really love. But I think the studio is, like, ambitious in a different way. And I loved, like, the oner episode, like, that was so cool. And, like, all the cameos are, like. It feels like fun. It feels like candy.
- [16:08]
Host
Yeah. I think that I particularly liked it because when it came out, I had to work with an executive that was literally the public, the marketing woman that would wear, like, outdated, ancient streetwear, like an N65 jacket.
- [16:22]
Hunter Harris
That's so funny, because that, I think, is the weakest part of the show. I. When I watched that, I love Katherine Hahn, but when I watched that, that character, I was like, so what woman is, like, wearing this street wear but, like, and has a Stanley cup but also is, like, afraid to talk to, like, what's his name? That.
- [16:37]
Host
That one director, like, Amy Israel at North Road. I must just put it out there. I just put it out there. We may bleep it. We should probably it.
- [16:47]
Hunter Harris
But yeah.
- [16:48]
Host
Show you a photo. We're going to show you a photo.
- [16:50]
Hunter Harris
I can't wait. I can't wait.
- [16:52]
Host
She had somebody be like, yo, you remind me of that character. She lost her mind. Like, I actually had a mole in there. And I was like, yo, you should see what she thinks about that character.
- [17:02]
Hunter Harris
Oh, My God.
- [17:03]
Host
Lost her mind. But I'm a terror in Hollywood. I'm a terror because, like, I've had my hit. I kind of. I would love to. I love making film. That's my favorite thing. Like. Well, actually, I would say writing, like, novels. Writing alone. My favorite second favorite would be to bring it to life visually. Directing. But it's just the apparatus of Hollywood drives me crazy. I don't know, like, what. How's your experience?
- [17:28]
Hunter Harris
I. I think that something that I really like. Yeah, that drives me crazy too, is, like, finding the note under the note. I feel like working at editorial. It's so, like, I'm used to being edited. I'm used to getting, like, feedback. Like, even, like a rigorous, you know, line edit, even. And I really hate when someone is like, oh, but what if we did it this way? Or like, well, have you thought about this? And I'm like, don't tell me that. Just truly tell me, like, what am I doing wrong? What should I be doing differently? Like, whatever. Because the, like, trying to, like, read the smoke signal tea leaves of like, what is this exec saying? I'm like, just say you don't want another sci fi severance knockoff. Like, just say that because I'm not gonna pitch that.
- [18:07]
Host
That's exactly what drives me crazy. And, like, the reason I think they do it is because, like, they don't want to get shouted out on a podcast like this. So they're like, let me give you a vague note. You can't hold me to. I'm gonna. The phone. So it's not written. And there's no record of me giving you this vague note. You may never figure out. Because I never want anyone to be able to tell someone that I'm a whack producer.
- [18:30]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [18:31]
Host
And that's where I think it comes from. And I'm like, but you're actually going to ensure that someone thinks you're a whack producer because you're not direct.
- [18:38]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [18:39]
Host
Like, we're writers. We're used to being edited.
- [18:41]
Hunter Harris
Yeah. Yeah, that is. I don't want to, like, spend time trying to figure out, like, I was doing this one project. It was like, not even. It was for kind of a partnership thing. But they. There was like, a huge note that I, like, wasn't understanding. And they tried to say, like, four different ways. And ultimately I'm like, wait, why didn't you say that, like, four weeks ago? Like, truly, we could have saved so much time if you just told me, don't use quotes in this way, like, it was just, it was maddening.
- [19:06]
Host
Yeah. I had a character in a one hour crime drama where it was like a really tough mom who ran the criminal enterprise. And the executive just kept being like, I love the mom. I relate to the mom so much. I, I, I love her so much. But actually they wanted me to soften her. And I was like, but you keep telling me you love them. And they, like, needed me to figure out, to soften the edges by keep telling me how much they loved it. And I was like, that's insane. I was never going to figure that out.
- [19:33]
Hunter Harris
That's the stuff that I can't, that I don't know what to do with because I'm like, just tell me. Oh, my goodness. Like, I'm not. My things are not going to be hurt. I hate that, like, agent speak of like, oh, we love it, but, you know, super difficult. Yeah.
- [19:47]
Host
Curious. Did you enjoy writing on Gossip Girl?
- [19:50]
Hunter Harris
I did.
- [19:51]
Host
That show was fire.
- [19:52]
Hunter Harris
So Gossip Girl is the thing that I, like, talked to my mom about. Where I got in the most trouble I ever got in as a child was reading and watching Gossip Girl. And then I, like, grew up and then started writing for the reboot. And it's like I was like, I had the vision. Like, I was right not to be. It's like kind of the biggest I told you so.
- [20:10]
Host
That's fly. How did you end up writing on Gossip Girl? Girl?
- [20:14]
Hunter Harris
I had known Josh Saffron, the showrunner for a while, just like being mutuals on Twitter. And then I did a story for New York magazine where I was like, shadowing him on set for a couple days. And then he just called me and was like, do you want to join us? And I was like, of course.
- [20:33]
Host
That is Hollywood dream. Shit. That is Hollywood dream. But that, that reboot, I think there was a lot of expectation and I do feel you guys landed it.
- [20:42]
Hunter Harris
Yeah, I loved it. And I also felt, like, familiar with the world of Gossip Girl as someone who, like, grew up watching it. And that kind of like, I think it's in some way, like every line is like a double entendre. Funny in some way. Like, it's like really clever scripts. And that was what I always liked about the show the most, that I felt like I was kind of in a world of, like, really smart, articulate, kind of like bitchy, mean people. And yeah, representation matters.
- [21:09]
Host
Yeah, bitchy people matter. But do you find yourself writing more TV now or more film? Film.
- [21:15]
Hunter Harris
Screenplay wise, I think I, yeah, film. I'm working on A feature right now. And I'm like, I just. I like knowing where something ends. And I think with tv, it feels so. Like you're like, too many options. I like, I always, like, begin with the end in mind. And so. Yeah.
- [21:34]
Host
Yeah. To me, TV feels like more of this, like, never ending group project.
- [21:38]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [21:39]
Host
And then when you go to sell it, you have to be like, no, I know exactly how it ends. And I'm just like, not a liar. I'm like, no one knows where this is, is going to end. And like, I can't lie to you in this meeting and tell you.
- [21:50]
Hunter Harris
Yes.
- [21:51]
Host
But then they struggle with that because they're like, can you just lie to us and tell us how it ends so we can tell our boss to buy this?
- [21:56]
Hunter Harris
I. Oh, my gosh. Wait. That resonates so much because I truly even. I was talking to someone who was like, at Substack and they're like, the newsletter is so good, but, like, you should, like, like, promote it more, Sell it more. Like, it's like you've built something great. Like, you should talk about it more. And that's just not in my nature at all. I'm like, I can't lie to someone and say, I know what I'm gonna do next week or like, that there's some master plan that I've been. I'm like, just a writer. I don't like. Yeah. It's just so weird when other people are like, I knew exactly what I was doing. And it's like, I'm never gonna lie and say that.
- [22:28]
Host
Yeah. And you have to lie to sell television.
- [22:30]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [22:30]
Host
Like, you have to lie so much. And so I'm with you. I came up doing television, but I really prefer film now.
- [22:38]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [22:38]
Host
Like, all of my. Whatever novels I'm writing that are getting optioned, people like, wait, it could be a show. I'm like, I really prefer film.
- [22:45]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [22:45]
Host
And I think the people in film are a bit more, like, intellectual that I've dealt with the producers, the studio heads, things like that. That's a big generalization. No one has to confirm or deny. But, like, that's my experience is like, it's a bit more artful. Like, you can make a more artful argument when you receive notes in film.
- [23:04]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [23:05]
Host
Is my experience.
- [23:05]
Hunter Harris
Yeah. And I think that right now, like, I think it's always kind of a seesaw. Like, right now, TV is like, so much that I think everyone's, like, buying, like, features now. In a way that makes me happy because I don't know TV just can be hard. It's a real puzzle to put something together, like, both arcs over episodes, over seasons. And, yeah, tracking all that stuff is really difficult.
- [23:30]
Host
Yeah. And there's nothing worse than watching your baby get watered down and not recognizable. Because some shows, they really are great for one season. True Detective, great first season.
- [23:40]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [23:41]
Host
After that, I don't think it's ever gotten close to that first season. And I would hate to create something that got watered down and mutated like that.
- [23:51]
Hunter Harris
Yeah. But of course, you're watching something where it's like, okay, yeah, someone spent years and years and years making season one and then season two. It's like, okay, well, we just have to go to, like, the store and get another season. And it's so, like, oh, like, I'm not watching someone's, like, best idea. I'm watching their, like, fastest idea.
- [24:05]
Host
Yeah. That your agent could sell. Like, my worst thing I did, even though the writing was good, was my second book, Double Cup Love, because I wasn't ready to write. It was like 30 years got unloaded with fresh off the boat. I was like, wait, so I got to write about the last six months. Got nothing going on. You know, it was very difficult. But do you. You're doing books now, too, right?
- [24:28]
Hunter Harris
No, I'm actually trying to, like, not write a book. But I'm, like, thinking about if I wrote a book, what it would be. And I don't know. I've had a couple meetings, and I'm like, I know I want to write a book one day, but I'm truly, like, I don't want it to be a book of essays because I'm, like, not old enough for that. I don't know. I'm like, yeah, I don't think it'll be very interesting, but I want to write it. Something maybe like, about, like, essays, about something, an idea, and then go from there.
- [25:03]
Host
I kind of want to see your voice with a novella. Like, that's me as a fan. I would love to see a novella from you, like, on whatever topic, because the voice and the insight is interesting. And it's like, if you ever just picked a genre of story for a novella, like, your voice, I think, would just jump off the page. Crazy. Not to overstep.
- [25:23]
Hunter Harris
No, it was okay.
- [25:25]
Host
I would, as a fan, like to order this dish.
- [25:27]
Hunter Harris
That's so nice. My. Some friends of mine, Claire and Erica, they have a romance imprint that, like, they post romance novellas, and they are all so, like, just a pleasure to read. It's like an afternoon and it's like, this is so, like, fun, like, kind of freaky, and it's just, like, lovely. And it made me kind of rethink that length about. It doesn't have to be, like, 800 pages to feel, like, substantial.
- [25:50]
Host
No, it doesn't need to be infinite. Nobody wants Infinite Jest again.
- [25:53]
Hunter Harris
No.
- [25:53]
Host
You know, we got it.
- [25:53]
Hunter Harris
Oh, my goodness. Oh, my goodness. I was reading this incredible book called the Sisters, and It was, like, 600 pages by Jonas Kamiri Hassan, I think his name is. But it's like a thick book. And I was, like, going to la. I was, like, taking it with me everywhere, which was embarrassing. And I was like, I hope no one thinks I'm reading either Harry Potter or Infinite Jest. And literally, I, like, everywhere I went, I was like, it's not that. It's not that. Look at the spine. It's not that.
- [26:21]
Host
Yeah, no, the dudes that pull up to Clandestino with Infinite Jest are insane. Like, I saw. We were there one day and we saw a guy pull up with Moby Dick. I was like, my brother, Moby Dick. You're out here on the street with Moby Dick. And I like, Tom Collins. You're crazy.
- [26:36]
Hunter Harris
I think I've, like, noticed recently. I don't know, I'm like, I was in a relationship, and now I'm single, and now I'm, like, dating again. And every guy has a cat. Every guy, like, listen to podcasts, and every guy is, like, reading the classics. It's like, why are you reading Dostoevsky right now? Like, it's just so, like, totally, like, you felt like you needed that. Interesting.
- [26:59]
Host
Yeah.
- [27:00]
Hunter Harris
Why don't you read some Nora Ephron and, like, really? We can. Then we can talk.
- [27:04]
Host
Yeah, no, this is definitely my bro. Lit. Homies like Harold Rogers and Sean Thor Conroe, they're just plowing through classics, like Ulysses right now. Plowing through them. That is what's going on.
- [27:14]
Hunter Harris
Saying that, like, who is, like. Like, imprinting this message on people.
- [27:18]
Host
Yeah, I. I had never read Ulysses, but the homies are reading it it. And they put me on. Like, they put me on to James Choice. I opened it to the first page. Like, dog, there's a map. I need a map of characters. I was like, sean, I'm not reading this. But I just. I just like, sean, tell me what this book is saying. What is this doing? So funny.
- [27:36]
Hunter Harris
But I'm glad that I'm not alone in noticing this. It's like, wow. It should be one of those, like, do you remember the boyfriend shirt from, like. Like 15 years ago? Maybe? Like, every guy would be, like, wearing, like, a blue gingham shirt.
- [27:50]
Host
Yes.
- [27:51]
Hunter Harris
Very, like, J. Crew, Banana Republic kind of very preppy thing.
- [27:54]
Host
Yes.
- [27:54]
Hunter Harris
This feels like the new that.
- [27:56]
Host
It exactly is.
- [27:57]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [27:58]
Host
It's funny because my ancient homies. There's a guy that I've been writing about in my New York Mag column, and he always wears gingham. I just called him the dapper gentleman. He always wears gingham still, and I.
- [28:10]
Hunter Harris
Kind of like that. That's, like, classy, classy touch.
- [28:12]
Host
Yeah. It's like how I still just wear baggy jeans from 1993. He's still wearing the boyfriend shirt shirt, and it works for him. He looks very good and chic and dapper.
- [28:22]
Hunter Harris
I wish I was, like, a person who, like, had a uniform that, like, someone knew, like, okay, I'm seeing Hunter. I should expect her to be in this or something like that. And I don't.
- [28:32]
Host
Yeah, I. I kind of have a uniform since I discovered Studio Nicholson. I'm just like, I'll just buy this in a new color this season.
- [28:38]
Hunter Harris
Every season. Yeah.
- [28:40]
Host
Makes it easy.
- [28:40]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [28:41]
Host
But that's really just. I'm too lazy to go shopping now.
- [28:44]
Hunter Harris
Yeah, shopping is terrible. Like, the experience of shopping in a store most of the time is bad. It's terrible because, like, they never have anything on the floor. They never have anything in stock. You want. I want to go to a store, try something on. Guess what? It's not here. I'm like, what? Like, what's the point of this? And then if you're at, like, a luxury store in soho, make you wait in line, I'm like, are you outside? I'm like, I'm trying to give you money. This is crazy. Why are you, like, bullying me?
- [29:11]
Host
Yeah. And then the salespeople also, they're so desperate for commissions now. I empathize everybody desperate for their commissions, but they're like, I can get this from the Madison Avenue store, like, in three days. I'm like, but I could, like, go to the Madison Avenue store.
- [29:22]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [29:23]
Host
So you want me to buy it here, and then you can get it shipped, and I'll be back here in three days. I'm like, that's crazy. I'm gonna just take a cab.
- [29:28]
Hunter Harris
Yeah, take a cab and go buy. It's like. And it's not like that other places. It's like. I think it's really a New York thing that, like, the retail experience. There are certainly, like, smaller boutiques and stuff that Feel a lot like, just better, but. But a lot of, like, I don't know even if I'm going to, like. Like, even the Nike store, I'm just like, I'm so overwhelmed right now. I'm looking for one shoe, and I don't know where to go.
- [29:52]
Host
I only. I can just shop at CHCM on Bond is. Do you have a store like that where it's like, you're a safe space? This is. This is just the one place I know it's gonna have something I can wear.
- [30:02]
Hunter Harris
Oh, yes. I love this vintage store in Williamsburg called Sabara's. It is a really lovely space. The women who own it are so fun and, like, glam, but in a very, like, unpretentious way. And I also love. There's a place in sort of my neighborhood called Outline, and they just did a big thing where, like, they are no longer doing online shopping. It's only gonna be like. Like, catalogs. And, like, that experience, I think, is, like, so cool. And I kind of, like, it feels, like, more personal. And also, as someone who is, like, from the Midwest, grew up in the suburbs, whatever. The experience of, like, getting a catalog and, like, circling the things that I wanted was, like, my childhood. And, you know, it was like getting a magazine, like, getting a catalog in and being like, oh, I cannot wait to sit with this on the sofa.
- [30:46]
Host
Yeah. I was like that with East Bay and the Source magazine. I was like, one day I will buy NBA jeans. But where in the Midwest you from?
- [30:53]
Hunter Harris
I'm from Oklahoma.
- [30:54]
Host
Oh, word. We're in Oklahoma.
- [30:56]
Hunter Harris
Tulsa.
- [30:57]
Host
Oh, ew. Tulsa has so much history.
- [31:01]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [31:01]
Host
Like, I. I went because watching Watchmen, I went. And that's what got me into reading about Tulsa. Oh, wow. Was watching the Watchmen.
- [31:09]
Hunter Harris
Yeah. No, that's great. I think it's also kind of in a period of transition. Like, there's, like, the first black mayor of Tulsa right now, and it feels, like, really exciting to be in a city that it's, like, still, like, you know, a red state, but it doesn't feel quite so, like, bad.
- [31:29]
Host
Yeah, no, I. I know what you mean. Like, certain parts of Florida or, like, like, okay, now, like, I go back, I'm like, oh, you still crazy, and you still will tear up a Margaritaville. But, like, I can talk to you. Yeah, it's. It's better.
- [31:42]
Hunter Harris
I think it's also, like, the more, like. The. More, like, my friends who are, like, liberal in Oklahoma or in Tulsa specifically are, like, being more vocal. Like, I was always that way, but now it feels like, okay, now, am I not the only liberal person, like, in this, like, vicinity in some way? And I think, like, that kind of, like, coalition building is, like, really nice. Nice.
- [32:02]
Host
Yeah. I was always the only Chinese person and then the only liberal person. And I was like. It was like, 1v100, and I was like, I don't know. And so I want to ask you too, about, like, woke 2.0, because I do feel like even though everybody got tired about this. Right. I was like, you cannot say that things have not gotten better from the movement. Like, at least the other side knows now certain things. Like, you probably shouldn't say that. You probably shouldn't do that.
- [32:26]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [32:26]
Host
And even if they do do it, it, they know what's wrong about it.
- [32:30]
Hunter Harris
Right. And they are also, I think, sometimes doing it intentionally, like, to be contrarian and to be like, guess what? That pronoun means nothing to me. It's like, it's with an acknowledgment of, like, what, like, the harm that they want to cause, which, you know, is in very, like, even more up in some ways. But.
- [32:48]
Host
But, yeah, can't deny self awareness.
- [32:49]
Hunter Harris
Yes, exactly. And it really is like. But, you know, like, why. Why, like, trans athletes should not matter to you, like, why that, like, does not materially affect your life and, like, let people, like, do what they want?
- [33:02]
Host
Yeah, yeah. No, I actually think the world is in a significantly better place in our interactions. Even though, like you said, I think there are more attacks. There are more people with, like, vitriol and, like, venom. But we cannot deny that we all know what's right and wrong now.
- [33:18]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [33:18]
Host
Like, I think the humor is coming from them being like, I'm gonna do something fucked up.
- [33:21]
Hunter Harris
Yeah, yeah, yeah. But it's also, like, things that are. I mean, remember when, like, Nazis, like, just were bad? And now it's like, I think they're bad.
- [33:34]
Host
Do you.
- [33:34]
Hunter Harris
And it's like, but I. Okay, I'm happy we're talking today because this is the first time I felt, like, politically optimistic, like, after Zoran's win. Honestly, like, truly, since, like, I don't even know. I guess I was happy, like, in 2020, but, like, like, maybe since, like, Obama.
- [33:53]
Host
Yeah, I would say It's Obama, because 2020. I was relieved that Biden won, but I was like, he's a dipshit. Like, I have to be honest. You don't have to confirm, but I was just like, this guy is walking dead. But I was relieved. Completely relieved. And then, yeah, since Obama 08 like, I have not felt this positive.
- [34:12]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [34:13]
Host
And I've really been talking to friends and thinking about, like, how can we keep the momentum going without being insolvent.
- [34:20]
Hunter Harris
Yeah. Oh, very true. And I. I don't like Stan. Politicians as a rule, but I. It just feels good to, like, think about leadership as someone who's not, like, 80 years old, who is really, like, doesn't really care about what we want or, like, issues that affect our lives, like affordability and so that's nice.
- [34:41]
Host
Yeah. I. I love Zoran, a huge supporter. We've been talking about it a lot, but I just. Just want everyone to kind of like, all right, we won. Now wake up for a second. Don't let this get to the, like, Obama is my homeboy. Urban Outfitters T shirt. That's what I mean.
- [34:55]
Hunter Harris
When, like, I don't stand politicians because it's too, like, that's the stuff. Even Loki, like, the no kings thing. I'm like, yeah, okay, so this is a movement for white mothers. And I. And I see you and I hear you, but that's not a movement for me. Like, I don't have anything to do with this.
- [35:11]
Host
And they all are. If you have the ambition to do this, you want to be a king in some way, shape or form, we see it.
- [35:17]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [35:18]
Host
You know, like, it's like when someone's, oh, my God, I can't stand it, but I gotta do it. I gotta do it. I gotta do it. It's like these people that run to be politicians, they have a different ambition. They're different animals than we are. And, like, I really like the don't stand rule.
- [35:32]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [35:32]
Host
Like, now that you've won, Zoran, love, you voted for you, supported it. What are we doing? Like, let's do the shit.
- [35:39]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [35:39]
Host
Get this done.
- [35:40]
Hunter Harris
And I think it also is, like, some sort of maybe parasocial inclination to, like, decide, oh, like, I absolutely love this person. It's kind of like being a barb. Honestly, like, you cannot see what Nicki Minaj ever does wrong in a way that is, like, who's up here? Like, what? Like, you still have a mind for yourself. Like, it's very like, Stan Twitter, like, infiltrating all of our. Stan TikTok. Infiltrating, like, all of our, like, normal thoughts.
- [36:04]
Host
Yeah, I. I think mission accomplished, right? Mission accomplished. Let's get the banner on the ship.
- [36:09]
Hunter Harris
Right?
- [36:09]
Host
Mission accomplished. Ron's elected, but I think it is a really important moment now for everyone to stop glazing. Like, yeah, he now works for us.
- [36:18]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [36:19]
Host
You know, and it's like, when Obama went and I remember I got. I was really, really disappointed when he bailed out the banks.
- [36:25]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [36:26]
Host
And then the drone strikes. Didn't close Guantanamo. Didn't get single pair voted for him both times. Still the best president of the last 50 years.
- [36:34]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [36:34]
Host
But I was just, like, no one was holding it account. No, we were not giving him the support to get those measures through because we were too busy. Like, what a playlist, you know, I was like, dude, it's a president.
- [36:48]
Hunter Harris
Like, who cares? I like. I like the playlist. I'm sorry, I'm Obama listening to Sza. Does it make you laugh? I love that.
- [36:56]
Host
Especially the first album. He was listening to the first album.
- [36:58]
Hunter Harris
Yes, yes, exactly. I. Yeah, I. I think the playlist are fun. It is also, like, it's just nice. It's very humanizing in some ways. Like, think of a president as, like, someone who is a real person, who, like, has real taste, tastes.
- [37:11]
Host
It's versus, like, I could win hater of the year, like, any year.
- [37:15]
Hunter Harris
So it's just so funny now to think about, like, remember when the White House, like, had cultural capital, when, like, it was like, there were people there who, like, cared about art and, like, history and humanity and. Yeah, yeah.
- [37:29]
Host
Kehinde Wiley was painting people, you know, beautiful portraits.
- [37:33]
Guest 2
Right.
- [37:34]
Hunter Harris
And now it's like, who was at the inauguration? Like, I don't know, like, someone random.
- [37:38]
Host
Yeah. That was one of the biggest things. When Trump came into office in D.C. after the first three years of his first term, everyone I know in D.C. was just like, this. Not only, like, killed the. It killed culture everywhere around here.
- [37:51]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [37:52]
Host
It. That. That this administration just, like, has no nose for real culture, humanity.
- [37:57]
Hunter Harris
And it's just like, that's so sad. I mean, I. I don't like D.C. very much, but it's just fascinating how it can, like, change that quickly, like, based on the administration. There's something else I was gonna ask you about. What was it? I can't remember. I lost it now.
- [38:13]
Host
It's okay. I have questions for you. I have questions because I really enjoy your taste in television and film, but I wanted to ask you. One hour drama versus. All right.
- [38:25]
Hunter Harris
Okay.
- [38:26]
Host
Yellow jackets or Homeland?
- [38:28]
Hunter Harris
Homeland.
- [38:29]
Host
Homeland.
- [38:29]
Hunter Harris
Wait, are you a Tiny Chalamet fan?
- [38:33]
Host
I am. I am. After I watched this high school talent show performance. That's what made me a fan.
- [38:38]
Hunter Harris
Have you seen his, like, bedroom raps?
- [38:40]
Host
Oh, a few of them, yeah.
- [38:41]
Hunter Harris
Yeah, yeah. Well, the one where he's like, Homeland. Homeland, which turned into Dome Land. I'm getting Dome on The Daily. To me. 10. The next, like, the most hilarious video ever made. But yeah. So Homeland.
- [38:53]
Host
Homeland. We're going Homeland. Dome.
- [38:55]
Hunter Harris
Land.
- [38:55]
Host
Timothy Chalamet. Laughter. Homelander. Breaking Bad.
- [39:00]
Hunter Harris
I haven't watched Breaking Bad.
- [39:01]
Host
That's okay. We're gonna go Homeland, Homelander, The Wire.
- [39:05]
Hunter Harris
The Wire.
- [39:06]
Host
The Wire or Sopranos?
- [39:08]
Hunter Harris
Sopranos.
- [39:09]
Host
Sopranos or Succession?
- [39:14]
Hunter Harris
You're gonna get me murdered. Okay, Succession. I'm gonna say it. Sorry, sorry.
- [39:18]
Host
No, this is all set up. You're gonna see in the order I set you up. Succession or twin Peace Peaks.
- [39:26]
Hunter Harris
I'm going to say succession.
- [39:28]
Host
Succession. Or Six Feet Under.
- [39:31]
Hunter Harris
I haven't seen Six Feet Under.
- [39:33]
Host
Succession. Or Big Little Lies.
- [39:36]
Hunter Harris
Okay. Be for real. Succession. Well, wait. Oh, no. But I love Big Little L season one so much. Okay.
- [39:44]
Host
We're talking season one. Yeah.
- [39:48]
Hunter Harris
I have to go. Meh. I'm, like, thinking I have to go with, I think succession, if only for, like, Connor Roy being, like, such a funny, weird character. But I really love, like, Reese Witherspoon and Big Little Lies. I think it's, like, a very underrated performance from her, and I wish people acknowledged it more.
- [40:07]
Host
I thought about this list in the order for, like, probably 45 minutes writing this. Cause I was like, I feel like your audience is. There's a very Big Little Lies audience inside the hung up audience. But I was like, your critical brain is probably gonna pick Succession.
- [40:19]
Hunter Harris
Yeah. But I really do like Big Little Lies. Season one is so good.
- [40:24]
Host
Yeah.
- [40:25]
Hunter Harris
And it's, like, perfectly put together too.
- [40:27]
Host
It might be Natasha's favorite show. Like, she really goes back to watch Big Little Lies a lot.
- [40:33]
Hunter Harris
Really?
- [40:33]
Host
Yeah. And I watch it, and in this funny way, I was just like, this feels so odd, but it feels like the maison son of Zodiac applied to, like, a family drama.
- [40:45]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [40:46]
Host
Interesting, because it's, like, kind of like Norcal coastal and like, a little smok.
- [40:52]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [40:52]
Host
I feel like it's like sitting down to watch Zodiac for an afternoon.
- [40:56]
Hunter Harris
That's so. Okay, now I need to, like, both rewatch Zodiac and rewatch Big Little Lies, like, from that lens. Because I'm curious.
- [41:03]
Host
Yeah.
- [41:03]
Hunter Harris
Because it also, I think, because, like, the crime element is there. It does feel very, like, observational in a way that you are, like, seeing things that you shouldn't. It feels very, like, you know, whisper, whisper in a way that I think is, like, one of the smartest things about it.
- [41:14]
Host
Is there. Okay. If you were to direct your first debut film, is there a Hunter Harris, like, mood board?
- [41:21]
Hunter Harris
A few, like, oh, my Goodness. I mean, so many things I have to say. King of comedy. That's, like, one of my favorite movies ever. Like, so funny, so weird. So, like, there's a couple scenes that movie that are, like, my favorite scenes of all time. This TV show, I hate Susie, that was on hbo, that is, like, kind. It's like, just this show about women, and it's like, this woman, this actress is, like, found out that she had an affair, and she's going through her life, and it's just absolutely one of the best things I've ever seen. I would also say, like, insecure. And also chewing gum. The first Michaela Cole Netflix show. Love chewing gum. Oh, my goodness. And I would say every Whitney Houston music video ever made. I'm a big Whitney Houston fan. We have the same birthday, so. So it's feels ordained. And what else? What else, what else? I mean. Oh, I love Rachel getting married.
- [42:26]
Host
That's hot.
- [42:27]
Hunter Harris
That was.
- [42:27]
Host
I like Rachel getting married too.
- [42:29]
Hunter Harris
Yeah, it's like, it's such a good script and I love Ann Hathaway in it. What else would I say? I would say, oh, shoot. What? Oh, my gosh. Have you seen Passages, the Iris Ax movie from, like, three years ago?
- [42:43]
Host
No, I didn't see it.
- [42:45]
Hunter Harris
It's like, one of my favorite movies. I was talking to a friend about this last night, how, like, seeing that movie together was, like, one of the most fun experiences we've ever had in a movie theater. Like, both of us, and we lived here for, like, over 10 years. It was just. It's like, you know when you're watching something and it's like, I'm so locked in. I understand this every moment of it so perfectly. And that's how watching pastors feels. It's, like, so chaotic.
- [43:05]
Host
But, damn, I gotta watch what's in there.
- [43:07]
Hunter Harris
It's about this director and his, like, husband or partner, I can't remember if they're married or not, is like, a artist or, like, sculptor of some kind, whatever. But he's like. He always gets in a mood after he finishes a movie, and he starts having an affair with this woman. And he, like, doesn't. He's never slept with a woman before. But it's like. It sounds, like, so melodramatic, but it's. It's so funny and, like, raw. And it. It really, like, changes moods and tones so elegantly where it's like you're laughing out loud. But also, this feels like, oh, my God, my heart is, like, being taken out of my chest. And there's like one scene where he is wearing this, like, crop top and he meets his, like, girlfriend's parents. And it's like, you're dressed so inappropriately.
- [43:54]
Host
I'm sorry.
- [43:55]
Hunter Harris
They're like so, like. Like French people who are like, so chic. And it's like, put on a different shirt.
- [44:00]
Host
Have you seen Day Trippers?
- [44:02]
Hunter Harris
No.
- [44:03]
Host
I feel like you would like Day Trippers.
- [44:04]
Hunter Harris
Oh, wait, yes, I have. With Parker. No. Is it Parker Posey?
- [44:07]
Host
I. Yeah, I think Parker Posey's in it. Leave Liv Schreiber's in it.
- [44:11]
Hunter Harris
Yes, I have seen it. And it's like they're in the car going into the city. Yes. Have you seen Clock. Clock Watchers?
- [44:16]
Host
No, I have not.
- [44:17]
Hunter Harris
That is really. I've been. I've been. That would be on my mood board too. It's like such a fun. It feels very Girls in Broad City, but it's like a workplace, like, true workplace version of that in a way that is, like, very cool. Like Tony Collette, Parker Posey. Who else is in that?
- [44:31]
Host
Yeah, because you were talking and I was just like, oh, I feel like Day Trippers, maybe.
- [44:34]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [44:35]
Host
On your board.
- [44:35]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [44:36]
Host
Did you watch Materialists?
- [44:38]
Hunter Harris
Yes.
- [44:38]
Host
Did you write about it in the Materials?
- [44:41]
Hunter Harris
I don't think so.
- [44:42]
Host
I'm like, very curious what you thought about that film. That felt like an intentionally like, oh, this is what's going on on the Internet conversation.
- [44:50]
Hunter Harris
But as a film, yes, Yes. I. I feel like I. I loved like, everything Celine song said about the movie. About how, like, we don't take love seriously. Like, cinematically. How. Why is it. Why is everything, like, dismissed like a chick flick if it's like, about like the most human thing that we can ever feel? And yet the movie itself, I'm like, what do you mean? Chris Evans is like, I'm gonna audition for commercials now. And like, that's my big turn. Like, I. What. What materially changes between the beating movie into the movie? Like, he's still broke with veneers. Yeah.
- [45:33]
Host
And Chris. Chris Evans as cater waiter just like cracked me up like that. Fucking cracked me up. Pedro Pascal as a mentally five foot four man, cracked me up. I was like, but it's.
- [45:43]
Hunter Harris
No one felt like a real person. And I. I understand that. It's like something about ideas and it's supposed to be like, very heightened and like, you know, which is fine, but like, there's nothing to, like, hold on to that. I'm like, I. No one in this movie, like, has a real conversation, what they're thinking or feeling. Until the scene with Dakota Johnson and Pedro Pascal when he's like, I think she. He wants to, like, continue seeing each other. And she's like, but we're not in love, and we both want to be in love. And it's like, okay to want that. And that felt like the only moment in the whole movie where I'm like, finally someone says something real to one another. And it's not like, I don't know if you watch, like, the Girlfriend Experience season one, or, like, that's one of my favorite shows also. Or like, like, like Closer with Julia Robert or something like that, where it's like them talking around their feelings is part of it. But in the Materialist, it felt like there's, like, not a lot of, like, there's. It just felt centerless.
- [46:36]
Host
Yeah. Center. It felt like words and mouths, like, we're going to put this word. And this is an allegory. And I'm like, watching a Greek allegory play out. Single cam.
- [46:47]
Hunter Harris
And this is like, an idea of a woman who lives in New York. This is who, like, wears trench coat, bind up to the top, running around the West Village. Yeah, but.
- [46:53]
Host
And trying to repeat, like, the conflict from Closer or, like, Millennium Mambo. And it's just like, those were lived in. I felt it with those characters.
- [47:03]
Hunter Harris
Yeah. Yeah. But again, I think, like, every interview I read and all, like, the clips of her talking about it, Celine, I mean, I thought, I'm like, oh, I'd love to, like, see this in, like, maybe a novel form, because all of the ideas are so compelling in there. But I think it never really made a case for itself as, like, why is this a movie? And why does it also start with, like, the prehistoric, like, cavemen getting. I was like, what?
- [47:27]
Host
Yeah, it was. Yeah, it was. It was a very choppy film. After Past Lives, which I thought was incredible and felt lived in, I was just like, this. This feels like you read Pygmalion and was like, I'm gonna do my George Bernard Shaw thing, you know, like, I'mma create a new formula.
- [47:41]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [47:41]
Host
But, like, did. I didn't enjoy it. I. I enjoyed the premise, but not the film. But it raised a lot of questions.
- [47:48]
Hunter Harris
Questions.
- [47:48]
Host
Okay. Last thing you got hung up on.
- [47:51]
Hunter Harris
Ooh, Sza. The SZA GQ Men of the Year cover.
- [48:00]
Host
That was good.
- [48:00]
Hunter Harris
And actually, let me tell you. I'll tell you exactly what lines I loved, because Sza. Well, I'll say Bob Dylan is the SZA of his day. Not a vocalist. Lies a lot, does weird shit all the time. Like, they are just like so aligned in my head. Like, really good writer, but, like, just says like, strange stuff always. And in this profile, which I've been wondering, like, you know, for however long they've been fussing, like how says it feels in the middle of the Drake Kendrick beef. Because, like, she obviously is very close to Kendrick. Yeah, obviously also very close to Drake. And I'm like, who gets you in there in this divorce? Like, do you. Does one of them text you? And you're just like, I don't know, man. Drake's like, you couldn't have warned me about Euphoria? And she's like, it's not my place. Like, I don't know.
- [48:49]
Host
I think Top and Punch got her for two albums. That's who won. You know.
- [48:55]
Hunter Harris
This. Okay, this quote is crazy. So it's just speaking to GQ about the feud and she says the feud was between two grown ass men, so why would I insert myself direct quote? I feel like that's how everybody felt with the exception of people who didn't feel that way. I love her, dad. I'm sorry. Writer of a generation. I like, that's how everyone felt except for the people who didn't feel that way. Absolutely love it. And then one more. Obviously, I'm signed to tde. Obviously. I've known Drake for so long, and obviously it's always unfortunate when the unfortunate occurs. It's always unfortunate when the unfortunate. Put that over a guitar riff. I'm listening to it every single day.
- [49:35]
Host
Yeah, no, her brain is just on another level. Like, you got to read between the lines talking to Sza and she's saying everything and she's very rarely wrong.
- [49:45]
Hunter Harris
No, I think she's very wrong. It is always unfortunate when the unfortunate happens. Happens.
- [49:49]
Host
Yeah. She always speaking in tongues, but she's kind of always correct.
- [49:53]
Hunter Harris
Do you follow her, Finsta?
- [49:55]
Host
Oh, I don't think I do.
- [49:59]
Hunter Harris
It's like, barely. It's just like. It's not even like, posting, but it's just so funny that she will, like, post the most random stuff in the world. Like screenshots of like, reels that she's like. She's like, we're all just here on earth to hang out. Like, I'm just vibing and I'm like, you are so funny. Like, I will never get enough Sza.
- [50:15]
Host
No, she's the best. Like, my favorite casting call all time was. Was with Sza. Really?
- [50:19]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [50:19]
Host
She's attached for one of our films and she's just like hysterical and so smart and just gets the point.
- [50:25]
Hunter Harris
Yes.
- [50:25]
Host
Doesn't waste any time.
- [50:26]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [50:27]
Host
But like, will let you know what she wants and needs in. In code.
- [50:31]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [50:31]
Host
You just gotta read. You gotta speak sisa. Which was easy. It's exactly. If you have a brain, it's like quite easy.
- [50:38]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [50:39]
Host
But okay. A celebrity you would trust to order for the table.
- [50:44]
Hunter Harris
Ooh. Oh, that's such a good one. I would trust. Tony Shalhoub. Oh, I would trust Tony to order for the table.
- [51:01]
Host
Wow. Can. Why? Not that. I disagree.
- [51:04]
Hunter Harris
No, I. I just feel like he knows a lot of places. I mean, he was in that movie Big night. I feel like he. I'm a big monk fan, so I would just love. I want to hang out. I feel like that would be. I don't know, I just kind of get the sense that like, he would know what he's doing.
- [51:20]
Host
That's a good pick.
- [51:21]
Hunter Harris
Yeah. Or Julia Roberts. I mean, she could order anything for me anytime. I'd be like, I'll absolutely do it.
- [51:26]
Host
Yeah, absolutely. Julia Roberts as the food critic from My Best Friend's Wedding.
- [51:30]
Hunter Harris
Oh, yeah.
- [51:30]
Host
Yes. I like that. I love. Julia Roberts. Was my first love.
- [51:33]
Hunter Harris
Really?
- [51:34]
Host
Absolutely.
- [51:34]
Hunter Harris
Oh, my goodness. That's my mother.
- [51:36]
Host
Yeah. So fly. Okay, last one. Best movie of 2025.
- [51:43]
Hunter Harris
Mar supreme. Mar Supreme. Yeah. Mar supreme or Sentimental Value, which I just saw the other day and I like, really blew me away.
- [51:52]
Host
I have not seen. I have not been able to see Marty supreme yet. But I have been watching a lot of Odessa Aon.
- [51:59]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [51:59]
Host
Shows and reels. Like, incredible actor.
- [52:02]
Hunter Harris
Yeah.
- [52:03]
Host
I think she's going to be like, next great actress.
- [52:05]
Hunter Harris
I had not really been familiar with her work before cuz I didn't watch like her Netflix show. But I thought she was so good in Marty Supreme.
- [52:12]
Host
Yeah.
- [52:13]
Hunter Harris
But also like, I mean, Denny Chalamet is like amazing in it. Like, legitimately.
- [52:16]
Host
Yeah. A casting director hit me, was like, yo, watch Odessa. And I started watching and she was actually on this adaptation of a British show called Ghosts.
- [52:24]
Hunter Harris
Oh, okay. And.
- [52:25]
Host
And it wasn't like super critically acclaimed, but I watched her perform. Sometimes I like to watch an actor and like, not the thing. And I was like, whoa. When she's on, it's a show. When she's not on, it's not a show. And I. I just became obsessed and then obviously saw her in like, I love LA last week. Can't wait for Marty Supreme. But like, that woman can really fucking act.
- [52:47]
Hunter Harris
Yeah. Yeah. She. She really just like, seems very natural. Control and. Yeah. But I. I think she's really talented.
- [52:55]
Host
Yeah. All right. That's, that's all the quick. Thank you for coming on the show.
- [52:58]
Hunter Harris
Oh, my goodness.
- [52:58]
Host
A lot of fun. I would talk to you about movies, film, anything, anytime.
- [53:01]
Hunter Harris
I, I, this has been so lovely.
- [53:03]
Host
Yeah.
- [53:04]
Hunter Harris
What a fun day.
- [53:04]
Host
Thank you.