Jason Mantzoukas (11:03)

I have been a longtime listener for about 14 years.

Paul Scheer (11:06)

Your show actually first aired about a week after my daughter was born and she's 14. What do you know?

Jason Mantzoukas (11:12)

Anyways, I just wanted to say, in.

Paul Scheer (11:14)

My 14 years of listening, this has never happened. I have never, at any point in.

Jason Mantzoukas (11:19)

Time, stopped the podcast 11 minutes in.

Paul Scheer (11:22)

And decided I have to watch the movie that you're talking about because sometimes I'll listen and I don't.

Jason Mantzoukas (11:28)

I don't even watch the movie and.

Paul Scheer (11:29)

I just listen because it's funny.

Jason Mantzoukas (11:31)

I'm sure other people do that too.

Paul Scheer (11:32)

But there are plenty of times when.

Jason Mantzoukas (11:34)

I do watch the movie and listen as well.

Paul Scheer (11:36)

So this was the one time where I was like, june is giving such a glowing review of Bad Boys Ride or Die that I have to watch it. And I am so thankful that I did.

Jason Mantzoukas (11:46)

It was amazing. It was amazing. I'm so thankful.

Paul Scheer (11:50)

I would love if you guys were to do a hop, skip and a.

Jason Mantzoukas (11:53)

Jump down to Orange county for a.

Paul Scheer (11:54)

Show someday that is like, on my wish list for life. Love you guys.

Jason Mantzoukas (11:58)

Thank you so much.

Paul Scheer (11:59)

Holy shit. That's what I love. I love that you had the willpower to stop the podcast to watch the movie, and I hope you enjoyed the podcast more because of it, which I think you did. Anyway, Jeff from la, what do you got? Hey, Paul.

Jason Mantzoukas (12:16)

First, I wanted to point out that.

Paul Scheer (12:18)

There'S a spin off of Bad Boys that you may not be aware of. Gabrielle Union's character From Bad Boys 2 had a two season TV show called LA's Finest with Jessica Alba. I think it was on one of those very small channels that no one ever heard of back in the peak TV era. But my real reason for calling was to get an idea from you of what is a bad boy. Joey Pants, you know, obviously calls them his bad boys, as you know, they're rascals. But in every movie, Mike and Marcus sing the theme song to Cuffs, which is, you know, bad boys, bad boys.

Jason Mantzoukas (12:57)

We can do when we come for you.

Paul Scheer (12:58)

So obviously to them, Bad Boys are bad.

Jason Mantzoukas (13:01)

So I was just kind of wondering where you think that term lands for them. All right, see you guys.

Paul Scheer (13:06)

First of all, Jeff, let me just say. Yeah, I know about LA is Finest. Oh, I know it aired on, I believe, Spectrum. Yes, the Spectrum. Original, if you will. I love Gabrielle Union. I was into this show, I found this show. There are some fun Bad boys connections. But what happens is you can't really like the Bad Boys universe. It's Will Smith, it's Martin Lawrence, right? We need the Simpsons Bruckheimer aesthetic or not even the Simpsons Bruckheimer. We just need like, that Jerry Bruck, Big Michael Bay action. And I know that that Elliot's finest, AKA Bad Girls did have good action and the acting was fun and we had, like, connections with characters like John Sally and stuff. But I will say this, I don't consider it it's spiritual sequel. Sure, whatever. Let's get into your breakdown of Bad Boys. I think I need to throw this out to the discord. Yes. In Bad Boys, they sing the song Bad Boys. And I think they sing that song because in their mind, the song Bad Boys, Bad Boys, Bad Boys. What you're gonna do is sung by cops. They're. They are singing the song that, like, I imagine a bunch of cops in the studio recording that song. And that is the theme of Cops. It is also the theme of the TV show Cops. All right, so that's. We know that. So that in that way, they are singing their anthem, the Cop Anthem. He calls them his Bad Boys. That doesn't make that much sense. Right, but hear me out. Hear me out here. Joey Pants is behind a desk, right? Behind a desk. He doesn't know shit. He's not out in the streets. He's not singing the Cops anthem. He's looking at it more like the Webster dictionary definition of it, you know, where it's like a person who doesn't conform to the approved standards of behavior, especially in a particular sphere of activity, AKA being a police officer. These guys don't conform to that. So he's talking about Bad boys, like the way that the. The dictionary defines it. They're talking about Bad boys the way that the cops in the street talk about it. Because that's the song that they created. Don't look it up. I'm pretty sure I'm right. All right, Jeff, back to the discord. Dynomic4808 writes, Correction, it is not a Steadicam with handguns. As Paul mentioned. It's a modified Snorri Cam rig called Sputnik. And I appreciate that. Dynamic has actually put a little video footage out there. The Snorri Cam was used in John Wick and. And Guy Ritchie's the Gentleman, according to their Instagram. That's from our producer, Cody. I actually recognized it in the Gentleman when I saw the Gentleman after Bad Boys. So I hope more people use the Snorri Cam. I'd like to use the Snorri Cam. Maybe I can use a Snorri Cam. The next thing I direct. Can I just Request it. That'd be great. Doing a commercial for salad dressing. I'm like, can you give me a snorri cam? All right, let's go back to the phones for one more. Hey, Paul, it's Davon in Brooklyn. So I am listening to your Dracula 2000 rerelease, and Jason mentions that he wants to see an Ocean's Eleven type movie where they're stealing Dracula. I know this is an old podcast, but funny enough, isn't that the movie? Abigail, also, I want to say that I hope you guys are good and safe from the fires. I hope everybody is good. You, June, the kids, the dogs, Jason, his tea bags, I guess all of you guys. I hope you're safe. And also, last thing, Paul, your book was amazing. I enjoyed it so much. Thank you so much. I have never related, cried, laugh at things that I had through my childhood. So thank you so much for that book and have a happy new year, Davon. Thank you. That is. I really appreciate that. That's the nicest thing. My hearing people's reactions to the book has been overwhelming. And as the year kind of came to a close, just kind of looking back on all my experiences and it's been really an amazing time. And more and more people have been finding it, which is amazing about books. Like, books don't die. They kind of grow. And I just loved it. And I was really lucky to get put on some of these best of lists and just been lucky the whole time. But honestly, the best part of it has been, like, messages like that. So I appreciate that. But now let's get into the real meat of it all. You're right. We did that Dracula 2000 podcast in 2022. Originally. Abigail came out in 2024. So, yeah, maybe let's connect the timelines. Did someone steal this idea from listening to an episode of Dracula 2000? I think so. I think they did. No, I know. Of course they didn't do that. All right, Davon, thank you. It was so great to hear everything that you were thinking. And finally, we are safe. We are fine. We are lucky. Jason, June, our kids, his tea bags, our dog. We had to evacuate because we had lost some power. We are back at home and it's been a really scary time, an emotionally overwhelming time. And our hearts are with our friends and our loved ones, as if that's different or with all of our loved ones who have lost so much. And, you know, I'm so impressed by la and I'm impressed by everybody around me who is just rolling up their sleeves and doing the work. LA is a really interesting place that I think gets mistreated a lot, you know, as an empty, vacant, phony place. And the truth is, is over the course of COVID and these strikes, what has come to the forefront time and time again is that LA is a city that gets each other's back. And we have been incredibly lucky to feel that support and be a part of that support. And, you know, this is just something that is devastating beyond belief. 95,000 people are displaced right now. It's crazy, crazy number. And like I said, we were lucky and we're here and, you know, now we get to just do the work. So I appreciate all that and I thank you so much. Um, all right. So many great corrections and omissions this week, but there can only be one one that is head and shoulders above the rest. Now, personally, I would pick Davon because Davon liked my book, but the truth is I have to be a little bit more open and, and I think, you know, look, we've heard about Albino Crocs. We've heard about, we've heard about mms, we've heard about many, many of things. But I mean, this is a tough one because it's not that much this week to even break it all down. You know what? I am going to go with Jeff from la because you know what? LA needs some love. And Jeff, you got me to break down Bad Boys. So I feel like, Jeff, you are this week's winner. You get nothing. But you do get this amazing song from our friend Katie Morris. Hit it.

Jason Mantzoukas (21:41)

Your insight really impress Paul.

Paul Scheer (21:49)

You win some.

Jason Mantzoukas (21:51)

Restrictions upon all submissions become property of hddm. Prizes have no cash value. Basically, you win nothing.

Paul Scheer (21:57)

Do you want to chime in with your own thoughts about the latest episode of how did this get Made? Well, hit us up on the discord at Discord, GG, HDTGM or. Or call us at 619-PA. Okay, coming up after the break, we will announce next week's movie and then I will be joined by Brad Meltzer. I mean, what has this guy not done? He's writing thrillers, he's written nonfiction, he's writing kids books, he's writing tv. Guy's got so much, so much on the table. We're going to talk about his brand new book, the JFK Conspiracy. People, get ready because you're not going to want to miss out. You're going to be inspired. And we got so much more extra goodness in there. All right, stay tuned. Hey, everybody. Just wanted to give you a quick heads up here. There's something we should all be doing. It's going to improve your life. Make every day a little bit better. And that is eat more Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Yes. Think about it. All the gurus, all the coaches out there, they've never said the words eat more Reese's. I mean the combination of sweet chocolate and salty peanut butter, I mean this is something that brings other people and ourselves joy. That's why there's two in a pack shop. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups now at a store near you found wherever candy is sold and often in my pantry because I love these. 2025 is here and Mint Mobile has a resolution for you. Skip the gym, skip the fad diets and skip the BS resolutions. Instead, make a resolution to save some serious cash by making the switch to Mint Mobile. And right now you can get half off their three month unlimited plan. All plans come with high speed data and unlimited talk and text delivered on the nation's largest 5G network. Now let me tell you something. I have a good friend. His name is Jack. Jack needed to have another phone. He got Mint Mobile and he literally said this to me and I wanted to bring this on the show. He said, paul, I don't know why I don't switch every phone to Mint Mobile because it's better service than any other provider I've ever had. Everyone loves Mint Mobile and you will too. Switch to Mint and new customers can get half off an unlimited plan until February 2nd. To get your new wireless plan for just 15 bucks a month and get a plan shipped to your door for free, go to mint mobile.com hdtgm that's mintmobile.com hdtgm $45 upfront payment required. Equivalent to $15 per month new customers on first three month plan only speeds slower above 40 gigabytes on unlimited plan. Additional taxes, fees and restrictions apply. See Mint Mobile for details. I know, I know this is the year that you are going to make that promise that you are going to learn a second language. But guess what? You're never going to follow through on it. Why? Because it's too hard to learn a language. It was too hard to learn a language because Babbel makes it easy for you to learn a new language in less time than you think. Babbel's 10 minute lessons created by over 200 experts help you start speaking a new language in three weeks. With a focus on practical, real world conversations, it makes learning to communicate easy and effective. I love Babbel Because I can do it wherever I am. I'm in the car. Get somewhere early. I can babble. I have made a promise to myself to learn Spanish. And maybe by the end of 2025, I will make that dream come true. Actually, I know it can come true as long as I stick with Babbel. So let's get more of you talking in a new language. Babbel is gifting our listeners 60% off subscriptions@babbel.com Bonkers get up to 60% off@babbel.com Bonkus it's spelled B A B B E L.com Bonkers babbel.com Bonkers rules and restrictions may apply. All right, welcome back. I'm sure you noticed every week we re release old how did this get made episodes back into our feed? These are matinee episodes, right? They come out every Tuesday now, not Monday. And this Tuesday's matinee is the apple with guest Andy Richter. And next week's will be the Shadow with Pete Davidson. So keep on checking out all of our replays of classic episodes until we figure out some sort of paywall system where we can have the entire library available. But right now we can't do it like that. We'll, we'll get there. We're going to do it now. Jason couldn't be here this week, but I got a guest that's going to knock your fricking socks off. Brad Meltzer. He is the Emmy nominated number one New York Times best selling author of the Lightning Rod, the escape artist and 11 other best selling thriller. He writes nonfiction books that are equally compelling. He started off with this series called the Nazi Conspiracy and he has a brand new book called the JFK Conspiracy which is fantastic. It's about a secret plot to kill JFK that you've never heard of. And his Ordinary People Change the World books. It's a kids series that I love, which he does with and I'm going to mispronounce this guy's name. Chris Ilopoulos is a staple in our household and inspired the PBS kids TV show Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum. If you've not read his Justice League of America books, they're great. We're going to talk about Superman. He won the prestigious Eisner Award. I mean, this guy, he's doing everything. He's even hosting his own shows on the History Channel. He was responsible for finding a missing 911 flag that the firefighters raised at ground zero. He also delivered a commencement address to the University of Michigan in front of 70,000 people, including his graduating son. I do think that if you've not heard that commencement address, it'll give you chills. It has been shared millions of times on social media. Do yourself a favor and watch it. It's great. All right. I think that's good for an intro. I mean, I don't even know how to knock them down because it's not a simple guy to set up. So welcome, Brad. I am so excited to have you on the show. And first of all, I just have to say I think you're the only person I've ever talked to that really has a legacy throughout my entire family, which is I came at you through, like, comics. My kids have come at you through the books that you have written. These, like, im, The IM books about different leaders. And my dad is a gigantic fan of yours. And so you really, you cover all the bases. And I think that's, you know, I guess the question is, how do you do it? I mean, how do you keep these varied? I mean, those are very big age groups that we're talking about here. You're getting everybody.

Jason Mantzoukas (28:44)

Yeah. You know, the truth is, and I have to say, I have to start with, you're the first person I've ever been interviewed by who my friend Noah said, should play me in my autobiography.

Paul Scheer (28:54)

I mean, I'm in. I'm ready for it.

Jason Mantzoukas (28:56)

So the truth is, is I started writing when I was 27 years old, and we're a similar age, and so we were reading comics and doing those things, and those people came along, and then I started having kids, and the people that were reading me had kids. And so when I started writing kids books, they came along, and obviously the History Channel just brings in everybody's dad. Right. But so that's just the weird one. But I think it's truthful. And you've been the lucky recipient of this. It's just the people who have been readers of mine and people who watch you, they're just so loyal and amazing. Comic book people are the best people. And they've just always been with me. They're like, I remember going to my first book events and they knew I liked comics when nobody liked comics. And they would just be like, I'm buying your stuff, man. I'm like, I love you for that.

Paul Scheer (29:45)

But now let me ask you this, because you are responsible for, I mean, what I would argue is not even controversial, but like a groundbreaking. Like when you wrote Identity Crisis, that was like an earth shaking comic book moment in many ways. Right. I Mean, yes, it's getting all this praise as one of the best book, but, like, when you also poke that. That bear of loyal fans and you mess up stuff before you. You shake it up.

Jason Mantzoukas (30:12)

Oh, yeah. No, no, no, listen, I have. The only death threats I've ever gotten in my life also came from comic book fans. So, yeah, make no mist. Both. But. But, you know, but even identity crisis was never meant. You know, the beautiful part for me is it was never meant to be anything big.

Paul Scheer (30:28)

Right?

Jason Mantzoukas (30:29)

It was. It was nanya. It was right after 9 11. And Dan Didio was like, you know, remember Those days when after 9 11, we used to thank. If we saw a cop on the street or someone who was a firefighter, you'd be like, thank you for your service. And you just be so thankful that these people you knew were putting their lives on the line every day. And then the deal was like, can you write like, a short, small story that will make us feel like when our heroes put their uniforms on that they're risking their lives? We kind of lost that. We want to get that back again. So it wasn't a big crossover. Wasn't anything. I just said, I'm going to write this short story. And then when Dan got the scripts, he was like, oh, I can turn this into a big crossover. But that was never the plan for me. When he went out there, I was like, you do what you want with it. I just got to tell my story. I think if we went in as a big story, they would have never let me do what we were doing.

Paul Scheer (31:16)

Yeah. You know what? That's really interesting because that moment, that 911 moment, I think brought some. I mean, what you talk about is like a reality to it. Like, it grounded it in. Like, these people are. Well, they're fictional characters, but we had some realism or we dealt with things in a different way. Like, I remember there was even like a spider man, like, you know, realizing he couldn't prevent 9 11. Like. And that was like, you know, these ideas that I love, the way that the comic book world kind of reacted to crisis in a way.

Jason Mantzoukas (31:48)

Oh, listen, the comic book. But that's all we've ever done in the comic book world, Right. I mean, my senior paper in college was comic books as propaganda in World War II.

Paul Scheer (31:57)

Wow.

Jason Mantzoukas (31:57)

Right? They were. You like Superman. We didn't get Superman because America is the greatest country on Earth. Right. We got Superman because two Jewish kids were looking around at Hitler and all this fascism and saying, oh, my gosh, we need someone to come save Us. And so they created something to come save us. And why did it take off? Because America was scared and needed someone who was dressed in a flag and was bulletproof and was gonna be amazing. And that's why it sold a million copies.

Paul Scheer (32:23)

Right?

Jason Mantzoukas (32:24)

To me, the most important part of Superman is never Superman. The most important part of Superman is Clark Kent, because we're all Clark Kent. And we all know what it's like to be born in ordinary. And so the culture always reflects the humanity that we're dealing with. So you see that whether it's the 60s and you're looking at hard traveling heroes or 9, 11, you got identity crisis and you got all these other civil war came out of that too. Was this moment where we're trying to figure out, who are we fighting here? Are we fighting ourselves? Are we fighting the villains? We're always. It's always a mirror.

Paul Scheer (32:56)

Well, you know what I think is so interesting too? We have these amazing writers, and I feel like in. I don't even know when you noticed the change. I was just talking about this with a friend. Like, I used to go to Comic Con in San Diego. I went to a bunch of cons in New York when I was a kid. And it was very low key for all intents and purposes. And then I think the moment I always talk about in San Diego, and this is a while ago, this is not that. While it's closer than it is further away, was when Twilight premiered the Thursday night at Comic Con. I was like, oh, this is not Comic Con anymore. Like, this is a different thing, right? It's like, it's for everybody that's not.

Jason Mantzoukas (33:31)

Watching the Star Trek blue bloopers in the back of the Holiday Inn, where. I mean, that's all we did. My original Comic Con, so to speak, were you go into a holiday in Brooklyn or in Florida, and they had one show. We watched the Star Trek bloopers, and they just ran nonstop. And I would watch them like three times because I'm like, what else am I going to do?

Paul Scheer (33:51)

Oh, it's. It was the coolest, weirdest people you'd ever meet in those days.

Jason Mantzoukas (33:55)

And you'd find, like. I'd be like, I'm looking for the George Perez JLA postcards. Do you have them? And if they said no, I'd be like, I will wait for the next comic convention, because I can't possibly find anyone else to. You know, all the nerds that I know are in one place here, and there's like four dealers there. And that seemed Like, a lot. But yeah, once Hollywood came in, we lost our spot, right? Like, that's when artist Ally got pushed away. And the people who love comics, you were like, why are you really here? And then you suddenly had, like, actors who you were like, do you really like comics? Or you saying you like comics? And producers who were like, I love comics. I'm like, you don't know shit about comics. I know you know nothing about comics.

Paul Scheer (34:27)

Well, it's so weird when you can tell when people don't, like, not fake the funk. But it is, it's a weird thing. It's like, oh, I've always wanted to play this character. I'm like, really?

Jason Mantzoukas (34:36)

Oh, no, no, no. Fake the funk is the perfect term for. I mean, that it is. I, I, the thing. I used to be mad at it and now I actually love. Because it's kind of, you know, the best question I've ever been asked in my career, ever, at any Q and A, was at San Diego Comic Con. It was me. I was on a panel with, like, Chip Kidd. I'm trying to remember who else was on. It was a great panel. It was just about like, like, nerd culture was the first kind of nerd culture panel. And someone stood up and said, in a genre where we're so focused on being outsiders, and we always loved it for being the outsiders, how does it feel when everyone now loves what you love so much? Does it ruin a little bit about what you love? Then I was like, oh, man, this person's seeing my soul right now. Right? But that was the question. And now I used to be mad at it, but now when I see some beautiful actor completely faking it, I'm like, you are sucking up to us nerds. Like, that's an unbelievable power shift.

Paul Scheer (35:32)

Yeah. You've seen how to get your way in with the cool kids. Because I also know that if you have to, you have to make it right for them, right? So you get these really big actors who have to then kind of bow down and be like, do you like it? You know, and if they do.

Jason Mantzoukas (35:46)

Right. I love that. I love that. Yeah. They're like, I don't know, do you like this, Sonic, or should we change this? Like, when that happened, that was, that was the ultimate power shift in, like, they're now asking us and reacting. And it's, by the way, the worst thing that ever happened. Because once you do that, well, that's the problem, right? You lose all control and now you're just ass kissing instead of creating.

Paul Scheer (36:09)

Well, the tricky Thing is, and I'll tangent for myself for one second and say I was in charge of reimagining Galaxy Quest at a certain point and I was working on that and my point of view was exactly what Eugene and I just talked about. I was going to take it from the point of view that when Galaxy Quest came out, it was about these smaller hotel conventions. It wasn't cool, it wasn't hip, it wasn't good. And I was gonna bring it into the now and do the Holly. It was basically like a J.J. abrams is reinventing Galaxy Quest with these actors who don't care. And their fish out of water ness is that they're just a list actors who are living the great life and then they have to put into like a real world scenario.

Jason Mantzoukas (36:48)

Not only would I watch the crap out of it, it's genius. It's perfect. Like, so of course they're not now. They're not making it right. Because it's so good.

Paul Scheer (36:55)

Well, their issues were like, we just want it to be like the first one. It's like, well, but. But you can't just put those people back into outers.

Jason Mantzoukas (37:03)

Right. That you can't have the same thing. What the first one did so well is it wasn't just. It was a commentary on what that Trek culture had become.

Paul Scheer (37:11)

Yes.

Jason Mantzoukas (37:11)

And how it turned. And of course you took it to say, well, now it's 20 years later, 30 years later, let's see it shift again. And you have great commentary, which would be great.

Paul Scheer (37:23)

This podcast is brought to you by Squarespace. Squarespace. Oh, I love it. Is the all in one platform for entrepreneurs to stand out and succeed online. I have been using Squarespace for years. And whether you're just starting out or you're managing a growing brand, Squarespace makes it easy to create a beautiful website, engage with your audience, and sell anything from products to content. Okay. All in one place on your terms. Now, this is what I love about Squarespace. You can constantly tweak and update it. It's easy. You don't need to hire a designer. All right. You can get 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain@squarespace.com bonkers. Plus, Squarespace is introducing design Intelligence. This is pretty cool. All right. Design Intelligence empowers anyone to build a beautiful, more personalized website tailored to their unique needs and craft a bespoke digital identity to use across one's entire online presence. So check out squarespace.com for a free trial and when you're ready to launch squarespace.com bonkers. And you'll save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. Hey, everybody, just wanted to give you a quick heads up here. There's something we should all be doing. It's going to improve your life, make every day a little bit better. And that is Eat more Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Yes. Think about it. All the gurus, all the coaches out there, they've never said the words eat more Reese's. I mean, that combination of sweet chocolate and salty peanut butter, I mean, this is something that brings other people and ourselves joy. That's why there's two in a pack shop. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups now at a store near you found wherever candy is sold and often in my pantry because I love these. You know, growing your small business in 2025 comes down to how well you can hire right. LinkedIn has the strongest hiring data and insights to help you identify the right candidates. So you can start the new year off by hiring smarter. Now, LinkedIn knows that hiring is a big deal for small businesses because every hire is crucial for a growing company. That's why LinkedIn pairs you with the best candidates, using data that you won't find anywhere else. From unique skills and interests to the connections that you have in common. LinkedIn lets you go beyond candidates who are actively applying in a given week on LinkedIn. 171 million LinkedIn members aren't actively seeking jobs, but they are open to new opportunities. That's a big pool to miss out on. So hire smarter. In the new year, find your next great hire on LinkedIn. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com valuable. That's LinkedIn.com valuable to post your job for free. Terms and conditions apply. I want to talk about Ghost Machine for a second because what's happening in this world is some of the biggest franchises have been created by brilliant minds like yourself. And you know, I talked to Ed Brubaker about this all the time. You know, you don't get any credit for it. You don't get any like that residuals. The money like you get like you are working for a company, you create this thing, they get to go and make whatever, but you are the creator who gets nothing. And it's a weird, it's a weird thing. And back in the day it was, I don't think people cared about it that much because it was their comics. But now they are franchises, multi billion dollar toys and they're designs and character archetypes that you've created that you have no Hand in. And I think what I love about this. Tell us a little bit about Ghost Machine. A little bit.

Jason Mantzoukas (40:46)

But, yeah. So, I mean, listen, the comic book industry, ever since Superman got sold for $135, the comic industry has never changed. Right? Like, that's how it operates. That's not a bug. That's the feature. And Ghost Machine was. And again, full credit to Geoff Johns, who basically was like, wait a minute, he'd done all the DC work, he's done Marvel work, he's produced all these DC movies. Was like, why is all the money going there? And we can basically take the creators that grab control of our own creations. And I think what also happened. Listen, this is not a new idea, right? Image Comics did this years ago. And then you see tons of great people splitting off from the comic industry and saying, we're going to do it. I think that's what Ghost Machine does. But what Ghost Machine really does best is everyone actually owns it together.

Paul Scheer (41:34)

That's amazing.

Jason Mantzoukas (41:35)

So in other words, instead of just saying, when Jim Lee had Wildcats and you had Erik, Larson had Savage Dragon and McFarlane had spawn, they were together, but they were all in charge. You only got money from your own property. We actually own everything together as a company. So everyone rises. We all have an incentive not to just root for our own self, but to root for everyone. And there's books like Redcoat and there's books like Rook that are out there. I'm doing one called First Ghost, which is. I won't ruin it just yet, but basically is about ghosts. Needless to say, with the word ghosts, I really just spoiled the whole thing there. It's called First Ghost, and it's about ghosts. The public will be like, why'd you say that? I'm like, anyway, it's basically about ghosts in the White House, which I'm obsessed with, and I've always been obsessed with. And Jeff and I wrote it in the Pandemic. And he was like, why don't we do this here?

Paul Scheer (42:29)

I love this.

Jason Mantzoukas (42:31)

And so we've. The greatest thing in the world. I will tell you, because you love, like, you like me. When we were younger, when Stan Lee used to talk about the bullpen. The Marvel bullpen.

Paul Scheer (42:40)

Yeah.

Jason Mantzoukas (42:40)

We used to imagine that, like, they were sitting together creating comics together, and they weren't. That was all a lie to make us feel, like, happy and. But the greatest thing that Ghost Machine has is we have a text thread that has all the creators on it, and it is the bullpen. It is the virtual bullpen and like, it is one of my favorite things. Like, I feel like I sometimes feel like nobody's working because we're all just, like, putting our best material into the thread. But it is one of my favorite things is that this group is just so pure and so happy and excited about each other's work. And you'll see someone like Brian Hitch post something and Jason Fabox like, oh, I love that. Our Francis Manipul's like, check this out. I'm trying this. And you're just watching these guys create in real time. And it is the most fun, amazing thing to witness.

Paul Scheer (43:27)

I love that. And that is very similar to a writer's room. Right? Like, you're in this room. And that's why I always. I hate when shows are nominated for writing awards or best writing because, you know, 90% take the Tyler Sheridan out, take the Matthew Weiner stuff out. It is all the. It's built in the room. You know, you have a. And everybody adds to it. So it's even weird. And some people know this, some people don't. But, you know, there might be a name on a script, but that name is just because you the contractually have to have your name on a script. Like, you may be shepherding it. But there's a ton of different ideas in there, and it really does. I feel like there should be. Every writing award should be for the writers room of that season, because the all are there.

Jason Mantzoukas (44:11)

The writer's room is the greatest. I mean, listen, I'm a novelist. I started as a novelist, which is I sit alone in a room by myself. And then when we worked on Jack and Bobby, it was like me and Greg Berlanti and Michael Green and Mark Guggenheim, like, this murderer's row of, like, nerds and geeks that, you know, and Vanessa Taylor and Dalby Waller who worked on Mad Men. I mean, these. Yeah, But I remember things would come out of everyone's mouth that I'm sitting there going, like, why am I sitting by myself creating when you can have, like, really sharp minds adding. And there wasn't a single script that went out that I felt like everyone didn't have at least a couple good lines in there and built together.

Paul Scheer (44:47)

Well, it's also like the idea of just being able to bounce things off of people and just see the reaction in the room. And you're right. Like, I just finished writing my first book and it was incredibly solitary experience. And I loved it. I loved it for many reasons. But it also is this thing where I love creating I've written comic books, for the most part, with a partner because I like to be able to go back and forth. We see other things, and it makes me better. I come from improv, and that's collaborative. But I do want to know how you know, because I think some people think, oh, well, you have this. How many books have you written?

Jason Mantzoukas (45:25)

I've written 50, but I've written, like, 35 of them are kids books. So let's be. It's a little easier. They're only 40 pages.

Paul Scheer (45:33)

All right, so you've written a ton of books. You've written a lot of books by yourself. This book that just came out right now, you've written with a co writer, Scott Mensch. Right. I believe his name is Josh Mensch.

Jason Mantzoukas (45:43)

The best last name for any Jew to be writing with is Mensch.

Paul Scheer (45:47)

So you wrote it with Josh. But, like, I seem. I guess there's a thought. And I think I see this a lot in comedy. Like, standups don't like to necessarily involve themselves with other people. Like, I do my own thing. That's how I do it. Now, is it easy for you to make that? It seems like it's very easy for you to make that thing, to be able to write very a la solitary and then to kind of move on.

Jason Mantzoukas (46:06)

I think just like, as an improv and I, you know, my friends, the Sklars, obviously, we talk about improv and things like that, but. But for me, it's all about the partner you have. Right. You can be as good as you want. But, you know, I learned it in comics. My first improv was in comics. That's when I was first, like, oh, my gosh, there's a writer here, and I gotta learn. I mean, I'm a writer. There's an artist here. I gotta learn how to shut up, because the art's gonna tell the story.

Paul Scheer (46:27)

That the best lesson I ever learned.

Jason Mantzoukas (46:29)

About that and that that was the best lesson I ever got right, was like, just shut up, Meltzer. Stop talking. And, like, let the artist do their awesome thing and stop putting your. All your, you know, dialogue that you think is so genius over everything.

Paul Scheer (46:41)

Well, it's so great. Cause, like. And I watched some. Some writers over dialogue comics. And what you realize is, like, some of it is very much old school Charles Dickens work. Right, right.

Jason Mantzoukas (46:52)

Like the thought.

Paul Scheer (46:53)

Right.

Jason Mantzoukas (46:54)

The big thing.

Paul Scheer (46:54)

Of course. Yeah. And it's like. But it's like you are cooperating and you want to see what they do. And a lot of the times what I love to do is get that edit pass, see the art and go, I don't need any of this. I just go back and cut, cut, cut. Because the image is 100%.

Jason Mantzoukas (47:09)

Every time I get it, I'm like, take, take away this balloon.

Paul Scheer (47:11)

Yes.

Jason Mantzoukas (47:12)

But the same thing with Josh, like when Josh and I write a book. So we started, you know, this one's about jfk. It's about, it's called the JFK Conspiracy, right? So we start, is it the third.

Paul Scheer (47:20)

In the series or the fourth in the series?

Jason Mantzoukas (47:22)

It's the fourth in the series, right. So we started with. These are actually all real stories. We started with a real life secret plot to kill George Washington. In the first conspiracy, we did the Nazi conspiracy about a secret plot to kill fdr, Stalin and Churchill. We did a Lincoln one. This is jfk. But when we start the whole key to the book and this is a plot, you don't know about jfk.

Paul Scheer (47:41)

It's great. By the way, this blew my mind. And by the way, my dad was here visiting, saw it on my counter, read it and was, took it back with him to New York, sent it back to me and wrote a giant note on the front of it, how much he loved this book.

Jason Mantzoukas (47:56)

Well, the thing is, it's such a crazy story, right? We all know the stories of how JFK got killed, of course, in 1963. This is a story right after he gets elected. There's a guy who hates him because he's Catholic and he doesn't want a Catholic being president. He basically is like, I'm going to kill this guy jfk. And he follows him down to Palm Beach, Florida. He starts following his patterns. He sees every Sunday at 10am he goes to church. He comes out of his house at 9:50, he gets in the car with the Secret Service. They drive to the church service. So this guy, Richard Pavlik, puts 10 sticks of dynamite in his trunk, basically is like 20 yards away from JFK. Sure enough, at 9:50 in the morning, JFK comes out of his building and Richard Pavlik just has to hit the gas and hit the little trigger in his car and truly, boom will go the dynamite. And I won't ruin what happens or what saves his life on that particular day. But I just ruined chapter one of the JFK conspiracy for you.

Paul Scheer (48:50)

Right?

Jason Mantzoukas (48:50)

But the whole thing, but the whole point of it is when I'm writing with Josh, we have that story, but we're like, what are we writing about? And Josh and I are both like, wait a minute, this guy's life is so beautiful to so many. He looks so beautiful. He's got the perfect hair, he's got the perfect wife, he's got the perfect life. And his life is anything but. He's cheating on his wife, he's sleeping around, he's doing all this. I'm like, this is the awesome story. And the only reason Josh and I can write together is because we see that subtext story exactly the same. And that's the same thing. Like your Galaxy Quest thing, right? Like, you gotta see the subtext big thing to be able to write with someone on it.

Paul Scheer (49:28)

And there's something like. I mean, I feel like in this book too, what you talk about with Jackie Kennedy is very different than what we know of Jackie Kennedy. And again, I'm not like, I think that you've given enough of a tease, because it really is interesting. It's such a great. It's a story that I didn't know. And I think there's a reason for it, which was like, there was a plane crash the day after this.

Jason Mantzoukas (49:48)

Or like, when everyone's like, why don't I know this story? The day that the story breaks, it's going to be on the COVID of every newspaper in the country. And there's a plane crash over New York City, and two planes collide, and one kid is the only survivor of this double plane crash. And everyone in the world wants to know what happened to the kid? Did he survive? Did he die? Did he live? And that kid becomes the front page of every newspaper and this story about JFK becomes a footnote until a nerd like me comes along and says, wait a minute, what the hell happened? And that's a really cool story. Nobody knows.

Paul Scheer (50:22)

Love that. Now, I have to ask you, because in looking at the book and getting ready to talk to you, I mean, the only thing I kept on thinking about was what's going on right now in news, right? With this Luigi, where we're talking about this assassin and you're talking about. What are this idea of monitoring somebody, seeing which. Where they're going, getting in front of it, planning this whole thing, this idea. I thought it was. I didn't know if you have any thoughts on, like, what you're seeing with this.

Jason Mantzoukas (50:50)

Because unlike that, I mean, we wrote the book purposely for this time, for the inauguration, because it's, you know, Kennedy's election is 1960. He's going against Richard Nixon. It's the closest election in modern history at the time. Whatever side you're on, you hate the other side. And Think they're fools and morons. Right? Does that sound familiar to you? It's exactly the same story. And you can't be surprised. The reason why this happens, why this guy goes after Kennedy, is because the other side just gins up so much hate and venom. And when you gin up that hate and venom, don't be surprised when you activate some lunatic out there. And it's the same thing with Luigi. The thing about these. The Secret Service, I do a lot of work with them, and they explained to me this. And, Paul, this is the craziest thing they ever said to me. They said assassins are of two types. There's hunters and there's howlers.

Paul Scheer (51:42)

Yes.

Jason Mantzoukas (51:43)

Okay. And a Howler makes a lot of noise and says, I'm gonna go kill that guy and screw him, and I'm coming for you, man. And they don't do anything. They're all talk, right? That's what a Howler is. They're all talk, lots of noise. But a hunter makes no noise. They don't tell you they're coming, and that's who pulls the trigger. And if you look at the four presidential assassins in history, and even the recent ones, they're all hunters. And if you look at Luigi, it's the same thing. Didn't give a word. Didn't give a. You know, didn't say, I'm coming. These guys are the same. They're, you know. And you can't be surprised when you see it happening again and again and again. People get activated, they get pissed.

Paul Scheer (52:20)

Yeah.

Jason Mantzoukas (52:20)

And get out of their way.

Paul Scheer (52:23)

I. I recommend everybody to check this out. This is, of course, the JFK conspiracy, The secret plot to kill Kennedy and why it failed. So you do that. It is a spoiler in the title again, once again, first ghost. And this. You've been spoiling it. It is on sale, depending on when you're hearing this, January 14th, it is out. It's available in hardcover, ebook, audiobook, any way that you get your books. And you could tell Brad's one of the greats. And I'm such a fan. I'm so happy. Got to talk with you. I'm excited for people to read this book. And. Yeah. Well, thank you so much for being here, Brad.

Jason Mantzoukas (52:55)

Good to see you, brother.

Paul Scheer (52:56)

A big thank you for Brad for coming on and chatting with me. And before we announce our next movie, let me just say that we have polled our how did this get made audience, and we've asked them what their top three episodes were from this year. And the Discord spoke Are you ready for the top three of 2024? This is like the Howdies, but way simpler. Okay. They are coming in at number three. Drum roll. Trap with Blakely Thornton. Great episode. Number two, Troll two with Adam Scott. Great episode. And the number one, the number one film of this past year is the Beekeeper. That's right. By the way, I cannot argue with this list. It's a great list. But if you're like, hey, man, none of those are my favorites, then join our Discord community and let us know what your favorite episode of 2024 was. All right, I'll do it again. We'll see if it all changes. Anyway, the link to our Discord is in our show notes, but just go to Discord gg hdtgm and you can just jump right on in. Oh, by the way, if you are in front of a computer right now, Rob Hubel and I are starting a brand new show. It is called Enter the Dark Web. Or actually just Dark Web. And you can follow us on YouTube. We are exploring the craziest things that we can find online. Whether it's my mom accidentally tweeting with Elon Musk analyzing how much Richard Dawson kissed contestants on Family Feud, or putting the tips of so called experts into practice, we will be tackling it all. Enter the dark web on YouTube. Follow. Get on board with us. I think it's gonna be a lot of fun. All right, now on to next week. We're gonna go from the wobble. Oh, I love the wobble. Philly, you are the best. All right, we are going from the wobble to the megalopolis. That's right. Next week we are watching Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis, starring Adam Driver. Now, here's a short breakdown of the plot. Megalopus is a Roman epic set in an imagined modern America. Caesar Catalina is a genius artist who seeks to leap into a utopian idealistic future. But he's at odds with the opposition. And that's Mayor Franklin Cicero. That's Giancarlo Esposito. Okay. Rotten Tomatoes gives this film a 45%. Johnny Olinsky from the New York Post says, this movie is a zero star. It's a wacko disaster. Now, I get that. I get all the critiques, but I'm going to tell you something. In all the films I watched in 2024, would I say that Megalopolis is the best? No. But I would say it might be the most interesting. Yes, this movie is all over the spot, but I kind of felt myself really loving it too. So I ask of you, maybe watch it like it's gonna. More weird movies should be happening like this, I think. Ultimately. Anyway, I'd offer you to give it a shot. Take a listen to the trailer. One filmmaker has always been ahead of his time. Time stop. Go now. From visionary writer and director Francis Ford Coppola comes an event nothing can prepare you for.

Jason Mantzoukas (56:39)

Imagine today's society as a branch of civilization.

Paul Scheer (56:46)

About to reach a dead end.

Jason Mantzoukas (56:51)

Is this way. We're living.

Paul Scheer (56:55)

The only one that's available to us. You can rent Megalopolis or you can wait a couple days, it's going to be coming to Peacock. You know, look, love it, hate it, let it exist within you. Anyway, if you can't find it on Peacock, if you can't find it on, you know, Apple, then go check out your local public library hoopla Canopy Libby. Those are digital media services offered by your local library that allow you to consume movies, tv, music, audiobooks, ebooks and comics for free. So get on that, people. Okay, now you got your homework. Megalopolis it is. And with that, I say adieu. That is all for last looks. Remember, if you're listening to us on Apple podcasts or Spotify, please rate and review us. Please also make sure you are following us and have automatic downloads turned on. It helps the show and we appreciate it. You can visit us on social media at hdtgm. And a big thank you to our producers, Cody Fisher, Matt Apodaca, Molly Reynolds, and our movie picking producer, Avril Halley. Our associate producer, Just Cisneros, and our engineer, Casey Holford. We'll see you next week for Megalopolis.

Jason Mantzoukas (58:15)

Meet Flip.

Paul Scheer (58:16)

She's one half of a Flip Flop. That's me who got left behind at Celebration Key, Carnival's exclusive paradise in Grand Bahama. Uh, I chose to stay here. It really is paradise. So now Flip spends her time lounging on the beach, swimming in the lagoon and eating. The only thing more impressive than my appetite are all the dining options. Yeah. Have you tried food service to your cabana?

Jason Mantzoukas (58:36)

Ooh, yum.

Paul Scheer (58:37)

Flip.

Jason Mantzoukas (58:38)

Where'd she go?

Paul Scheer (58:39)

Book your cruise. Vacation to Carnival. Celebration Cay. A paradise you'll want to lose yourself in.

Jason Mantzoukas (58:44)

Ship's registry.

Paul Scheer (58:44)

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