The Oscars! Plus, Paul Rust!

Summary

Dear Movies, I Love You – "The Oscars! Plus, Paul Rust!"

Hosts: Millie De Chirico & Casey O'Brien
Guest: Paul Rust
Date: March 10, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this Oscars-themed episode, Millie and Casey examine the 2026 Academy Awards with their trademark mix of insight and humor. They unpack the year’s Best Picture nominees, trends in Oscar selection, and industry changes (including a new casting award), peppering their analysis with personal anecdotes and film recommendations. A special highlight is their in-depth chat with comedian/writer/actor Paul Rust, diving into John Hughes movies and the legacy of teen film. The episode balances knowledgeable film criticism and lived experience, making it both a guide to this year’s Oscars and a tribute to movie fandom.

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Key Discussion Points

Oscars Anticipation & General State of the Ceremony

[01:38-08:03]

• Casey and Millie discuss the anticipation leading up to the Oscars, likening it to the "Super Bowl" for film nerds.
• Acknowledgement that Oscar fever varies:
  • "I'm just sort of like, I'll let you guys have your fun...I don't really get to the point that a lot of people I know do about the Oscars, which...they get really, really amped, including yourself. Am I right?" (Millie, 04:16)
  • "I love the Oscars. It is like the Super Bowl to me. I have so much fun. I love watching them. It means something to me still." (Casey, 04:51)
• Discussion about the current divide between indie and major studio films and whether the Oscars ever truly recognize "their people" (i.e., champions of indie, underground, or genre fare).

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Genre and Indie at the Oscars: Is Change Really Happening?

[06:18-08:03]

• Past examples of indie and genre breakthroughs:
  • "Sean Baker won Best Picture and Best Director last year, you know, and he's like an indie weirdo." (Casey, 07:17)
  • Sinners example: "Because it's kind of—it's like a horror movie...It's not something that I would have immediately assumed was going to be, like, winning or, you know, nominated a bunch..." (Millie, 07:14)
• Both hosts are wary of considering these moments as genuine shifts:
  • "That was a fluke, though." (Millie on Sean Baker’s Oscar wins, 07:25)

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Oscar Party Traditions, Betting, & Memories

[12:33-13:48]

• Casey and Millie riff on party invites and the peculiar energy Oscar night brings to film lovers' homes and workplaces.
• Millie reminisces about post-Oscar workdays at TCM being "like a dead zone...a holiday," showing how Oscars shape social rhythms for industry people.

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Listener Calls: Movie Date Stories

[13:51-14:45]

• The hosts encourage listeners to send in memorable movie date anecdotes—good, bad, or strange—whipping up community involvement.
• "Did you almost give birth at the AMC 16 in Melbourne, Florida? I don't know." (Millie, 14:34)

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Film Diary Segment: Recent Watches

[17:43-28:08]

Millie:

• Watched Ready to Wear (Pret-à-Porter) (1994, Robert Altman):
  • Enjoys the 90s supermodel camp but calls it a "hard watch"—"It's hard. It's a hard watch. And that's all I'll say about that." (Millie, 21:01)
• Loves the nostalgia of 90s fashion/music crossovers (ex: "Here Come the Hotstepper").

Casey:

• Watched several, prepping for the Oscars:
  • The Box (2009, Richard Kelly): "If you like Donnie Darko, check it out." (Casey, 24:27)
  • Train Dreams (2025): "Very Terrence Malick-like...devastating...really beautiful." (Casey, 24:44)
  • Sentimental Value (2025): "Might be my—I would say that and One Battle After Another might be my two favorite movies of the year...some of the best use of de-aging technology I've ever seen." (Casey, 25:21)
  • Reflects on industry connections (“No one has ever been obsessed with me, ever.”, 26:31), adding self-deprecating charm.

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Oscars Rundown: Surprises, Snubs, and New Developments

Casting Award Debuts

[28:52-30:44]

• Millie notices the new Oscar for casting directors and muses, "I always thought I'd be a good casting director, but no one's given me the chance to explore that..." (29:10)

Costume Design Controversy: Avatar’s Nomination

[33:12-38:40]

• Both hosts question Avatar: Fire and Ash’s costume design nomination, given the motion-capture CGI production:
  • "Isn't Avatar simply people wearing...performance capture suits and then everything is CGI'd onto them?" (Millie, 33:53)
  • "That's really interesting...Can they really be costumed if they are computer generated?" (Casey, 34:06)
  • Millie confesses, "I love to shit on Avatar...I just have no interest in the story, in the world, in the creatures." (35:04; 35:54)
• Casey concedes the immersive visual world but feels the story is repetitive and meditative rather than narratively rich.
• Both riff: "It almost feels like a Lisa Frank folder." (Casey, 38:02; Millie cheerfully agrees)

Outlier Nominations

[38:44-40:33]

• F1’s Best Picture nomination surprises Casey, as he "feel(s) like I have not heard anyone say anything about F1," calling it Apple TV’s non-entity movie.

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Trends in Oscar Nominations (2026)

[42:59-46:12]

• Millie and Casey see One Battle After Another as the unmistakable frontrunner: "It is extremely timely and topical...I feel like, you know, to me that's probably gonna win something..." (Millie, 43:07)
• Prediction: It will sweep core awards; Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro are top acting contenders.
• Millie: "He's probably due, right?" (on Paul Thomas Anderson, 44:59)
• Current events and politics are closely tied to voters’ choices ("...the Oscars is gonna come...when we're, like, under military occupation by ICE..." (Casey, 45:02))
• Millie: "You really can't get more...topical...this is it...and it ends up being a good movie." (45:20)

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Genre Films, "The Spread," and Voter Changes

[46:12-52:54]

• "Sinners" gets surprising praise and nominations, breaking genre bias, though both expect an actual win for One Battle After Another.
• Oscars are "bridging the gap a little...maybe the inclusion of the genre films...[is] primarily to just modernize themselves in a way." (Millie, 52:00)

Supporting Categories & Voter Demographics

[50:38-52:54]

• Casey anticipates Teyana Taylor or Amy Madigan (Weapons) will win Supporting Actress.
• They note Lead Actress nominees are all white, flagging ongoing diversity issues.

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Snubs & Behind the Scenes

[64:14-66:52]

• Biggest snub: Park Chan-wook's No Other Choice shut out due to WGA ban related to strikework.
  • Neon studio’s response: a Hollywood billboard reading, "a snub above the rest."

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Memorable Quotes

• "It's hard to find your people in there. But there's a couple of movies in the past couple of years that have—genre movies, I would say, and have been nominated." (Millie, 06:18)
• "Nowadays, the Oscars, the separation between the indie sphere and the major motion pictures, I feel like that—the distance between those is larger than it ever has been..." (Casey, 05:34)
• "It's giving...Lisa Frank folder." (Casey, 38:02)
• "You cannot leave a dog death open ended like that." (Millie on Marty Supreme, 54:29)

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Paul Rust Interview: John Hughes Deep Dive

[69:10-106:43]

Film Fandom Origins

[70:16-73:36]

• "I am a movie lover...my source of like, watching stuff...was like...video rentals and cable was kind of like, along with the theatrical exhibition experience as well." (Paul, 70:16)
• Shares a defining childhood memory: His parents fake him out about being abandoned in a ditch—only to take him to see Gremlins at the drive-in.
  • "They were like, we're going to take you out in the middle of nowhere and leave you in a ditch. I was like whoa...then we take a hard right and we go into a drive-in movie theater that's playing Gremlins." (Paul, 71:52)

John Hughes’ Impact

[74:35-80:39]

• Influenced early by older sisters, especially via shared rentals.
• Noted the empathy in Hughes’s writing for young people, even when seen through adult eyes (“...the story is simple. The premise is very simple. And then what makes it rich is the characters.” – Paul, 87:24)
• Both hosts and Paul reflect on the way Hughes informed their expectations of high school—particularly "tribes" and class, but how real life quickly complicated those neat divisions:
  • "I totally think that my vision of what I thought it was gonna be like to be in high school was informed by...there's jocks and there's nerds." (Millie, 80:39)
  • "The one thing that can bond all students, all cliques, across every school, is that everybody likes weed." (Paul, 89:01 referencing Leslie Arfin's book)

Hughes’s Oeuvre and Influence

[94:36-97:03]

• Paul points out Hughes directed eight movies in seven years, with only his first and last (Sixteen Candles, Curly Sue) featuring women protagonists.
• The group muses on Hughes' career: prolific in the '80s, then a sharp drop-off.

"Speech Team" Tangent

[98:30-104:53]

• Paul and Casey bond over the Midwestern phenomenon of high school speech competitions (also known as "forensics"), trading vivid stories:
  • “The halls of the high school would be lined with kids just, like, talking at walls...looking like they’re experiencing madness.” (Casey, 102:24 / Paul, 102:44)
  • “The entire auditorium would go all in sync: [single clap].” (Casey, 103:37)
• Connects back to the universes of John Hughes—imagining a film set at these competitions.

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Oscar Night Predictions & Hopes

[57:05-64:14]

• Millie: "I'm rooting for One Battle After Another...I love Ryan Coogler. It would be nice to have a little bit of that peppered in there." (61:29)
• Casey expects One Battle After Another to sweep but notes some personal excitement for documentaries (Come See Me in the Good Light) and animated films (K-Pop Demon Hunter).
• Discussion on possible political speeches ("I hope people go off in a big way," Casey, 68:00), with a hope for authentic activism over platitudes.

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Notable & Fun Tangents

• Avatar as "Lisa Frank folder"—a perfect encapsulation of the host’s irreverent but sharp style (38:02).
• Cigarette chatter: “Is 30 years of smoking bliss better than 45 years left of non smoking hell?” (Casey, 59:00)
• Dog fate in movies: “You cannot leave a dog death open ended like that...not in this economy!" (Millie, 54:29)

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Important Timestamps

| Topic | Timestamp | |----------------------------------------------|-------------| | Oscars intro / Millie & Casey’s perspectives | 01:38–08:03 | | Discussion of genre/indie films and bias | 06:18–08:03 | | Oscar party culture | 12:33–13:48 | | New Casting Award | 28:52–30:44 | | Costume Design & Avatar rant | 33:12–38:40 | | F1 nomination & category discussion | 38:44–40:33 | | Trends, predictions (One Battle After Another focus)| 42:59–46:12 | | Film diary reviews | 17:43–28:08 | | Snub: No Other Choice & Park Chan-wook | 64:14–66:52 | | Paul Rust interview (John Hughes deep dive) | 69:10–106:43 |

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Conclusion

This episode delivers an enthusiastic and sometimes skeptical Oscars roundtable, sharply attuned to current film culture but equally nostalgic for foundational movies and filmmakers. The hosts, with guest Paul Rust, weave together award predictions, industry trends, personal moviegoing history, sharp observations about the Oscars' politics, and a loving (if critical) tribute to film fandom. From the Oscars’ genre bias to John Hughes’ indelible impact on American pop culture, it’s an episode for anyone who loves movies—whether they’re rooting for an upset, lamenting a snub, or just hoping their favorite weird, artsy film finally gets a shot.

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Follow-ups:

• Listeners are invited to write in with movie date stories and Oscar hot takes.
• Next week’s episode: Emerald Fennell’s "Wuthering Heights" (2026), with much anticipated Jacob Elordi body discourse.
• Find Millie and Casey on Letterboxd, Instagram, and other socials (@dearmoviesiloveyou).

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"This is a podcast for those who are in a relationship with the movies." – Millie De Chirico (09:45)

Transcript

[Millie Decherico]

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[Casey O'Brien]

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[Millie Decherico]

Visit your nearby Lowes on Colorado street in Kennewick. Wick hello, Casey o'.

[Casey O'Brien]

Brien.

[Millie Decherico]

How's it going?

[Casey O'Brien]

Hello, Millie. It's going fine. How are you?

[Millie Decherico]

Just great. I am excited because the Cile super bowl is coming up.

[Casey O'Brien]

That's right, the Oscars, baby. And we're going to hit it hard.

[Millie Decherico]

Have you been watching all of the Oscar noms and whatnot?

[Casey O'Brien]

You know, I have, yes. I've been watching all of them and I have some thoughts about the general, I don't know, vibe of this batch of best picture nominees. There are some themes and some genres that seem to be, I don't know, emerging out of this batch, but I think it's a good batch. I thought there's a lot of good movies this year and so I'm excited to dive into all of that.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah, you know, it's so interesting to me because last year we did an episode about the Oscars and our fifth episode ever, it was our fifth episode and I think I had, you know, a Much different opinion about the lineup, obviously, that I do this year. It doesn't feel like we'll talk about it, but it's basically like I feel like there are a couple of, like, very obvious frontrunners, but then when you have that scenario, it feels like it's setting up for, like, a big upset, if you know what I'm saying.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Millie Decherico]

Versus years where the selections are a little bit more rando and that you're like, anybody could win at any time. So I don't know. I'm kind of nervous about this one this year.

[Casey O'Brien]

Interesting. Nervous. Interesting.

[Millie Decherico]

I don't know.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. I mean, there's some years where. Yeah, like you said, like, there's like a kind of a smattering, and it's like, they could go this way or they could go that way, you know, and I think we talked about it last year, but it's like, sometimes there's like a choice where it's like, please don't let that one movie win, and then it does. And then there are other years where the most beloved movie wins and over the evil movie, you know, so it's hard to. It's hard to predict. It's a wild ride.

[Millie Decherico]

Well. And it feels like the politics of a given year also create the anxiety for me where it's like, okay, are we gonna have this big upset that's gonna make pissed off?

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Millie Decherico]

You know, is there going to be, like, the most horrific hot takes on my social media feed for the next couple weeks that I'm going to have to just, like, get off the Internet? Like, I don't know. It just.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Millie Decherico]

Gives me that feeling. Even though I think I will say, last year, I kind of established my party line about the Oscars and my relationship to it, which is that I'm just sort of like, I'll let you guys have your fun. In terms of caring a lot.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Millie Decherico]

Not to say I don't care, but you know what I'm saying? It's like, I don't really get to the point that a lot of people that I know do about the Oscars, which, you know, they get really, really amped, including yourself. Am I right?

[Casey O'Brien]

I mean, I love the Oscars. It is like the super bowl to me. I have so much fun. I love watching them. It means something to me still. I'm not insane. I have a friend who I haven't seen in years, but she could not watch the Oscars with anybody. She had to watch it by herself because it was so serious to her.

[Millie Decherico]

Wow.

[Casey O'Brien]

And I am not like that. I freak. Yeah, I do like it. And, I mean, I think our podcast should win an Academy Award, and it should at least be nominated for one. And that would mean something to me if we won it.

[Millie Decherico]

But we should win Best Picture, even though we have not made a movie.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah, well, I don't know.

[Millie Decherico]

Just give it to us.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah, I think so, too. This is cinematic, our podcast. I think nowadays, the Oscars, the separation between the, like, indie sphere and the major motion pictures, I feel like that the distance between those is larger than it ever has been, you know? And so in some ways, the movies that I like, champion and love feel like they would never even grace the Oscars, you know, whereas, like, before, it seems like those indie movies would get. No, like, I think about Metropolitan getting nominated for an Oscar, you know, Whit Stillman's Metropolitan, but.

[Paul Rust]

Right.

[Millie Decherico]

And that is, I think, the point that I made last year, which is that none of my people would really even be there or be nominated if they are. It's a fluke. You know what I mean? Like, it's. And when I say my people, meaning the people whose movies that I've enjoyed and championed over the years, like, you know, if Greg Araki is gonna win Best Director, then maybe I'll tune in. But, you know, beyond that, it's always hard. If you like underground, indie, experimental, genre, even genre pictures, it's hard to find your people in there. But it's also like, there's a couple of movies in the past couple of years that have. That were genre movies, I would say, and have been nominated. I mean, I think Sinners is a perfect example of that. That movie is not. I mean. Well, I guess we'll talk about it, but it's not something that I would have immediately assumed was going to be, like, winning or, you know, nominated a bunch. Do you know what I mean?

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Millie Decherico]

Because it's kind of. It's like a horror movie. So.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. But it. I mean, like, I'm going back on what I just said. It's like Sean Baker won Best Picture and Best Director last year, you know, and he's like an indie weirdo.

[Millie Decherico]

Oh, yeah. That was a fluke, though.

[Casey O'Brien]

I mean, it was. Yeah. Lots to discuss. This is just the tip of the iceberg, people. This is the. This is a little appetizer for the rest of the episode. We're just talking about the Oscars today. We're talking about the Oscars, and we have a very special guest on for my area of expertise. I am. I Am a true fan of this guy. I was very nervous to have him on the podcast, but he was absolutely a dream. We have Paul Rust, who you may know from the show's love. He co created that, starred in it, but he is on to talk about John Hughes movies, and it's a really fun conversation.

[Millie Decherico]

Okay. Biggest crush. Had the biggest crush on Paul. Paul was extremely nice. Yeah, I was. So I was. I was really happy for you because I know you're a big fan.

[Casey O'Brien]

Well, thank you. We even got to talk about High School Speech Team, which was fun. I don't know if that'll be interesting for anybody else, but it was fun for me.

[Millie Decherico]

Well, I was there when it happened, and I have to say, it was like watching two people from a foreign country speak a language that I did not know. It was fascinating. It was fascinating.

[Casey O'Brien]

I mean, I'm. I. I think it disgusts you that I'm kind of a maybe sort of theater kid, and that's just something you're gonna have to live with, because that's

[Millie Decherico]

who I am, you know, listen, there's plenty about me to hate, and I know that you have. You have called me a mean jock, so maybe that is what it is.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. We have to do this podcast over zoom. Otherwise Millie's gonna, you know, put my head in a toilet and give me a swirly. So, anyways, that's about it. That's good. This is gonna be a fun show. It's a little bit more loosey goosey, but I'm excited for that.

[Millie Decherico]

Me too. Stay tuned. You are listening to Dear Movies, I love you. Dear Movies, I love you, and I've

[Paul Rust]

got to know if you love me too.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yes.

[Paul Rust]

Check the box below.

[Millie Decherico]

Hello, everybody. You are listening to Dear Movies, I Love youe. This is a podcast for those who are in a relationship with the movies. My name is Millie Decherico.

[Casey O'Brien]

My name is Casey o', Brien, and

[Millie Decherico]

like we've already established, we are doing an entire episode about this year's Oscars, which air on. When is it?

[Casey O'Brien]

March 15th.

[Millie Decherico]

There you go. March 15th. A week before my birthday.

[Paul Rust]

Wow.

[Millie Decherico]

Very exciting.

[Casey O'Brien]

They.

[Millie Decherico]

They. I know that they have it because of my birthday bs, but they can't get it on the exact day all the time.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Millie Decherico]

So. And they called me. They said, listen, we. I know that this is traditionally been about your birthday, but this year we're going to have to do it a week early. And.

[Casey O'Brien]

And they apologized to you.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

For doing that.

[Millie Decherico]

We couldn't get all the zombies from sinners in the Same room at the same time. Except, yes, for this night.

[Casey O'Brien]

So I would kill. I would. I think I would classify them as vampires.

[Millie Decherico]

Oh, they are vampire. Are they vampires or zombies? Actually, I think they're.

[Casey O'Brien]

They're vampires, but they're kind of zombified as vampires because don't you have to

[Millie Decherico]

shoot them in the head in order to kill them?

[Casey O'Brien]

But they can talk. They're like, hey, come on out here. I'm playing the banjo, you know?

[Millie Decherico]

Hold on. I'm gonna. I'm gonna type this into the search bar. How to kill the monsters from sinners. There's like an AI that popped up. It's like, if you would like to kill monsters and sinners, you should use specific weaknesses like garlic steaks or sunlight.

[Casey O'Brien]

But they can't go in the sunlight and zombies traditionally can. Yeah, I think it's 100% vampire.

[Millie Decherico]

But don't they. They do shoot them in the head, though. No, I think.

[Casey O'Brien]

Can't you kill a vampire by shooting them in the head?

[Millie Decherico]

Oh, see, this is what I don't like about this. How to kill a vampire.

[Casey O'Brien]

We're getting in the weeds here, Millie.

[Millie Decherico]

It says decapitation. Sunlight, a wooden stick to the heart, fire silver bullets. But decapitation is not shooting someone in the head. Okay, I'm just getting. Now I'm getting real crunk about this. Okay? Let's just call them zombies. Zombie empires.

[Casey O'Brien]

I'm not comfortable with that, but that's okay.

[Millie Decherico]

Okay, fine. Let's just call them vampires then.

[Paul Rust]

Thank you.

[Casey O'Brien]

Thank you.

[Millie Decherico]

Now I don't know. Jesus.

[Casey O'Brien]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Okay. Your birthday. The Oscars. They had to apologize to you for not airing the show on your birthday.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah. Are you. Are you. Did we talk about this last year? Do you bet on the Oscars at all?

[Casey O'Brien]

I haven't ever put any money down, but I do usually at a party, we'll fill out, you know, a form that you know, like a ballot. So are you going to a party?

[Millie Decherico]

You go to a party?

[Casey O'Brien]

I think I'm going to go to a friend's house.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah, I was thinking about maybe having people over my house.

[Paul Rust]

Fun.

[Casey O'Brien]

You should crowd some people into that sectional.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah. But then it's like, again, I'm so, like, wishy washy that I'm just like, do I even care?

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. And the Oscars are tough because they do go kind of late, I think. And do you really want people in your house at like 11pm Well, I

[Millie Decherico]

always think about the next day. I. Well, back when I was working at TCM the day after the Oscars was like a dead zone at work. Like nobody holiday.

[Casey O'Brien]

Honestly, it really kind of was Senior Skip Day.

[Millie Decherico]

Well, and because a lot of our bosses went to the damn Oscars. So I'm like, well, if you ain't going to work, I'm not going to. Yeah, but I don't think my new job cares enough to allow us that freedom. So I don't know. Depending, I'll see.

[Casey O'Brien]

Okay.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

One thing I want to say is we're still accepting listener stories about bad dates.

[Millie Decherico]

That's right.

[Casey O'Brien]

I'm going to say one week from today, March 17th. That'll be the deadline for bad date stories. Send them in. Record a voicemail on your phone and keep it under two minutes, please. We want to hear about bad dates or really good dates. Just date stories. In the movies, did you meet the

[Millie Decherico]

love of your life at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles? Did you ask for a divorce at the Metrograph in New York City?

[Casey O'Brien]

Did you lick the floor of a movie theater on a dare during a date?

[Millie Decherico]

I don't know. Did you almost give birth at the AMC 16 in Melbourne, Florida? I don't know.

[Casey O'Brien]

Whatever it is, we want to hear,

[Millie Decherico]

we want to hear.

[Casey O'Brien]

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[Casey O'Brien]

Millie, shall we open up the film diary?

[Millie Decherico]

That's fine.

[Casey O'Brien]

That's fine. That's fine.

[Millie Decherico]

That's fine. Maybe this vampire will pop out from sinners.

[Casey O'Brien]

Millie, what have you watched this week? Please tell me.

[Millie Decherico]

Well, I know you watched a shit ton. I only watched one thing. So my diary is simply a piece of paper stuck to a telephone pole. I have a diary this week, barely. And it is one entry. It is Robert Altman's film Pret a Porte from 1994.

[Casey O'Brien]

Now I've actually, I'm not familiar with this movie, even though I like love Robert Altman.

[Millie Decherico]

You know, this is one of those Robert Altman movies that just kind of linger in the background.

[Casey O'Brien]

Like, isn't there one called like Dr. T and the women or something like that?

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah, I mean this is kind of like post shortcuts.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Millie Decherico]

Where he was like Fuck it. I'm gonna put, like, 75 people in this movie.

[Casey O'Brien]

Okay.

[Millie Decherico]

You know what I mean? Like, I'm going to find, like, every famous person I've ever known, put him in a movie. So it's essentially like.

[Casey O'Brien]

He loves a giant movie, doesn't he?

[Millie Decherico]

Oh, he loves it, Phil. Yeah. Oh, yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

Shortcuts.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah. And. And Pret? A Porte, which means Ready to wear in French, was filmed at. It's all about the fashion industry. It was filmed at Paris Fashion Week. I mean, you got so many good people in this movie. You've got, you know, I mean, Marcello Mastriani and Sophia Loren, significantly, which is fantastic. And they look amazing in this movie. But, you know, part of the reason why I think I wanted to watch it was kind of the Waning days of Julie Annuary, as you know. But then for some reason, like, when I saw the Charlie XCX movie, I was like, why does this. Why is this giving me Pret A Porter? I think I need to rewatch Pret A Porter. And then I realized that I couldn't get through Pret A porter in the 90s, and I could barely get through it now. I mean, wow, it is hard. It's a hard watch. And I hate to say that because it is a Robert Altman movie. I'm a big fan of all these people. I love the. Cause the thing that I mostly remember about this movie back in 94 was that it was the movie that launched Here Come the Hot Stepper by Ayni Kamozi.

[Casey O'Brien]

I'm not familiar.

[Millie Decherico]

You don't know this song? Stop now and just. And go to YouTube. You know this song, Casey, come on.

[Casey O'Brien]

What's it called?

[Millie Decherico]

Here Come the Hot Stepper. Don't disappoint me. You know this song.

[Casey O'Brien]

I'm okay. Hold on, hold on. Oh, yes, of course I know. Yes, of course I know this song. I didn't know that's what was the title or the artist. I feel like I sang this to my daughter recently. I didn't know this was the name of that song.

[Millie Decherico]

Here Come the Hot Step Murderer. So when I. I was a huge MTV person when I was in high school, and they used to show the video, and it was, you know, the video that had clips from Pret A Porter in it. And I was like, man, do I need to watch Pret A Porter? Cause I really like the song. So I watched it, and again, it was really. It's a really hard watch. But, you know, I do like the vibe of it. I mean, it's hard to say this because it's basically saying, like, this is kind of an unwatchable film. But I like a vibe where 90s supermodels are kind of like, peppered throughout this ensemble cast Altman movie. I mean, you see like all of the fashion people from the 90s that I loved, like Jean Paul Gaultier and I feel like Issey Miyake and Christy Turlington and, you know, like Linda Evangelista. I mean, are you kidding me? If I see Linda evangelista In a 90s movie, I go crazy. So anyway, it's. I like the vibe of it, but I just could. It's hard. It's a hard watch. And that's all I'll say about that.

[Casey O'Brien]

So very good. I'm interested. It's interesting. It sounds interesting. I'm like, it's too bad. It's not great. So I watched a few movies this week. You know, I'm getting ready for the Oscars. But I also snuck in another movie called the box from 2009. Now, this is Richard Kelly's last movie, so I've seen every Richard Kelly movie now. And I must say, they do kind of all exist in the same sort of universe. Like, you could tell this was made by the same person who wrote and directed Donnie Darko. And the premise is Cameron Diaz and James Marsden. They live. It takes place in the 1970s too, which it felt, but it didn't feel like the 1970s. It's kind of how we were complaining about. Donnie Darko is set in the late 1980s, but it doesn't feel like it. It's sort of a similar problem.

[Millie Decherico]

It doesn't go all in with that.

[Casey O'Brien]

No. And like the haircuts and the way people are talking, I'm like, this is not the 70s. But basically they're presented with. This couple is presented with a box and it has a button in it. And this mysterious Frank Langella character who has a. His like half of his face is burned off. He's like, if you press this button, you will get a million dollars, but one person you do not know will die. Whoa. So Cameron presses it and there's some fallout, I will say, but it really goes in some crazy places. And again, there are portals and dimensions and like computer generated, like water flowing through the air. I mean, it's like he has that stuff in every one of his movies. It's very fascinating. I mean, he is a consistent director in that he makes movies that feel very similar. This movie was shot on an early digital camera, I think it's from 2009 and it looks. It just doesn't look very good. I didn't think the camera just doesn't look rich or something. I don't know. There's some. I just. And especially with a digital camera, I kind of complained about this with Zodiac. If it's a period piece and it's shot digitally, it just looks extra weird.

[Millie Decherico]

Sure, sure.

[Casey O'Brien]

Anyways, the box, I enjoyed it. I gave it three stars and letterboxd, if you like Danny Darko. Check it out. Then I watched train dreams from 2025, and this is a very Terrence Malick like movie. It's nominated for best picture.

[Millie Decherico]

Interesting.

[Casey O'Brien]

I was really. I maybe shouldn't have watched this movie. It was very devastating.

[Millie Decherico]

Was it really?

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah, yeah. It was hard for me to watch. Oh. Trisha was like, I'm not watching that movie. But it's really beautiful. It's really good. Maybe we'll get into it more. As with our Oscar discussion. I also watched another Oscar movie, sentimental value, from 2025.

[Millie Decherico]

All right.

[Casey O'Brien]

Have you seen this?

[Millie Decherico]

No. This is the Stone Skarsgard movie.

[Casey O'Brien]

It rocks.

[Millie Decherico]

I'm supposed to see it this weekend, so it's amazing.

[Casey O'Brien]

It might be my. I would say that. And One Battle After Another might be my two favorite movies of the year. That's really good. That is really good. And I will say this. Some of the best use of de aging technology.

[Millie Decherico]

Are you kidding?

[Casey O'Brien]

I've ever seen. Yeah. Because it's used very sparingly, but it's great. And if you look, if you like Joaquim Trier, if you like the movie the Worst Person in the World, you'll like this.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah, I listen, I like him. I saw him interviewed recently somewhere and he seems cool as.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah, yeah. He was like. I think I mentioned. Maybe mentioned this another podcast, but he was like Chloe Zhao and Ryan Coogler's, like, instructor at the Sundance Institute when they were both there. Wow. And they were like, we were obsessed with him and joking. Trier was like, I had no idea what I was doing.

[Millie Decherico]

I love that. Oh, is that cool? Do you think anybody. Do you think anybody has said that about you?

[Casey O'Brien]

What, that they were obsessed with me?

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah, like many years after the fact. They're like, oh, my God. We worked with Casey at Intelligencia Coffee in Venice and we were obsessed, obsessed with him.

[Casey O'Brien]

I feel like no one has ever been obsessed with me ever.

[Millie Decherico]

Oh, that's sad.

[Casey O'Brien]

If you're obsessed with me, write into Dear Movies at exactly. Right. Media.com. i would love that. If someone was like, I. I'm obsessed with you. I remember. This is the closest. This isn't quite obsession, but it's like someone saying something about me that's nice. Maybe I've mentioned this on the podcast already, but my thesis professor. Did I talk about this already? He was teaching a thesis class after I graduated.

[Millie Decherico]

Okay.

[Casey O'Brien]

And my senior thesis was kind of this dark, Terrence Malick like, movie about an old man who lives on a farm.

[Millie Decherico]

Okay.

[Casey O'Brien]

And a younger friend of mine was in his thesis class when my younger friend was a senior. And my thesis professor showed my senior thesis to the class after I'd graduated.

[Millie Decherico]

No way.

[Casey O'Brien]

And he was like, does anyone here remember Casey o'? Brien? And, like, my friend was like, I do. And my thesis professor said. Apparently he said, casey o', Brien, he looks like an angel, but he is not. And that was nice to hear

[Millie Decherico]

from

[Casey O'Brien]

a thesis professor after I'd left.

[Millie Decherico]

Is this the same guy that was like, he's a Capricorn?

[Casey O'Brien]

No, that was a different. That was my cinematography professor.

[Millie Decherico]

Okay.

[Casey O'Brien]

Anyways, that's the film diary. That's all I got.

[Millie Decherico]

All right, Shut that.

[Casey O'Brien]

Close it up.

[Paul Rust]

Bye.

[Casey O'Brien]

All right, we're back for our main discussion, which is the Oscars, Millie.

[Millie Decherico]

Sounds like you said middle school.

[Casey O'Brien]

Middle school.

[Millie Decherico]

The Oscars, Millie.

[Casey O'Brien]

I guess. I guess my first question to you, are there any strange nominations this year to you that you're like, that's odd. Or, you know, something like that? Along those lines?

[Millie Decherico]

Well, yes, in fact, so. Well, first of all, I want to point this out. I wouldn't call this strange. I'm just saying it's new. Did you notice that there's a casting award this year? Yes.

[Casey O'Brien]

I think that's cool.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah, I did, too, actually. So apparently that's a new category that they're gonna do this year, which is that they're gonna give an Oscar to casting directors. Sidebar, briefly. I always thought I'd be a good casting director, but no one's given me the chance to explore that, Millie.

[Casey O'Brien]

I can. I can see it. Yeah. I think that would be a great career pivot for you.

[Millie Decherico]

And the only reason why I think this, to be honest, is that I feel like I catch vibes very easily when it comes to people important. I can catch a vibe. Like, I think it's. I have enough. Listen, I don't know if this is what makes a good casting director. I'm just saying, personality wise, I'm very observant about people. People's mannerisms and behaviors. I'm an Outsider. This is what you develop when, you know, people don't like you and you just stare into the abyss and watch people who are beautiful and interesting.

[Casey O'Brien]

I can relate to everything you're saying.

[Millie Decherico]

Okay, thank you. But you know, because of that, I have this like, you know, baseline talent perhaps for perceiving people. And so I'm like, is that what makes a good casting director? Because that's, that's what I would bring to the table, is that I would be like, oh, like Jacob Elordi types are coming in here and we gotta find a guy that can play, you know, like, I don't know, like a 14th century baron. And maybe if I sat around and watched these guys talk their shit, I could figure out a good one.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. My experience, I was briefly kind of a professional actor, very briefly, and not really professionally, but the casting directors were awesome. They always were. Because I feel like they really rooted for you and it was to their benefit to have the people that they put on film, you know, in front of other directors. You know, it's. It benefits them if the director likes the people the casting director is giving to them, you know, so they. I feel like they always kind of have the act. They have like the actors back when a lot of other people don't, you know, So I. There is cool.

[Millie Decherico]

Have you ever had a job where you had to interview people? Like for like. Have you ever been had a job where you were like a manager and you were having to interview people a lot?

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah, I mean, I had to do that at the restaurant. I guess that was kind of the only time I ever had to do that.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah, I used to hire interns at my last job and I did have that feeling where I was like, I feel like I like all these people. Like, I. There's all it takes a lot for me to not like somebody. Like if you just like if you are. If your job is to pick between, I don't know, 10 people that have come in front of you and is just like giving you their spiel for the most part. I want all those people to succeed. I want all those people to have the job. Generally I like them unless they're like really bad. And I definitely have had like bad interns come in or, you know, potential interns. And they have like absolutely no job experience except for they list CEO of their own company as the sure. You know, on their resume. You're like, oh, really? If you've never had a real job but you're a CEO of a company, that's your Company. That's not a good resume, by the way.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. It says you're CEO of Bong Ripper Industries,

[Millie Decherico]

that you have. Are the founder and chief creative officer of Blunt Rotation Incorporated. I mean, I don't know. It's like that kind of shit. You're like, okay, yeah. But it's like. And then they usually come into this scenario though and act like an idiot. So, yeah, that's the ones you don't like. But for the most part, I feel like I like everybody. And I feel like, okay, a casting director is probably doing that too. They're like, well, I don't know. I like. Yeah, don't want to make it super obvious, but I'm gonna have to pick one of these people, so.

[Casey O'Brien]

So back to strange nominations. Any of that popped out for you?

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah. So here's where. Okay. I don't know. I'm going to say this. The caveat being I have not seen this movie. I am very uneducated when it comes to the world of this ip.

[Casey O'Brien]

Let's just say I think I know what you're going to say, but go.

[Millie Decherico]

Okay. So I noticed that for one of the. For the category of costume design, one of the nominees is, I'm sure an incredible costume designer, but worked on the movie that's nominated is Avatar Fire and Ash.

[Casey O'Brien]

Hmm.

[Millie Decherico]

And my question to you is, isn't Avatar simply people wearing like performance capture suits and then everything is CGI'd onto them?

[Casey O'Brien]

That is really interesting. This is an interesting discussion because can they really be costumed if they are computer generated?

[Millie Decherico]

That's exactly. I think my point is that I'm like, is the costume designer a graphic designer?

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. Well, maybe they design. I mean, I guess they are designing the costumes because I bet a lot of research went into. It's the kind of native people who exist in the type of climate that the Avatar Na', Vi, you know, live in. So there is design to that, but it is interesting because they're not using like materials, cloth and such.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

So there is design. I don't know. It's. It's. It's interesting.

[Millie Decherico]

I know. And listen, a lot of this is probably just because I. I'll just admit it. I love to shit on Avatar and I. I'm sorry to like, all my friends. I am one of the only people in my circle of friends who absolutely does not have any interest in Avatar. Like, I don't know what. How this happened. All my friends love Avatar and go and see that shit on opening weekend. I'm like, how did this happen, guys? Like, what is this? What is this?

[Casey O'Brien]

I like Avatar. I do like Avatar. I didn't. I have not seen the latest one, though, so.

[Millie Decherico]

Well, I like. Sorry I sound whiny. I'm trying to not to be so whiny on this podcast.

[Commercial Announcer]

Like,

[Millie Decherico]

but it's like, you know,

[Paul Rust]

my

[Millie Decherico]

thing about it is that I just have no interest in the story, in the world, in the creatures. And I'm not saying this, being that I'm this, like, Gen X snob that, like, doesn't like joy and fantasy and imaginary worlds. I'm just like. But now we've taken it way too far. I saw the first Avatar in the movie theater in imax, in fact.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Millie Decherico]

And I was like, okay, I've seen all. I've seen enough now. There's TV shows, there's extra movies, there's, like, costumes, there's people. Like, everybody's cosplaying as these people at Dragon Con and things in this. This nature. And I'm like. And my friends are all in. And I'm like, when did this happen? What is it about it? What is it about it that you love?

[Casey O'Brien]

It really is an immersive experience. It's like an immersive world. It's like going to an IMAX movie, you know, where, like, IMAX 3D movie where, like, the jellyfish is, like, floating right in front of your face. So it is. And it is kind of meditative, especially the last one, there's just like. There's like a 45 minute sequence of them just, like swimming through the water. So there is sort of a experimental quality to these hugely big budget movies, which I sort of find enticing, but there's not. It's kind of the same story over and over again. And I like James Cameron as a filmmaker, and I'm kind of like, james, can we get off this, please? We don't need another one.

[Millie Decherico]

But I don't know, it's giving.

[Casey O'Brien]

He's inspired by it.

[Millie Decherico]

It's giving. I don't know, like early 90s, like, environmental awareness.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Millie Decherico]

Like, it's just very. I don't know, maybe if it was like more of a darker Guillermo del Toro type of world, I would be all in, but I just don't like. I don't like the. The quote unquote costumes, I suppose.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. And I think that's fair. I think that's fair because it is sort of a tacky. It almost feels like a Lisa Frank folder.

[Millie Decherico]

Yes,

[Casey O'Brien]

that is.

[Millie Decherico]

You perfectly described it. Okay. Like, I'M like, there's fucking unicorns and cougars spots all over the place. I'm. I don't like this. This is very not my vibe.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah, I get that.

[Millie Decherico]

Anyway, having said all that, that was really one of the weirdest things that popped up to me. And no disrespect, honestly, no disrespect to Deborah L. Scott, who was the costume designer for Avatar, Fire and Ash. I just was like, oh, that's weird. Isn't that people walking around in those ball suits like.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Millie Decherico]

In front of a green screen. I don't know.

[Casey O'Brien]

Have you ever seen Holy Motors?

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah. The Leon Carax movie, right?

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. There's a mocap like, sex scene in that movie. And I think about that every time I think about Mocap.

[Millie Decherico]

Oh, it's Leo's cracks. Did I say Leon? Oops, sorry.

[Casey O'Brien]

That's not a real name anyway. It's like a pseudonym. I think for me, one of those stranger nominations, I was surprised that F1 got nominated for best Picture. And, yeah, I feel like it kind of beat out Weapons for best picture nominee so that I just. I feel like I have not heard anyone say anything about F1. It's like an Apple TV movie. I just think that's sort of strange.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah, well, I mean, they always. But they always have. I feel like when it comes to these, you know, best picture categories, I feel like they're trying to cover a spread. Right. I mean, obviously you've got like, how many? Eight, 10, 10 nominees, right? Wait, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10? Yeah, you have like 10 nominees. And I feel like you gotta throw it around a little bit. You know, do the more experimental stuff. Do like, you know, maybe the genre things, but then also do like your standard boomer guy sports or sports adjacent movie, Jerry Bruckheimer thing, right?

[Bethenny Frankel]

Yeah.

[Millie Decherico]

Like, yeah, I did not hear about F1 very much either. And gotta tell you, and just like Avatar, I'm not interested in F1 from a world perspective.

[Casey O'Brien]

Here's my problem with F1. It's two and a half hours long.

[Millie Decherico]

I mean, every movie.

[Casey O'Brien]

Every movie is every insane away.

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[Casey O'Brien]

Were there any trends this year you noticed with the nominees, the types of movies that were nominated this year?

[Millie Decherico]

Well, I mean I think obviously the one movie, and I feel like this is the movie to beat is one battle after another which is extremely timely and topical. And I feel like, you know, to me that is probably gonna win something and I think that's a trend is we're probably gonna see more. I mean Sinners obviously has its own politics. You know, I don't know. What do you think?

[Casey O'Brien]

Well, I think I sort of my theory of how it's going to go. This year is one battle after another is going to win everything. Like, I feel like it's going to win Best Picture, Best Director. I think Leonardo DiCaprio is going to win Best Actor, I think, you know, I do think Sean Penn will probably win as well, but Benicio. But I just feel like there was a lot. There's a lot of heat for Sean Penn in Best Supporting Actor. So I feel like one battle after another is going to win big in that way because I don't feel like Paul Thomas Anderson, has he ever won an Academy Award? So I think. I think the Academy really wants to give it to him, you know.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah. I mean, he's been nominated a lot, but he never wins. I mean, it's like, you know, he's never won, so he was nominated for Best Director for There Will Be Blood, for Phantom Thread, for Licorice Pizza. That's interesting. But he never wins. And that's the thing is that I feel like he's probably due, Right.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Millie Decherico]

And he made his big movie with Warner Brothers, so that's.

[Casey O'Brien]

I mean, he couldn't have made a more timely movie. I mean, the Oscars is gonna come, like, Is gonna play when we're, like, under military occupation by ice. And it's like that hap. That's, like, happening in the movie. It's, like, crazy how timely it is.

[Millie Decherico]

Right. And that's. That's why I feel like it becomes the movie to be. Because it's like, you really can't get more. I mean, if you want to make the argument about Crash, which is not the David Cronenberg Crash, but the other Crash and Green Book and all these other movies that have come along during the Oscars that felt very, like, topical and part of the conversation. Conversation about something current or whatever. This is it. That's. This is the movie. And it ends up being a good movie.

[Casey O'Brien]

A good movie. Right.

[Millie Decherico]

So it's like, you know, we got that going for it.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. I. I feel like. I think we mentioned this in an early episode, or you did that. I could see Sinners losing big just because it feels like one battle is gonna do some damage, you know?

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah. And I feel like there's been. I mean, like, to me, I loved Sinners. I thought it was so fun when I saw it.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yes. Loved it.

[Millie Decherico]

I. I was surprised, I think, that I had gotten nominated so much because it feels like, again, the Academy doesn't really support genre pictures unless they're very artsy, you know, unless it is like, you Know like a sort of Guillermo del Toro or Robert Eggersy type of feeling. Even though Robert Eggers doesn't really win at these things either. I mean, it's like, it's weird. It's almost kind of like they say, okay, well you could make like a vampire movie, but it has to be like historical and serious and not a fun romp with a lot of like cunnilingus jokes. And so that's, I think, why I was shocked that Sinners had gotten nominated as much. And I think it's not again, nothing to do with Ryan Coogler, nothing to do with anybody involved with the movie. It's really just the snobbery of, you know.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah, I think that. And I'm not, I am not comparing these movies quality wise or like topical wise, but I think it's a little bit similar to the Barbie movie.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

In that it was a huge theater going experience because I feel like Sinners was like the movie to see in theaters this year. It was like the cinematic movie that like lots of people were excited about. And I feel like Barbie was similar and Barbie got nominated for a bunch of stuff and I don't think it won anything.

[Millie Decherico]

Right.

[Casey O'Brien]

You know, so I just feel like, and I. That's kind of a genre E movie too. So I feel like it could have sort of a similar trajectory as Barbie.

[Millie Decherico]

Well, and like, let's talk about Weapons then, because Weapons is the other movie that I'm kind of like, why was this nominated and it was nominated for. Amy Madigan was nominated for actress in a supporting role. Now part of me believes that you just again, in the interest of covering a spread, you had to have an older actress in there. Right. And she was great and she was scary as shit. But you know, if you look at everybody else that was nominated, Elle Fanning, you know, Teyana Taylor, etc, these are all like younger people and maybe they needed somebody in there that was a little bit older and more established and kind of like a, you know, like a Oscar Y type of actress to nominate. I feel like that's why Weapons was even in the conversation because that's another movie that again, like Sinners was like, it's a very heavy genre movie. I'm surprised it got nominated because of that.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. But I. People really loved that movie and I do think that recently, you know, we were talking about genre movies getting nominated. That's a very recent trend. So I guess I thought it's just been happening more. I guess I thought it would get nominated for more than just Supporting actress. But like, historically it would. It's weird that this got nominated.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah, that's what I mean. Because I don't think. Listen, I mean, I think that there is. There is sort of now feels a little bit like the Oscars are responding to box office trends. Let's get serious. A lot of times they don't give a shit about that. In the past, they've never cared about a movie being super duper popular. Otherwise we would have a completely different history of films that have been nominated. You know, if you look at historically who the Oscars have nominated, it's always the artsier films and the smaller films. So it's kind of that thing where I'm like, okay, well, maybe they're bridging the gap a little bit. Obviously they have opened up the, the pool of people who are now Oscar voters. And so. Yeah, maybe that's part of it. Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. I, I think for the supporting actress category, I think either Tiana Taylor or Amy. Amy Madigan of Weapons will win. I mean, Gladys from Weapons was like such a huge. It was so on people's minds and she was so celebrated for that role. I feel like she could win. But Teyana Taylor is so great and if there's just a lot of heat for one battle after another, I could see her winning that.

[Millie Decherico]

Well. And like, get. If you want to get serious, the actresses in a leading role, aren't they all white?

[Casey O'Brien]

Yes, yes, there you go. So very interesting. Yeah. Though actresses in a leading role, I'm like, less invested this year than I have been in a long time, I would say. And it's interesting that Reinat Reinseva was for Sentimental Value was nominated for. In a leading role because her character, she is, I guess, the lead actress in the movie, but she kind of disappears for a huge chunk of that movie too. So it's kind of interesting. And conversely, still in. Skarsgrd was nominated for actor in a supporting role. I would argue he's the lead person in Sentimental Value. It's just interesting. I'd like. These categories are all fucked up.

[Millie Decherico]

They're also fucking crazy. Oh, no.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Millie Decherico]

I mean, again, I think that, like, in the interest of covering a spread and not having it be so one sided, they're gonna have to, you know, spread this around a little bit. And, you know, I mean, they don't have to. There's certainly been years where they didn't give a shit about anything. And they're like, we're just gonna give it all to whoever Meryl Streep Yeah, but, but I don't know. It feels like maybe the inclusion of the genre films or the more genre leaning films is primarily to just modernize themselves in a way.

[Casey O'Brien]

I think one trend I've noticed with a lot of the best picture movies too. Children in peril.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah, sure, sure.

[Casey O'Brien]

Which makes this difficult for me to watch these movies.

[Millie Decherico]

Do you think Marty supreme would, would be part of that? How old is Marty supreme?

[Casey O'Brien]

Marty, our 12 year old lead, he's a child who's in peril of. I don't know.

[Millie Decherico]

Did I not. Did you not think that when you want. Okay, two things about Marty Supreme. Number one, I, I thought that Marty supreme was young. Like what? And I don't know if it's because Timothy reads so young.

[Casey O'Brien]

He looked younger having a mustache than he does without a mustache. Yeah, he looks like the little baby in Adam's family values who has the little mustache on it.

[Millie Decherico]

To me he kind of looked like a little kid running around in like something like the. A Bronx Tale. It's like I go to high school with what's his name, the. The kid from A Bronx Tale. But it's like, yeah, you know, he

[Casey O'Brien]

looks like he's in our gang with a drawn on mustache.

[Millie Decherico]

I mean that's like put his pants at his real waist and then put a white undershirt. It's like, come on. He looks like he's 15 at best. And also something that does not sit right with me about Mari supreme and is what I feel shouldn't, should have been. This is why it should have been snubbed is that they don't tell you what happens with that damn dog. And I cannot abide by that in 2026. You cannot leave a dog death open ended like that.

[Casey O'Brien]

You know the Safdies have a bad dog record.

[Millie Decherico]

Yep.

[Casey O'Brien]

I don't know.

[Millie Decherico]

Tell it, tell it. Let's go. Because that's the thing is that not, not on, not in this economy. People care way too much about their pets. You can't be doing this all willy nilly anymore. And I feel like that dog in Marty supreme was left completely out like running through the street. We don't know if that dog ever makes it back to Abel Ferrara. I don't like the idea that it was in peril and it's just like it never had a resolution. Did it get adopted? Did it die on the streets? I don't like it. And I feel like the savd's have a responsibility to shore up that storyline and they didn't take it and I see. Protests. Protests.

[Casey O'Brien]

I, I know one problem that my mom had with the movie. Former guest of the show, former blesser of our podcast, she didn't. She's a big Gwyneth fan, and she was like, gwyneth would never have gotten with this twerp.

[Millie Decherico]

I okay, this is. Again, your mom and I and I align on what we believe is unrealistic Men in films.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yes, that's right. I forgot. Her area of expertise was men who are too old. Wasn't it something like that? Men who are too old to be getting with these young women.

[Millie Decherico]

Yes. Your mom and I, this is why she and I are starting Chicks Picks the podcast. But I so agree with this, and I mentioned this in the episode that we talked about, Marty Supreme. I don't know when that was. It was a while back. But, like, there's no way he's banging her out in the hotel in the shower or whatever. I was like, you know, it's just not possible. I, I, he looks like he's 15. She looks like she's my age, obviously. And the idea that he's, like, wooing her is unrealistic to me, even in the context of, say, somebody that's like, you know, let's present a, A cougar or a what?

[Casey O'Brien]

A cougar.

[Millie Decherico]

What did you, what would you call it? A milf. Yeah, but like, the, the, Remember, I was horrified. Tadpole. The tadpole scenario.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Millie Decherico]

I don't like it. And so she, and I. I'm glad to hear her say that because I didn't believe it either. Gross.

[Casey O'Brien]

Are there any movies you're rooting for? Like, you're like. Because I remember when Parasite one, I was in a room of people and we went, yes. And that was fun. Is there any that would have you cheer if they won?

[Millie Decherico]

Well, okay, let's see. Who do I like? Who do I like in here? I mean, I definitely. Listen. I loved One battle after another. Not going to lie.

[Casey O'Brien]

Listen, I'm not a huge Sean Penn fan as a person, but did you see the stuff about him smoking? How he was smoking during interview? And he's like, I've decided I'm gonna smoke the rest of my life.

[Millie Decherico]

God, it's like, that's what David lynch did. He's just like it, Like, I'm just gonna.

[Casey O'Brien]

And he was like, he was like, you know what? If I don't smoke, I get stressed out. And stress will kill you faster than cigarettes. And the person's like, do you think that's true? And he's Like, I hope so.

[Millie Decherico]

Listen, I. I think that this. I'm not joking, Casey. I have had a thought like that recently in the past. I don't know, say, November20, 24 hours. Yeah, yeah. No, but like, you know, ever since we had an election and re. Rehired the same dumbass. Yes, I have. I think me and a lot of people who used to smoke are now like, should we go back to this? Because anytime I'm on TikTok, I see. I see pro cigarette propaganda all over the place. Nobody's really saying anything about it. I mean, people will be like, don't smoke. It's bad for you. And I do believe that. Don't smoke. It's bad for you. But also, people are like, yo, the world sucks so bad.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Millie Decherico]

Might as well. Like, no one's caring. No one's caring. And I feel like I've had that moment too, the Sean Penn moment. Ron's like, all right, let me sit myself down here and be like, am I just gonna start this again and just keep going?

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. It's one of those things where you kind of do the calculations. You're like, how much longer am I gonna live? Yeah. And if I start smoking right now, how much is gonna get cut short of that amount? And is 30 years of smoking bliss better than 45 years left of non smoking hell? You gotta weigh those options, you know?

[Millie Decherico]

Well, and like, this is what happens anytime I decide to dip back in. When I'm, like, tipsy at a bar, or if I'm on vacation or something like that, or I'm out with people and I just get the wild hair to do it. You have the incredible cigarette where you're basically like, oh, my God, I love smoking. But then if you keep going, like, say you just were like, I'm gonna buy a pack and just smoke them this week. They're never. They're never as good. You know, the. Then you're just like, back on the train. And I feel like that isn't as fun as the rando cigarette. Do you know what I mean?

[Casey O'Brien]

Oh, 100%. I feel like there's so many cigarettes in a pack. You're like, I actually feel worse, and I feel like shit.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

You know, there's like. I would say, honestly, the majority of them are like that. Even if you're smoking a lot, you know?

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah. I feel like that's the problem, though, is that cigarettes are so addictive that you can't just have the one or three or five incredible cigarettes. They make your. They make you believe that you need all of them, even the ones that aren't as fun and aren't as good. The ones that you're like, I'm depressed and I'm on a curb outside of a floor and decor because I'm addicted.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. Joan Didion. Did I mention this on the podcast already? She was like. Joan Didion was like, I will smoke for the rest of my life, but I'll only smoke five cigarettes a day, no more and no less. No, you have to smoke five a day.

[Millie Decherico]

No less, no less.

[Casey O'Brien]

She's like. She's like, five cigarettes a day won't kill you. And I'm like, I don't know if that's actually true, but that's what her. That was her thinking. Anyways. We have gone. We've gone off the rails here.

[Millie Decherico]

That's the opposite.

[Casey O'Brien]

Rooting for one battle after another. I am, too.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah. I'm rooting for one battle. I. Listen, I'm. I love Ryan Coogler. It would be nice to have a little bit of that peppered in there.

[Casey O'Brien]

Give him a. Give him a screenplay.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

Academy Award. I feel like the screenplay award is the award that. The Academy Awards are like, okay, you're not gonna win any of the big stuff, but we like what you did. Here you go. You know, it's kind of. It's like the new. It's like the New Talent Award.

[Millie Decherico]

Sometimes if I. If I have. If I have to make the Sophie's Choice between Benicio and Sean and the actor in a supporting. I gotta go. Benio, Come on. Yeah, got to.

[Casey O'Brien]

Sean is very good in that, though.

[Millie Decherico]

I mean, he is devastatingly accurate. Like.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Millie Decherico]

Where I'm like, he played the dude that was in Minnesota.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. Bovino. I was thinking of Sean Pence character. The whole time. I'm like, this is that idiot.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah, no, absolutely. 100%. I definitely think that sentimental vet. I like. I like Joaquim Trier. Obviously, if something happened, good. Happened for him. Yeah, great.

[Casey O'Brien]

I love what he's doing.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah. I'm also. I mean, listen, I gotta root for that K Pop Demon Hunter. Sorry, just got to.

[Casey O'Brien]

Hell, yeah.

[Millie Decherico]

Put K Pop on the Oscar stage.

[Casey O'Brien]

Are they performing?

[Millie Decherico]

I don't know, but they're up for Best Animated, which. It feels like they could easily win that. But.

[Casey O'Brien]

Absolutely. I was at a Super bowl party and they played K Pop Demon Hunter music during Olympic promos. And there were a lot of kids. There were a lot of kids at this party, and every time one of those promos came on, they'd be like. And start screaming and dancing the songs. I mean, it's powerful.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

It's crazy.

[Millie Decherico]

I mean, I only like. Like, if I want to get real with myself. I only really like one or two of the songs. I love Soda Pop by Sasha Boys. I love that song. And I also love the love song, the Ruby and Ginu love song Free where they're on the rooftop and it's like, we can't fix it if we never face it. That's a beautiful song.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. I kind of. I kind of hope the documentary Come See Me in the Good Light wins. I have not seen this movie, but it is produced by Tignatar.

[Paul Rust]

Oh, yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

It'll be fun to see her up there.

[Millie Decherico]

Although the Alabama Solution, very powerful stuff.

[Casey O'Brien]

Okay.

[Millie Decherico]

But I don't know. I mean, I'm trying to see. I mean, like, again, like, I. I got faves. Sure. Oh, let's talk about this, because I. I feel like we had a really obvious snub this year.

[Casey O'Brien]

Well, kind of shocking to me.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah. So I don't know if you heard about this. Well, basically, no Other Choice, the Park Chan Wook movie that we discussed a couple episodes ago was not nominated for an Oscar, not even for the Best International Picture.

[Casey O'Brien]

Surprising.

[Millie Decherico]

And this movie, I feel like, has just. Just the right amount of social commentary. And quite honestly, like, Lee Byung Hun, who's the star of no Other Choice, is pretty famous in America. I mean, he was. Yeah, everybody knows Squid Game. Everybody knows him as he Ma and K Pop demon hunter. So it's kind of that thing where I'm like. That felt like an obvious snub. Now, I've heard that there's a reason why. Tell us, which is that Park Chan Wook is banned. He's banned from the writers.

[Casey O'Brien]

The wga.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah. For working during the strike, Right.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. And it was a bit of a gray area, I believe, in that he was working during the strike, which he was allowed to, like, edit, I believe. But he changed storylines through editing or something like that. It constituted like a script change. And so he got booted from the wga.

[Millie Decherico]

Now I get it. I don't like scabs. You know what I mean? Don't want to cross the picket line, obviously. But it's interesting that I don't know if you saw the most recent article that came out about how Neon, the production company that put out no Other Choice, put a humongous billboard in Hollywood that was essentially a still from the film, and it said, f your consideration, a snub above the rest.

[Casey O'Brien]

Wow.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah, that's good, right?

[Casey O'Brien]

Clever.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah. But then it's like you find out why and you're like, okay, yeah, I get it. But also. Yeah, yeah, there's a little.

[Casey O'Brien]

He. He contends that he did. The. The scripts were all done before the strike, but he's just not fighting it. So.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah, I don't know.

[Casey O'Brien]

Well, still a snub, nonetheless.

[Millie Decherico]

It was a snob. And Neon obviously made it known. That was a snub. But, yeah, that to me, I mean, honestly, that could have been the new. I think that if he had. If he didn't have that controversy surrounding him, I think it could have been nominated a lot more. Not outside of international film.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Millie Decherico]

You know.

[Casey O'Brien]

Well, was there anything else you wanted to cover for with the Oscars, Millie?

[Millie Decherico]

Well, what do you think is going to happen this year? You think that people are going to be, you know, sounding off on the.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah, I think they will. And I think they should speak out about Ice and Trump and stuff. But it's also like, these are like the biggest libs in the world. And so if they say something at the Oscars, it's almost like me saying something in my living room. I feel like it's just kind of like, what is that? I think people. I want people to speak up because they have a platform to do so. I really do think it does work. Good. But it just. I feel like it can fall on deaf ears a little bit, so. But I think I. I hope people go off in a big way.

[Millie Decherico]

Preaching to the converted type of thing. Yeah, yeah, I agree.

[Casey O'Brien]

I mean, especially if, like, Paul Thomas Anderson wins and he's like, my movie's about this. Like it's happening, you know?

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah, I agree. Yeah, it would be nice to have that. But, yeah, you just know somebody's gonna say something.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah, I hope it's someone, you know. Cause if it's like, rot, you know, I don't know why he would be making any sort of speech. But if it's an actor that. That gets up there and it's like Robert De Niro, it's like, everyone knows he's, like, super. He's gonna. He speaks out on stuff all the time. It doesn't mean as much. I hope there's someone, like, you're not expecting to say something. Does.

[Millie Decherico]

Yes.

[Casey O'Brien]

You know.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah. I really hope that, you know, Kate Hudson gets on stage and is like, Pam Bondi, meet me outside, bitch. Yeah, catch these hands, bitch.

[Casey O'Brien]

Bitch. Well, I'm excited to watch, and I'm going to Eat some nacho cheese. Probably eat some chicken wings while I watch. It'll be a great time.

[Millie Decherico]

That seems very appropriate. Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

All right, let's move on to our chat with my new friend, Paul Rust. All right, everybody, we're back with another installment of my area of expertise. And we have comedian co host of with Gourlian Rust. Paul Rust is joining us today. Hi, Paul.

[Paul Rust]

Hi, Casey. Thanks for having me.

[Casey O'Brien]

Oh, we, we are. You're. You have blessed our podcast. We're so thrilled to have you Now, Paul. You know, our show is all about kind of like movie fandom and being a fan of film and how it kind of, like, is a part of our lives. And, you know, I, I know you've talked about this on other podcasts, but, like, can you kind of talk about, like, where your film fandom started? Do you remember, is there an inciting movie that kind of set you on the course towards being a film fan?

[Paul Rust]

Oh, of course. Yeah. No, I mean, I am a movie lover and yeah. Grew up in Iowa. So my source of like, watching stuff in my. When I was growing up was like, you know, video rentals and cable was kind of like, along with the theatrical exhibition experience as well.

[Casey O'Brien]

Where was the closest theater to you because you're from Lamar's? I, Iowa.

[Paul Rust]

Is that correct? Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

Okay. Where was the. How far away was the closest theater?

[Paul Rust]

Well, we had a pretty awesome theater just downtown on the main street that was like walkable. But then, you know, Sioux City was about a 30 minute drive and they had the multiplex. That was like the scene. You know, it's funny, when I was growing up, you'd hear like, legendary filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg who were like, their hearts were breaking, that it's like, oh, they're all multiplexes or movie fans. They're like, it's multiplexes. They used to be these grand theaters, and now you're in a place with 18 screens and paper thin walls. But it was so funny because I was experiencing that at the time and being like, no, it rules. 18 movies played in one place. This is awesome.

[Casey O'Brien]

I know. I mean, it's like how lucky we had it back then where it's like our biggest complaints was that we had multi. We had like, too many movie theaters in one location. That's really funny.

[Paul Rust]

Yes. And too many movies to play every weekend.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yes.

[Paul Rust]

Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

Oh, my God. So, yeah, like what? So you kind of started with like, video rentals and cable television. Is there like a move, like your earliest kind of like film obsession?

[Paul Rust]

Yeah, Well, I remember I have two older sisters, four years older than me and seven years older than me. And, and one night at dinner my parents said hey, after dinner we were eating at the house. They were like we're going to all get in the car and go out and we're like where are we going? They're like we're going to take you out in the middle of nowhere and leave you in a ditch. I was like whoa. We sort of did fun little pranks like that I guess.

[Casey O'Brien]

Sure, sure, sure.

[Paul Rust]

And I'm looking over at my sister's to see if like this is real. Cause you know they're older than me. They might be. And even then I'm not able to like discern, you know, I would have been probably like five maybe. So then we hop in the car and we start going out into the middle of nowhere and I'm seeing a lot of ditches.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Paul Rust]

And then we take a hard right and we go into a drive in movie theater that's playing Gremlins.

[Casey O'Brien]

Oh my goodness. Did they really say that to you as like a five year old child? That's really.

[Paul Rust]

There's some sort of like I noticed and you mentioned you live in Minnesota. I noticed there's a stretch in Iowa and Missouri of this like sort of form of humor that's like straight faced insanity. Like it said so dryly.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Paul Rust]

You're like, you're like this can't be real.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh my God.

[Paul Rust]

And then the joke's on you if you go like for real, like no, of course that we're gonna leave you in a ditch.

[Casey O'Brien]

You know, I remember I, I was visiting because I, I only kind of recently moved back to Minneapolis. I lived in LA for 17 years. But the. We were at some sort of like picnic and this high school friend of mine was meeting my daughter for the first time who was like a baby. And he turned to us and he was like that's weird, your baby looks a lot like the milkman. And I was like ahahaha. Yes. You're saying the milkman fathered my. But it was like so straight faced and like I was like are we having fun? This is like not fun humor we're having. So I know that kind of like straigh faced insanity that you're talking about. So the area of expertise that you brought to us, you said John Hughes movies. When did that sort of become a part of your life? What was the first John Hughes movie you saw?

[Paul Rust]

Ooh, that's a good question. I think it was probably either Sixteen Candles or Ferris Bueller. But I had, yeah, like, as I mentioned, two older sisters. And so they were renting John Hughes movies. You know, maybe if I had two older brothers, it would have been like Commando and Bloodsport. But I love them. I mean, they were so funny. And you know what? My experience of my first touch with a John Hughes movie was at that theater downtown on the main street. It was two screens. And I went to Karate Kid Part two, and that's my first memory of sitting in a theater, looking at a screen, realizing there's images coming at me. And then we stepped out into the lobby, and it was crowded. We couldn't get through. So they said, you're gonna have to go through the exit doors in the back of the theater. And they spit us out into this back alley. And the other movie that was played was Ferris Bueller's Day off. And it was such a hot ticket.

[Casey O'Brien]

Wow. Yeah. Oh, my God. And so what. What about, like, John, you know, how did it become your area of expertise? How did you. Was there a time where you kind of, like, were like, oh, my God, the same guy is making all these movies that I love. Do you remember kind of making that connection? Or like, how did that kind of come about?

[Paul Rust]

You know what? I remember seeing his logo at the end of, like, Plane, Streets and Automobiles. That was like, a star, and it said Hughes underneath. And then once you see that, you're sort of like, the name Hughes has been emblazoned in my mind. But I remember, yeah, I mean, seeing those. And I think the first time that I remember really hooking into, like, what he was was probably. You know, I'd seen a few of his movies, but we rented Uncle Buck, and there's a scene where Uncle Buck is going to talk to the principal, and he's seated next to a second grader boy, and he's supposed to go to the office next. And Uncle Buck, it's like a funny moment where he's like, do you want me to go in first? You need some time to do something. And I remember seeing that and thinking, okay. Some kids who aren't bad kids end up in a situation where they're at a principal's office, they have to go see the principal. That's not usually what I see. I usually see the kids who are raising hell. Of course they'd go to the principal's office. So I was like, I didn't have the word empathy, but I was like, there's empathy there for whatever that kid is in and then seeing a grownup in the scene say, do you need some more time? I was like, there's empathy. Whatever word I could not have, but it was like empathy and then making the final step of being like. And somebody who wrote this had to have been a grown up.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah, yeah.

[Paul Rust]

And I like that idea that a grown up is saying all of this is okay, which is, you know, it's like, it is John Hughes movies. It's just.

[Casey O'Brien]

No, but I think that's sort of his like, superpower, especially with like, the more teen movies, is that there is this like grown man who empathizes with how difficult it is to be a kid. And like, you know, even like the Home Alone movies, it's like, it's hard being a little kid. It's hard being a teenager. And I don't think that you really saw that in a lot of movies before his movies.

[Paul Rust]

Yeah, I mean, and when you experience them as a kid watching Home Alone or as a teen watching the Breakfast Club, it sort of washes over you in a way that's sort of like, well, of course, these are the feelings I have. This is all self evident. And then when you rewatch him as you get older, you're sort of knocked out by like, oh, no, he was older. And Abe, I can't retain these experiences as well as whatever he's doing. I mean, there's that line in Home Alone where he says something like, hey, you gotta be careful about rumors that get out of school. There was a kid who wore dinosaur pajamas and he never could live it down. And when I heard that in third grade or whatever, I saw it, I was like, oh, that's hilarious. Yeah, dinosaur pajamas are lame. And you could get like. But then, yeah, the thought of like a guy who was like, had kids and probably was just like, oh, I listen to my kids conversations and dinosaur pajamas are lame.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember watching Breakfast Club in high school and because like, I feel like when I was in high school, I was like, oh, there are the jocks and there are the nerds and there is a division between them and you can never. There is no nuance to that whatsoever. And I remember watching Breakfast Club and being like, wow, maybe the jocks have like interpersonal lives that I'm not aware of, you know? And so it was sort of. It's sort of funny looking back on that being like, as a teenager I was being taught about other teenagers by a grown man. Like, it's sort of funny.

[Paul Rust]

Hi, Millie. I thought you were gonna. Were you Gonna say something? I felt like I might have interrupted you.

[Millie Decherico]

No, I'm trying. I'm like. I'm trying to, like, pace myself because I have so much to say about that, specifically with John Hughes movies. I grew up watching them, too, and I. It informed, like, his movies informed, like, all of my thoughts about what it would be like to be a teenager. Cause I was like, I think we're probably. Paul, you and I are probably around the same. I remember being, like, elementary, going into middle school age during the John Hughes era of the, you know, mid. Mostly the mid to, like, late 80s stuff.

[Paul Rust]

Yeah.

[Millie Decherico]

And I would see kids in. On the bus or in my neighborhood that looked like, you know, Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall. And I just worshiped them because I had watched all these John Hughes movies and. And was like, they're the coolest people because they like music and they dress cool and everything. And I totally think that my vision of what I thought it was gonna be like to be in high school was informed by this notion that Casey just said was, there's jocks and there's nerds. And it's like, you don't really fuck with the jocks because they're rich. And that was. I think, the cornerstone of John Hughes movies is. Is class. Right? Is that, like, there's gonna be the, like, James Spaders, and they're gonna hang out on, you know, this side of the school and go to this mall, and they're gonna drive all these fancy cars and have, like, pop collars and shit.

[Casey O'Brien]

They're gonna ductate people's butts together. Right? You know, so.

[Millie Decherico]

And then there's gonna be me who are gonna be hanging out with, like, Watts and Ducky and, you know, and, like, you know, Molly Ringwald in Pretty in Pink. Think, like, just the. The punk poor kids, right?

[Paul Rust]

Yeah.

[Millie Decherico]

And then when I went to high school, I think I started high school in, like, the early 90s. Like, I think I was, like, a freshman in, like, 92 or something. And all of that shit collapsed by the time I got to high school. So, like, rich kids liked alternative music, like, rich kids liked Nirvana. And I was like, this is a betrayal of everything that I was taught about, you know, through John Hughes movies was that I just was, like, so thinking that we were gonna have our little cyber. We were gonna, like, smoke cigarettes behind the wall. And then it's like, now all of a sudden, the jocks are behind the wall, and I'm like, this is fucked up. Like, what happened? So I always say, though, that The John Hughes universe was the thing that informed me the most out of any other influence that I'd ever had.

[Paul Rust]

I agree. As a kid. And it's a universe. It's, you know, Shermer, Illinois. It is a place he created. That's cool, though, Millie. Yeah.

[Millie Decherico]

Well, what was, like. What was your experience, I guess, as a kid? Like, like, watching these films and then becoming that age at some point, like, being in the world, was it like, you saw yourself through these characters, or was it kind of like, well, that was then and this is now? Like, what. How did you, like, grow into, like, a young adult, knowing that you had had this life? John Hussian Foundation.

[Paul Rust]

Yeah, because I would have seen all of his teenage movies by the time I was entering high school. And when I was in high school was when, like, he was doing the 101 Dalmatians movie. So by that point, yeah, it had fallen definitely, like, the we were speaking to, like, with the class aspect was something that probably was how I was viewing those movies. And then when I got to school, yeah, there was not many ways to marginalize in my very small town, it was like 6,000, 7,000 people. My class size was 43. And so if there was gonna be any marginalization that was going on, it was class. That was the thing people could most delineate, see the differences. So that experience rang true. It is funny, though, that, yeah, once we entered high school, when the Clinton era, when grunge came in, it was like the final nail to the John Hughes universe. It's like everybody's dressing like John Nelson from Breakfast Club. What does it even matter now? Yes.

[Millie Decherico]

It's so crazy how that turned out, in a way. And I. But it does. I do. Like, I swear, I know that, you know, every couple years, there's like, some kind of critical reappraisal of the John Hughes movies, you know, with, like, younger people and stuff. But I. I mean, I still. I can't not watch these films if they're on television. Like, every time, you know, I see Breakfast Club or Sixteen Candles especially. I mean, that movie played on TV so much, even in the era that it was, you know, after it had gone to cable. But also, like, all throughout college, all throughout my 20s and 30s and 40s, like, I just have seen Sixteen Candles edited on some, you know, AMC on something. And I. I watch it. I watch it all the time, and I try, just can't. I, like, want to be in that world. It feels cozy. It feels. It feels known. It feels like, you know, all of the background characters are so funny. Like, I love the little brothers and sisters in John Hughes movies cuz they're so sassy and funny. Like the little brother in Sixteen Candles is a fucking comic genius.

[Paul Rust]

Yeah. What a little run.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah, Eddie, like I just imagine him listening to heavy metal in his room and just being like a little shit with his Cubs Chicago Cub shirt on. I just love that. And so, I don't know, it's like as much as people are like, oh, you know, like there's issues and I get it, like movies are, are gonna change over the course of history, but it's like I can't. I. I sit in the world and I'm just like this. I'm a fucking little kid again, watching these movies that are appealing to me and are talking about people my age, you know, and I just.

[Paul Rust]

Yes, Exactly. I agree 100%.

[Casey O'Brien]

Paul, do you feel like John Hughes has like, impacted your own work? Like when you're writing something, do you feel like you've put things from his movies into the stuff you've made?

[Paul Rust]

Hmm, let me think. I know that like the thing I probably most admire about his movies that he's able to like in his writing that he's able to pull off and whether that is something I, I mean, I do aim for. But then, you know, not as great as John Hughes, but the idea of every one of his, like, things that he writes is like, the story is simple.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Paul Rust]

The premise is very simple. And then what makes it rich is the characters. And you know what Millie was saying too, of like, even the characters who aren't the main stars, they're all dimensional. And so a kind of like, I mean, it's the same thing that like Robert Altman before him and Judd Apatow after him, sort of like the stories are simple and then the ensemble of characters are the thing that, you know, make you invested in watching it.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah, no, I mean, I totally see that in love. I mean, I feel like you created like such a world with that show. I loved all the little like characters like your buddies helping you to like make your movie or who are in your like movie song group. You know, it's like everybody felt very fully rounded in that show. I think you did a great job of like kind of creating this very rich universe of characters.

[Paul Rust]

Oh, that's cool. Yeah. And I co created it. Thank you. I co created it with my wife Leslie Arfen as well. And when we were talking about high school and sort of how the differences between jock and nerd started Sort of falling by the wayside. Leslie has a book that she wrote called Dear Diary, and she has a really funny part of the book that's talking about how the one thing that can bond all students, all cliques across every school is that everybody likes weed.

[Millie Decherico]

So true.

[Paul Rust]

And maybe post. Just say no, post Reagan is maybe when there was more of a. That's when the cliques could start crossing over. There was crossover Everywhere in the 90s, including clique. Yeah.

[Millie Decherico]

Oh, it's so true. By the way, I'm hu. I love Leslie. I've been reading her forever.

[Paul Rust]

Yeah.

[Millie Decherico]

And that's the best. And that's such a astute observation, because I distinctly remember being in high school and, like, when you were a weed smoker, like, the people that you hang out with are so. It is, like, the craziest group of people. It's like the super preppy dude who, like.

[Paul Rust]

That's funny.

[Millie Decherico]

You know, it's like, wearing, like. Like, khaki. Pleated khaki pants. And then there's, like, the guy that loves, like, Snoop Dogg, and then there's the guy, you know, like. And you're in. And then there's, like, weird, artsy people. It's just this, like.

[Paul Rust]

It's like I'm realizing It's the last 20 minutes of the Breakfast Club.

[Casey O'Brien]

It's truly.

[Millie Decherico]

That's so true.

[Casey O'Brien]

I love that.

[Millie Decherico]

That's so funny.

[Casey O'Brien]

Oh, my God, Paul, you know, you've written a lot, you know, and you've written some movies. And John Hughes started as a writer and then kind of moved into directing. And, like, in Love, you do play a guy who, like, wants to make. Was it, like, an erotic thriller in that show?

[Paul Rust]

Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

Is there any part of you that, like, wants to move into, like, feature directing?

[Paul Rust]

Oh, yeah. I'd never be opposed to it. The experience of getting to work with actors, I think would be really fun. You know, there was sometimes, like, on the set of Love, where you just. You're in a scene and you're trying to. And I would never. It would never be unprompted or unasked for, but an actor in the scene might ask, like, hey, how would this be played? And if I gave a thought, I did feel like, oh, I have a knack for that. So the idea of working with actors is the thing that would be exciting about it, I think. But let me think of the. Oh, you asking that about John Hughes, though, it's interesting because he started as, like, a ad man, like the character Neil Page in Planes, Trains and Automobiles. He was this Chicago ad guy and then he moved into as a writer on National Lampoon and then movies. And it's. I won't say it cynically, but there is some sort of, like, ad man understanding an audience as shifting demographics that I think, like, is his movies. Like, it's so funny. He knew that there was this big pool of teenagers in the 80s needing a place to go see a movie on the weekend and rent something during the week or at a sleepover. So he's like, pumping out whatever. Gen X, I guess, would have been that. But then when this other deep pool, this huge demographic of the millennials comes around. Oh, look at this. Home Alone is featuring a nine year old.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Paul Rust]

I think whether he was conscious or not, there was some understanding of, like, an audience and how to write. So when he's moving, obviously, was he moving from admin to writer to director? It does feel like it's all kind of like part of one career of. Yeah, how do I get. How do I use warmth or whatever. Wit to appeal to people?

[Casey O'Brien]

You know, I think he also, like, the other group that I feel like he, like, really was like, this is an untapped resource. Is like, like sad dads or like, emotional dads. Because it's like, we have like, Clark Griswold and there's like, movies like the great outdoors and Mr.

[Paul Rust]

Mom.

[Casey O'Brien]

Mr. Mom, Uncle Buck. And like, yeah, what's the other one I miss? Like, she's having a baby. Like, there's just a lot of, like, dads who are like, you know, dads have feelings too. And it's like, I feel like there's like, that's like another group that he, like, went after successfully.

[Paul Rust]

That's true. I was thinking about that when I was looking at all these titles and seeing how many are centered around dads. And I was thinking, oh, the thing that saves them or not saves them, whatever is there's moments where the dad isn't around and each character gets a scene that's not about dad. I was thinking it kind of passes the kid's version of a Bechdel test of, like, can a scene with two kids talk about something that isn't the parent that the movie's about? Just, like, talking about? And like, even Vacation has those great moments where it's not about and Mr. Mom, Uncle Buck. All the kids get, like, sort of moments to be their own characters. So it keeps it from going down fully the dad path. Yeah, there's some dimension to other people. But I was also thinking Just looking at his filmography, too, that they're both. Both bookended. He only, you know, it's crazy. He only directed eight movies in seven years.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. Isn't that crazy that it was in such a truncated amount of time?

[Paul Rust]

Yeah. I think he's an interesting filmmaker to, you know, to discuss and think about and write about just for that reason, like somebody pumping out eight movies in seven years, and most of them are still, you know, movies that people watch.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Paul Rust]

But out of those eight movies, he only made two where the central character is a woman, and they're the first and last movies. It's like Sixteen Candles and Curly Sue. They're like, bookended by, like. They're like the. All the agency in the movie comes from them.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah.

[Paul Rust]

I think Molly Ringwald should have played Curly sue, is what I'm saying.

[Casey O'Brien]

Do some dad that's a young girl.

[Paul Rust]

Yes.

[Casey O'Brien]

She's playing like a five year old. That's interesting. That's an interesting take. It is like, you know, and he died when he was 59, which feels really young. And you wonder if he would have. I don't know if he would have directed anything else. There was still time if he had lived. I mean, it's just sort of a. It is just such a fascinating career. There's not really anyone like it.

[Paul Rust]

Yeah. What his future would have been is, like, particularly hard to figure out because whatever his path was, wasn't one that many writers or filmmakers went on, which is somehow after the success of the first couple. I mean, I think after Breakfast Club, he was able to build sets in a school and film in Illinois and, like, drive five minutes from his house to whatever they were shooting and then getting no notes. I mean, whatever. An independent filmmaker who gets, like, a negative pickup from a studio that. That's essentially, I think, what John. He was getting major studios to bankroll his independent movies. And then. Yeah. The fact that he dropped off and never made a movie after 1991, even though those types of movies were, you know, he could have slotted into independent movies or early Audie movies of the dramedy, the Heartfelt.

[Casey O'Brien]

Absolutely. I mean, we covered, like, she's all that on this podcast, and it's like that's sort of like a relative of the John Hughes movies. And it's like there was like, so many of that type of movie in the late 90s and early 2000s. You think that they would have let him do whatever he wanted.

[Paul Rust]

That's true. Yeah. I mean, I was in this movie. I love you, Beth Cooper. The whole thing was like a John Hughes riff. The book that it's based on is, like, referencing them. And they were originally, I think, asked, were trying to get the parents to be played by Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall. They could have worked it out, but it would have been like the.

[Casey O'Brien]

That would have been wild.

[Paul Rust]

The people they did cast ended up being awesome, though. Cynthia Nixon and Alan Ruck.

[Casey O'Brien]

So, yeah, that's. I mean, that's pretty. I mean, Alan Ruck, he was in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

[Paul Rust]

Yeah. A funny thing. I remember where Alan Ruck and I were hanging out, and he found out that I was 27 when we were shooting that. And he started laughing, and then I was like, what's up? And he was like, oh. I remember the day some Teen Beat people came to the set of Ferris Bueller's Day off just to do some early interviews about the next John Hughes movie coming out. And the interviewer in the middle of the interview figured out Alan Ruck was 30, and she could just see across her face like, we can't have you on the COVID of Teen Beat. What is this?

[Casey O'Brien]

You're a decade removed from being a teen.

[Paul Rust]

Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

Oh, my God.

[Paul Rust]

I was a decade removed. So he saw in my eyes.

[Casey O'Brien]

Paul, I have a random question, but you mentioned on. This is, like, a deep cut here, but you mentioned on the Doughboys podcast that you were on the speech team in high school. Is that correct?

[Paul Rust]

Yeah.

[Casey O'Brien]

Okay, so what can you explain? Because I was also on the speech team in high school, and, like, I think there's something. The Midwest I have. They didn't really have a version of what we had in Minnesota, in California, or at least I didn't really discover people. But, like, can you explain what the speech team was?

[Paul Rust]

Yes, I think. What's another thing schools call it. They'll call it. Is it forensics or what's the word?

[Casey O'Brien]

Yes, I can't think of the word, but I know what you're talking about.

[Paul Rust]

It's not forensics, because that's like police work.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yes.

[Paul Rust]

Or maybe. But I know it goes by another name in different states, so maybe this will start, like, ringing bells for other people, whether they did it or knew people who were. But it was. Like, there was.

[Casey O'Brien]

Oh, I think forensics is actually what it's. Yeah, I think you're right.

[Paul Rust]

So anyways, criminal forensics.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yes. It would be studying cadavers.

[Paul Rust]

Yes. There was group speech, and then there was, like, individual speech, and they were on kind of different seasons. And group speech. You did With a group and individual. You did by yourself. But then the categories within the speech contest for us, for Iowa was like one act, play, group improv. There was one that was like Greek theater. And then the individual ones were like monologue, individual improv. Yikes. Can you imagine? And then stuff like after dinner speech. You know, when you have to give like, an amusement speech or. Or a poem. Yeah. And then it was like, regional, state, all state. Because, you know, they had to find some way to make art. A contest.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yes. Okay. So this is very similar to how

[Paul Rust]

it was driving my kid to school. Unless it's gonna come to a gold medal.

[Casey O'Brien]

Well, we. We could letter in speech. I remember that. That was like a thing.

[Paul Rust]

Same.

[Casey O'Brien]

And we had. The categories were. I can't remember all of them, but it was like, like poetry, dramatic monologue. We had comedic monologue. And then the category I did was storytelling, where you had to like, tell kind of like an ancient. It was like a Greek story or like an ancient tale from a fable. Yeah, a fable. But you had to put your own spin on it. And it was kind of like a little bit like standup comedy. And you're, like, doing characters and like, it's sort of this, like, embarrassing thing, but it's like, very theater adjacent.

[Paul Rust]

Oh, my gosh. I would love to see every person's videotape of them doing.

[Casey O'Brien]

Oh, my God.

[Paul Rust]

I mean, a comic poem.

[Casey O'Brien]

It is. It's like. It is like the distillation of, like, a theater, like, theater kid. I don't even know. It's just like. It's so strange and bizarre.

[Paul Rust]

Yeah. And that particular. Whatever theater kid kind of got cooked up in that generation is, like, different than theater kids that came before it. I think there was maybe, like, some shame that was. That existed in theater kids before, but then at some point, it was like it dissipated. I want to be on SNL that kind of.

[Casey O'Brien]

Well, and, like, you would practice your speech. Like, you'd go like our. It was every Saturday morning during the season, and we would drive to. I just wanted to talk to you about this because I found no one else to talk to about. About it. So we would drive to, like, a high school where, like, they were holding the tournament on the weekend, and it'd be, like, filled with kids from all these different schools who were competing against each other. And people would be facing a wall, doing their speech, like, practicing their speech. And it would. So, like, the law. The halls of the high school would be lined with kids just, like, talking at wall. I mean, it's like, absolutely.

[Paul Rust]

That is the greatest observation. I totally forgot about that. Would see, like, rows of mad men, like, just people looking like they. There's experiencing madness. They're, like, looking at a wall and, like, whisper, like, almost like an incantation, like, going through their monologue by themselves.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. And you would kind of like. You would switch characters by kind of, like, switching sides, like, to like, denote the different. Different characters. So also, this was something. I don't know if they did this. So, like, the awards at the end, there's all these categories. There's like 16 SPE categories. And, like, you would. People would place, you know, and you, like, it would be like third, second, and first, you know, like, place in their categories. So that's, like, so many awards to announce. And so they. At. At the speech competitions, it'd be like a gym filled with, like, all these theater kids, you know, and they'd be like, all right, for, you know, dramatic monologue. In third place, Molly Smith. And the rule was everyone got one clap. So the entire auditorium would go all in sync. So it'd be like, second place, Casey o'. Brien.

[Paul Rust]

And that is the most perfect Midwest. Like, we will show appreciation

[Casey O'Brien]

contained small little box. Yes. Oh, my God. Okay. I just was. I was just. I think, you see, I think there's a John Hughes movie in that. That in some way, like, at a speech competition.

[Paul Rust]

Well, and to bring it to John Hughes, I remember a one act that some schools would do was the Breakfast Club.

[Casey O'Brien]

Oh, really?

[Paul Rust]

You'd hear a certain high school, like, North High is doing Breakfast Club this year as one act and be like, damn, that sounds so cool. Yeah, Here we are doing that. Because we.

[Casey O'Brien]

We had one act competition too, but that was like a separate thing from the speech to.

[Paul Rust]

Yes. Yes. Yeah, yeah. When we did. I don't know if you could look at your judges sheets. Like, they could leave notes when they were.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yes. We would get them afterwards, and you

[Paul Rust]

get them after you. It was like reading the critics reviews at midnight when they get, like, printed at the newspaper. But. But I remember, like, yeah, looking at them and there was a really. I did group improv once, and we canned, like, our entire improv. Like, we scripted everything.

[Casey O'Brien]

We were gonna say it wasn't. It wasn't.

[Paul Rust]

And then, like, readily took the suggestion and tried to cram it in this thing. So evident. And the reviews, they were brutal.

[Casey O'Brien]

They didn't hold back. Oh, my God, that's so funny. Well, anything else? You. Any other last thoughts about John Hughes or his movies or anything before we Wrap this up.

[Paul Rust]

No. Well, Millie mentioned seeing the edited version of Sixteen Candles. We taped Breakfast Club. I watched it because we taped it off of Encore, so it had the swears. But then I went over to a friend's house and he watched the Fox version that was taped off of Fox tv. And there's a part where John Bender says, eat my shorts. Right? To the principal, he goes, eat my shorts. Now, this is the Fox network that's airing the Simpsons where Bart Simpson, like, one of his most famous catchphrases at the time was, eat my shorts. It'd be on T shirts and posters. They change it to eat my socks.

[Casey O'Brien]

Stupid. We couldn't have any confusion. Gosh, he was treading on Bart's territory.

[Paul Rust]

Ah, that's what it was. It was gonna become litigious if he said yes.

[Casey O'Brien]

Oh, my God.

[Paul Rust]

But no, I mean, this was a really fun chat with you, Millie and Casey. Thanks for having me.

[Millie Decherico]

That was awesome.

[Casey O'Brien]

Absolutely. Is there anything you want to plug before we wrap up? Anything people should check out?

[Paul Rust]

No. You mentioned my podcast with Goarly and Russ. It's me and Matt Gourley. We do a podcast about horror movies and thrillers and. Such fun.

[Casey O'Brien]

Amazing. It's great. It's wonderful. Oh, thanks, Paul. I'm a huge fan. I'm so glad you were able to be on the show and this was so delightful.

[Paul Rust]

Yeah. Thank you.

[Millie Decherico]

You. Thanks, Paul.

[Casey O'Brien]

Absolutely. All right, Millie. That was a lovely chat with Paul Rust. Go check out his podcast with Gorly and Rust. Well, we're not going to do employees picks today, cuz. Go see movies. Go see the Oscar movies. Every single one of them.

[Commercial Announcer]

Them.

[Casey O'Brien]

Every single nominated movie. Go see it.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah. Make your own opinions. Don't just follow us.

[Casey O'Brien]

Oh, but you feel free. If you're at like a party and you have like a hot take, feel free to take anything we said during the podcast and say it was your idea. You're allowed to do that as a. You can take our ideas and claim them as your own.

[Millie Decherico]

You should definitely be like, why does everybody like Avatar so much?

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah, you can do that. Well, that's our show.

[Millie Decherico]

It is.

[Casey O'Brien]

Please write in for film advice or a gripe, a grope, a grit, or. Yeah, any of those things. Right into Dear Movies at exactly right media.com. you can also send us a voicemail. You can record a voicemail for any of the things I just said. Or you can also send in your movie date stories. Either way, record on your phone, email it to dear movies exactlyrightmedia.com that is correct.

[Millie Decherico]

And we are on social media, predictably, we are on Instagram and Facebook at Dear Movies, I love you. And if you want to follow us on Letterbox, which you should, we are at Casey Leo Bryant and at Mdecherico. And listen to this podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts. Wherever you get your podcast rate and review the show, be kind. Tell Casey that you have been obsessed with him ever since you worked with him at the coffee shop.

[Casey O'Brien]

I would love that.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah, just go. Go hard and go hard with love is what I'm. What I mean.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yes. Millie, what are we talking about next week?

[Millie Decherico]

Dude. Dude. We're going to talk about a brand new movie.

[Casey O'Brien]

Spanking new.

[Millie Decherico]

And I am very excited because I've been holding my breath about this film since I saw it on Valentine's Day. We're going to be talking about the Emerald Fennel version of, quote, Wuthering Heights and quote, from 2026.

[Casey O'Brien]

6.

[Millie Decherico]

And I cannot wait. I literally cannot wait. I wish I was recording it right now.

[Casey O'Brien]

I'm excited to. I have not seen this movie yet, but I am excited to see it. Yeah, I said that on the podcast. I'm excited to see this movie. So it's getting bad reviews, I will say that. But that hasn't stopped me from liking a movie before.

[Millie Decherico]

In your world. In my highly curated world where everybody likes everything that I like, it's gotten five stars. So.

[Casey O'Brien]

Yeah. Okay. Well, that's great.

[Millie Decherico]

Okay. All right.

[Casey O'Brien]

Well, do you think Jacob Elordi's too tall? Maybe we'll discuss that next week.

[Millie Decherico]

Yeah, we should actually, because I have thoughts about his body.

[Casey O'Brien]

Oh, I have thoughts about his body too, after seeing Frankenstein.

[Millie Decherico]

Let's talk about that freak next week. Okay, bye.

[Bethenny Frankel]

Bye.

[Casey O'Brien]

Bye.

[Millie Decherico]

This has been an exactly right production, hosted by by me, Millie de Chericho and produced by my co host, Casey o'. Brien.

[Casey O'Brien]

This episode was mixed by Tom Bryfogel. Our associate producer is Christina Chamberlain, our guest booker is Patrick Cotner, and our artwork is by Vanessa Lilac.

[Millie Decherico]

Our incredible theme music is by the best band in the entire world, the Softies.

[Casey O'Brien]

Thank you to our executive producers, Karen Kilgariff, Georgia Hardstark, Daniel Kramer and Millie Diho.

[Millie Decherico]

We.

[Paul Rust]

We love you. Goodbye.

[Millie Decherico]

Be kind. Rewind.

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