
STOP TIME! This week Paul, June and Jason are breaking down the 2024 Francis Ford Coppola film, Megalopolis, LIVE from the New York Comedy Festival at Town Hall. The three breakdown what Megalon should be used for, Adam Driver's incredible performance, and much more! Sponsored by Big Nut.
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Paul Scheer
On January 24, Academy Award winner Michelle Yeoh takes command.
Jason Mantzoukas
Gather your people.
Paul Scheer
We're gonna need every one of them in Section 31, a new Star Trek.
Jason Mantzoukas
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Paul Scheer
Section 31 is just a place for people to bend the rules.
June Diane Raphael
Starfleet is here to make sure no one commits Murka.
Jason Mantzoukas
What a cute idea. This is chaos.
June Diane Raphael
Let's get messy.
Paul Scheer
Don't miss the worldwide premiere of Star Section 31, streaming January 24, exclusively on Paramount.
Jason Mantzoukas
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Paul Scheer
In the beautiful jewel Gonna take you.
Jason Mantzoukas
From the grove all the way to the road Rad against the street fighter helps her blow off steam Just a sucker punch the odd life of Tiffany Green how we staying alive? They call me when they're badass and he's on the line cranking 88 minutes cause they cool as ice cause the bad gym funny looking kind tonight Paula Jason getting laid Julia's making sure all the monkey shots in the pain and just a bunch of movies while they making the grade. Here's a real question for you. How did this get made? Hello, people of Earth and hello people of New York. We are live at the New York Comedy Festival back at Town hall talking about a fable of our time. That's right. Megalopolis, A film that has been in production since 1991, but then actual production in 2023. Now, here is the thing. I normally spend this time at the top of the show trying to break down the plot, just in case you didn't see it. Oh, it's about a kid who gets a crazy pair of glasses and he learns how to fly. I can't break down this movie. An alternate New York, an architect, a mayor, a Fox News host.
Paul Scheer
I don't know.
Jason Mantzoukas
It seems like so much happens, but yet so little, but yet so long. And yet I couldn't turn my eyes away. The film came out just a couple of weeks ago. I pre ordered it, I bought it, only to find out it was only available for rental. So I paid $27.99. And then $19.99. I got fucked on this movie. But I did it all for you. Because this is a movie for New York. This is your movie. And let's break it down with my two co hosts. Please welcome to the stage, Mr. Jason Mantzoukas. Yes.
Paul Scheer
Time stop. What's up, jerks?
Jason Mantzoukas
Let's go.
Paul Scheer
We have to be out by 11:30. Fuck it. We're locking the doors. We're staying till dawn. Everybody gets Megalon. Seriously, what is Megalon?
Jason Mantzoukas
Apparently, it can stop or repair bullet wounds and build buildings. This.
Paul Scheer
Wow.
Jason Mantzoukas
Wow.
Paul Scheer
So you paid twice for it.
Jason Mantzoukas
Yeah.
Paul Scheer
You pay. So we both had very, very complicated relationships to this movie. Because I accidentally. A two and a half hour movie. I accidentally watched 25 minutes twice.
Jason Mantzoukas
What?
Paul Scheer
Because I didn't recognize them as things I'd already seen before. The movie repeats itself so much that I was like, huh. I feel like they did this already.
Jason Mantzoukas
This.
Paul Scheer
And then they got to a point where it was like, oh, fuck.
Jason Mantzoukas
I might have talked about this in another episode, but when I saw Requiem for a Dream, the projectionist messed up and played the second reel twice. And I was like, ooh, this is an interesting choice.
Paul Scheer
And then nonlinear storytelling.
Jason Mantzoukas
I've already seen it, but now I'm watching again. Now I'm learning more. And then he came out and was like, I'm sorry. I fell asleep. And then it really fucked me up. I never want to watch that movie again. But the benefit of this movie is no matter how many times you watch it, it won't make sense. It is.
Paul Scheer
It is cryptic at best. It is a. It is. It is a series of dreamscapes, ladies and gentlemen. Let's go, Diane. Let's go.
June Diane Raphael
No, because we only have till 11:30.
Jason Mantzoukas
I knew we were getting closer.
June Diane Raphael
We only have till 11:30, so I had to come out.
Jason Mantzoukas
I knew we were getting too close to it.
Paul Scheer
So late. It's so late already. We can't start a show now.
Jason Mantzoukas
We got the coveted 9:45 slot.
Paul Scheer
I'm 51 years old. I can't do a show at this hour, you know?
June Diane Raphael
Paul, did you say you bought the movie twice?
Jason Mantzoukas
Yes.
June Diane Raphael
Okay. And I bought it once.
Jason Mantzoukas
So we have spent 24, 19 and 19. So we have spent over $60 on Megalopolis.
Paul Scheer
Francis Ford Coppola. Thanks. Wow, you've gone a long way to making him whole from this.
June Diane Raphael
Him personally whole. So I had an interesting experience on the plane because I was sitting next to our 10 year old son. Not the one that was out here, but our 10 year old. And I was. I. Well, first of all, I had to cover a lot of the movie with my book and try to hide it from him. But I fell asleep. And I fell asleep for a while and he woke me up and I screamed at him. I was like, what are you doing? I was sleeping and he's like, I thought you were supposed to watch the movie. I go, I am. Never do that.
Paul Scheer
I would love it if you opened your notebook and he had taken notes for the section that you'd fallen asleep. He just took expert notes on the movie.
Jason Mantzoukas
By the way, our son has said that when we die, he's taking over the show.
June Diane Raphael
He did say that.
Paul Scheer
Great.
June Diane Raphael
He did say that.
Paul Scheer
Wait, does that include me?
Jason Mantzoukas
No, you get to stay.
Paul Scheer
Oh, I get to stay? Fuck yeah. I'll do a show with two kids. Any babies in the house?
Jason Mantzoukas
I. I told, I don't know if I told you.
Paul Scheer
You brought a baby. What? You wish.
Jason Mantzoukas
Not cool. Don't say you wish you brought a baby. No, no circumstances that good. I wish I brought my baby. Sure. A baby.
Paul Scheer
I wish. I wish I had a baby to bring to a 9:45 comedy show.
Jason Mantzoukas
Let's play clip 10 because we can.
June Diane Raphael
Look at watch clips.
Jason Mantzoukas
Well, all I'm going to say is this megalopolis was meant to be seen on imax. So imagine this scene with the boner in imax.
Paul Scheer
We came to pay our respects. Grandpa, what do you think of this boner?
Jason Mantzoukas
I got.
Paul Scheer
Wouldn't look at her. And I'm off. If it wasn't for this, I would have been able to outspend you in the end. But I will outlive you. Look at how small that is. Boom. That bow is not going to produce that many pounds of torque. And boom. Oh.
Jason Mantzoukas
This man.
Paul Scheer
Okay, old man Legolas, that is.
Jason Mantzoukas
Wow. I mean, watching it again, he seems like if you put a gun in his hand, I wouldn't be as afraid. The bow and arrow makes him seem dangerous and crazy.
Paul Scheer
Yes, well, also, I love that he's just, he's just closing one eye for the first half. He's just like, I don't know. And then he's like, ha ha. Like, he's like suddenly Robin Hood.
June Diane Raphael
He's Been preparing for this for so long.
Paul Scheer
Oh, you mean welcome.
Jason Mantzoukas
Do you think that the arrows were made out of Megalon?
June Diane Raphael
Oh, that's interesting.
Paul Scheer
I don't think so. Cause I think only Adam Driver has access to Megalon, which, I don't know. I genuinely.
Jason Mantzoukas
From outer space.
Paul Scheer
I believe it is from outer space.
June Diane Raphael
Okay, so here's what I thought, and I could be wrong. Cause I was again in and out of my own fever dream. And then tapping into this one. But I thought that when he went to go rescue his wife, Sunny Hope, from the water.
Paul Scheer
And was that gonna be the daughter's name? If they had a daughter. And if it was a boy. Francis.
Jason Mantzoukas
Francis.
Paul Scheer
They said if it was a boy, it would be Francis. And I was like, movie, get fucked. I'm not interested in what this is about now.
Jason Mantzoukas
I mean, these names. Caesar, Catalina. You have Franklin.
Paul Scheer
No Catalina. Wine, mixer jokes to be found.
Jason Mantzoukas
Wow. Platinum.
Paul Scheer
Incredible.
Jason Mantzoukas
Claudio, Pulcher, Crassus, Fundy, and Sunny Hope.
June Diane Raphael
Well, so I thought when Sunny Hope.
Jason Mantzoukas
Oh, no. Sunny Hope is the virgin, I think. Oh, no, no, no. You're right.
June Diane Raphael
Sorry, honey, that's someone else.
Paul Scheer
Vestra, I think.
Jason Mantzoukas
Vestra, right? Yes, Vestra.
Paul Scheer
A vestal virgin.
Jason Mantzoukas
Yes.
June Diane Raphael
Vesta.
Paul Scheer
In the Proko Harem song, the Virgin.
Jason Mantzoukas
Vesta Sweetwater is her name.
Paul Scheer
What?
Jason Mantzoukas
Vesta Sweetwater is her name.
Paul Scheer
Yes, Vesta Sweetwater.
June Diane Raphael
Oh, stop saying all these names. Sweet. Sweeter. So terrible. Both Paul and I. I thought Adam Driver did a wonderful job. Me, too. I really did. Because I was like. I was watching his performance, and I'm like, well, first of all, that hair was so tough, and I don't know what any of us could have done with it. Like, it truly was so difficult. And I know the cut. I know it's the Caesar cut, but there was.
Jason Mantzoukas
Oh, is that what it was?
Paul Scheer
I think so, yes. Didn't you. I mean, wasn't it giving you full blown George Clooney from season two of er?
Jason Mantzoukas
What it made. What it made me feel was like, can you comb your hair? It felt like his hair was never.
June Diane Raphael
And that's what was upsetting. It's. It's a. It's not a. It's not a cut that any person can pull off.
Jason Mantzoukas
Not even Caesar.
June Diane Raphael
Yeah, not even Caesar.
Jason Mantzoukas
How about Little Caesar? Pizza. Pizza.
June Diane Raphael
But on him, it also looked like. Yeah. Can you put a comb through it? Can you fix it a little bit?
Paul Scheer
Like, spread some Megalon in it. See what's up.
June Diane Raphael
See what happens.
Paul Scheer
Give it a. Give it a sheen, give it a gloss.
June Diane Raphael
I really Thought that he did a great. First of all, his soliloquy. I thought his Shakespeare was the best part of the movie, and I wanted to.
Jason Mantzoukas
That was something that was not written for the film. That was when he just.
June Diane Raphael
Adam Driver can handle the text.
Jason Mantzoukas
Yeah.
June Diane Raphael
I thought he did a beautiful job.
Jason Mantzoukas
I think Adam Driver is like, can I improvise? Because apparently. Spoiler alert. They improvised a lot of this movie.
Paul Scheer
Wait, no. This wasn't tightly scripted.
Jason Mantzoukas
I want to say this is what is on record. Coppola adopted an experimental style, encouraging his actors to improvise and write certain scenes during the shoot and added them at the last minute into the script. The art department and visual effects team, among others, left midway through the production. It's fair to say it is well documented this movie was flying by the seat of its pants, which is odd for a film that he's been writing since 1991.
Paul Scheer
That's the thing.
June Diane Raphael
That is what's so tough.
Paul Scheer
I think there would be some sort of dot, dot, dot, plot story.
Jason Mantzoukas
It's a movie of ideas. It's like, is it? To me. To me, this movie is a guy who has listened to a podcast about Roman history and is really high and going, what would be great is this. And then you have a guy, he's like, Caesar. And he's like, and. But it's the city. But it's also the Statue of Liberty, the torches in the other hand, and then they're all running around, and then there's about homeless people. It's about New York, and it's about every life and fucking. And you're like, right, Right. But you would never make that movie. You just go home and go to bed, and he made it.
Paul Scheer
Instead. You sell a substantial amount of money of your own personal money in your wine company to add value to finance this insane movie.
June Diane Raphael
Well, there were times, and I know it's a movie about ideas. Okay. But there were times where I was just like, this utopia that he's describing. Like, the only real difference is that instead of the buildings being like straight blocks, they're swirls.
Jason Mantzoukas
It's like living Adam drivers.
Paul Scheer
It's like that Hudson Yard thing over there.
June Diane Raphael
Yeah. It's like, I looked at it.
Paul Scheer
I was like, oh, wait, is that what it is?
Jason Mantzoukas
It to me, seems like the future is that we would all be living in a version of a pinball machine. Like, it's like, ooh. It all looked like people were traveling in pinballs, and they would go around in pinballs.
Paul Scheer
Yeah.
Jason Mantzoukas
And at the same time, I didn't understand what the. I want to build a casino. I want to build a pinball machine. And it's like. And it seems like those ideas could probably exist together.
Paul Scheer
So much of it is about. Is analogous to the Roman Empire and all this stuff. And I'm just not one of those people who's obsessed with the Roman Empire.
Jason Mantzoukas
No.
Paul Scheer
So I was like, I don't give a fuck about any of this stuff. And it seems to be just consumed with legacy and time and the artist. The artist needs to be able to control time. And I was like, buddy, that's not gonna happen. We are all hurtling towards certain death.
June Diane Raphael
And I didn't understand. I mean, at points in the movie, I was like, the female characters are so underwritten. I'm so upset. But then also I was upset by the male characters too. So it was really tough. I mean, the movie does not pass the Bechdel test on any level, but.
Jason Mantzoukas
Also doesn't pass the movie test.
June Diane Raphael
It doesn't. It doesn't. Like, what is it, a movie. Who is Jason Schwartzman in this movie?
Paul Scheer
Great question.
June Diane Raphael
Who is that character?
Paul Scheer
Who's Dustin Hoffman?
June Diane Raphael
Who's Dustin Hoffman?
Paul Scheer
What's the story of the dead wife?
June Diane Raphael
Don't know.
Paul Scheer
And when he goes to that apartment and he's with his dead wife stand sitting over her, and Natalie Emanuel has followed him there, and she's spying on him, and it turns out he's talking to an empty bed. I was like, what the. What is this?
Jason Mantzoukas
Not only is he.
Paul Scheer
Is he going to fuck the empty bed, MacGruber style.
Jason Mantzoukas
Not only is he fucking. Not only is he, like, talking to her. He's not talking to an empty bed. He is. He is. He's tying her hair like he's. He's French braiding her hair.
Paul Scheer
Doesn't he imagine there to be other people in the room as well?
Jason Mantzoukas
Yes. And I think.
Paul Scheer
What is that?
Jason Mantzoukas
I think that the other actress, the mayor's daughter, can see his visions, right? Their baby won't stop. He can stop time. She can see his visions because she sees him go to a flower shop that I don't think is real, get flowers to go visit his wife, which is also not real. But is he actually going to an.
Paul Scheer
Abandoned building or is he just in a mind palace?
Jason Mantzoukas
And why wouldn't he just do that in his own house? But then he also has a flock of kids working for him.
June Diane Raphael
Okay, I want to talk about the design department. What are they called? The design architects department.
Jason Mantzoukas
The Building Association.
June Diane Raphael
The Design association, whoever they are. The Da.
Paul Scheer
We call it the Da when they.
June Diane Raphael
Are in his main work loft.
Jason Mantzoukas
One of my favorites.
Paul Scheer
Oh my God.
June Diane Raphael
They are doing physical.
Paul Scheer
The montage. There are. There's multiple scenes in this movie. There's multiple scenes in this movie that I am certain employed the Palobolis dancers. There's no doubt in my mind. The fetus scene where the fetus turns into dancers. I was like fucking Plobolus dancers.
Jason Mantzoukas
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 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 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 key 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 at babbel.com Bonkers get up to 60% off at babbel.com Bonkus it's spelled B-A B-B-E-L.com Bonkers babbel.com Bonkers rules and restrictions may apply. We've watched a lot of long movies on this podcast. I was like, I'm in. I don't know why I'm so in. Like, I'm. I'm having this. I'm really wrestling with. What am I watching? I don't get it. I don't like it. But I'm also like, I can't look away. And I need to see it again.
June Diane Raphael
Do we need to buy it again?
Jason Mantzoukas
We've already bought it so many times. I think Francis Ford Coppola will come over to our house and. And do a director's commentary if asked.
June Diane Raphael
Now, here's the thing. I'm sorry, I have to go back to the shape people again, because I just want to know what. What we end up seeing in the actual space in his, you know, realized vision are again, are those swirls, the shapes that they had been creating?
Paul Scheer
But I believe. I believe his architecture studio, which is in, like, the. The dome of the Chrysler building or whatever, that. Whatever.
Jason Mantzoukas
That's alternate. It's not the Chrysler. Whatever. Maybe it's called the Heisler building.
Paul Scheer
Yes, of course. Do you guys. Because, you know, this is New York. Did you guys feel like this. This movie got your city, right? Did you feel seen by this movie?
Jason Mantzoukas
New York City, A movie shot in New York and filmed in Atlanta.
Paul Scheer
That's right. New Rome.
Jason Mantzoukas
But like, but here's the thing.
Paul Scheer
When you see.
Jason Mantzoukas
I mean, yes, we see kids, we see upside down water bottles and tennis balls representing a city. But then when he brings somebody out.
Paul Scheer
To, like, the trash, the model of the city that looks like it's just piled up from the trash.
Jason Mantzoukas
Walk around, close your eyes. All right.
Paul Scheer
Why? You're. You're an architect if you look at an architect build a model, it does. It's not built with, like, trash from the garbage outside. It's not like we found a tennis ball and put it on a parking working cone.
Jason Mantzoukas
Especially because he is using real architectural tools. I mean, he is standing with, I.
Paul Scheer
Don'T know, T square.
Jason Mantzoukas
Yeah, T square.
Paul Scheer
Like, T square. What's it called?
Jason Mantzoukas
I did want to see him get crucified on that T square.
Paul Scheer
Wait, is there an architect in the house? Raise your hand. Architect in the. I'm not interested in a balcony architect, okay? I'm interested in an architect that got their act together enough to get floor seats.
Jason Mantzoukas
All right, what do you. What is it? It's a T square. It is a T square. All right, well, thank you all that for. We already knew it then. I appreciate nothing wrong that you did. All right, so it is a T square. Here's what I'll say. When he goes to the Expo to show off his main invention. It's just a motorized walkway. Like, he's like, this will take you wherever you want to go. He's like, yeah, I just did that at the airport.
Paul Scheer
This felt a lot like. Do you remember when. When. When the Segway came out, when they were calling it the it and it was gonna revolutionize commuting and travel in America, and they wouldn't announce what it was, and everybody's like this. What's it. Dean Kamen. Was that the guy's name that invented it? He's got this thing. It's about to change the world. We're about to change history. Cities are gonna look different. Global warming is gonna get changed by this. And it's this fucking scooter with gyroscopes. And everybody was like, no, guy. No.
June Diane Raphael
Well, that's the thing that was so funny about the walkway. I mean, that's what it is. It's a walkway. We never saw people transport on it. We only ever saw them walk on it.
Jason Mantzoukas
Like, wow, right? But then they get in those balls at the end.
June Diane Raphael
Oh, I guess they do get in the balls at the end. But it was also when he's showing his mom. I mean, we haven't talked about the relationship with the mom, but when he's showing her the walkway, it looks like it's 10ft long.
Jason Mantzoukas
That's it. Where is she gonna go? She's gonna be kicked right off of it.
Paul Scheer
I feel like that's like Elon Musk building, like, some length of a hyperloop or whatever that thing is called, just to be like, see I can do it, but. And this was him being like, this is what it'll look like, but it'll be all over, and it'll go to these buildings that look sort of like plants, and then that's it. Is it just a.
Jason Mantzoukas
What does he want to do?
June Diane Raphael
I think it's a vibe, ultimately.
Jason Mantzoukas
A vibe.
June Diane Raphael
It's a vibe.
Jason Mantzoukas
Megalopolis is a vibe.
June Diane Raphael
I buy that, honestly. I do think, though, that it is a lifestyle more than anything else.
Paul Scheer
Yeah. It's the kind of lifestyle in a city where the news reports they're the richest kids in the world, and rumor has it they're sleeping with each other too. Why did that keep coming up?
Jason Mantzoukas
It is. I mean, according to my research, Caesar proposes using Megalon to build Megalopolis, a utopian urbanist community. And Cicero wants a casino that will provide an immediate tax revenue.
Paul Scheer
Wait a minute. I. That's the first I'm hearing about a casino.
Jason Mantzoukas
Oh, casino is in that opening scene when they're. When they're on the rafters and. And they go, we want to build this casino and dustin off, like, it's a good casino.
Paul Scheer
And that's when he comes in and does. To be or not to be.
June Diane Raphael
Yes, but. But the problem is. And maybe it's there and I missed it, but I guess we all know that's why casinos come into town for the tech stuff. But that was not made explicitly clear in the movie. So I was sort of like, why is. Why does he want a casino so bad?
Jason Mantzoukas
And also, why would they need to get on scaffolding above a model of the city to show what a casino would look like?
June Diane Raphael
I don't know. Because they're all looking down.
Jason Mantzoukas
Yeah. Like, oh, this is the way to look at it.
Paul Scheer
The difference. There are two competing interests. One is a single casino, and one is an entire city. That's two very different things.
June Diane Raphael
And I did want. I did want Adam Driver's character. Catalina. Catalina.
Paul Scheer
Baby.
June Diane Raphael
I did want C squared. To address.
Jason Mantzoukas
By the way, I will say, Caesar, Catalina is my favorite salad dressing.
June Diane Raphael
I did want him to address, like, the infrastructure issue of Megalopolis, and also, like, what is gonna happen to all the people who are being displaced?
Paul Scheer
Oh, they're upset.
June Diane Raphael
Does he have an answer for that?
Paul Scheer
Because this motherfucker is, like, independently imploding buildings with no authority. He's just blow it.
Jason Mantzoukas
No, I.
June Diane Raphael
And also. And they're so close. Like, there's no protective gear. There's not a safety goggle in sight.
Jason Mantzoukas
Well, that's what I thought. The Megalon was like, protecting, but then the Megalon doesn't really come. But I think that this movie, at points is also.
Paul Scheer
Why is his wife somehow inside of the Megalon? Like, whenever he's like, interacting with the Megalon in its fractal glory, she. Her face is looking through it and she's talking to him.
June Diane Raphael
See, I thought he found the Megalon when he went into the ocean after her.
Jason Mantzoukas
Yes, that's what he did.
Paul Scheer
I think that's what the movie wants us to think. Okay, I don't think we ever saw that.
June Diane Raphael
I thought you said he found it in space.
Jason Mantzoukas
I think Megalon came space, but it.
June Diane Raphael
Crashed in the water. But it's in the water. Okay.
Paul Scheer
I mean, unless. I'm so sorry. I know we have some architects here. Is there a Megalon expert here?
Jason Mantzoukas
I will so a. Huh? Okay, so a Soviet satellite.
Paul Scheer
Oh, yes.
Jason Mantzoukas
Crashed to Earth, destroying most of New Rome. And then Caesar.
June Diane Raphael
Oh, yes.
Jason Mantzoukas
Builds Megalopolis out of the ruins, using his family forces to protect him.
Paul Scheer
So then why blow up part of the city if in the middle of the movie, the satellite is gonna destroy part of the city? Like, what's the why? Why not just have the satellite land and be like, oh, by the way, I don't need all the 911 esque footage. That is the result. I was like, oh, come on, man.
Jason Mantzoukas
Here's what I will say about this movie. I feel like sometimes you get a director of a certain age who is like, I need to make a movie to justify that. I've been an asshole my entire life, but I'll put it in a fable, right? It's like, you see, it doesn't have to always make sense, just ideas, right? Like, let me be, let me cook, and also fuck some people. That's not my wife. Now, I think at parts, this movie thinks it's so smart and treats us like we're so dumb. It's like when they're driving through the. The, like the bad part of town and like the justice statue is like crumbling down.
June Diane Raphael
I like that part.
Paul Scheer
Leaning up against the wall.
Jason Mantzoukas
She's so tired. Justice, I like that part.
Paul Scheer
There's just so much injustice in this world.
Jason Mantzoukas
But you see, now look, that's a visual beautiful thing, sure. But then you cut to the car and he's like, justice has fallen down. It's like, well, no, we just saw it. It's not a fucking radio play. Like we.
Paul Scheer
Here's the thing that I'll say. Cause I want to agree with you both. Adam Driver, I think, is he's in all of this movie. He's in every frame. He's doing all of the work, trying valiantly to make sense of a movie that is frankly batshit crazy. The thing about watching Plaza or Shia or whatever is they get to just spiral off and be nuts. But drivers gotta hold the whole thing together. And he's doing, I will say, a Nicolas Cage level performance.
June Diane Raphael
I thought it was great.
Paul Scheer
One of the only Coppola's not in this movie, inexplicably. Talia Shires in the house. Schwartzman's in the house.
Jason Mantzoukas
James Caan was supposed to be in this movie. It was going to be his swan song. He was like, Francis, you got to write me a swan song. And the part that was written for him was the part of Dustin Hoffman, but James Kahn passed away before they shot it. Now here's.
June Diane Raphael
And what part was that exactly?
Jason Mantzoukas
Well, yeah, this is.
Paul Scheer
Here's the thing. He dies off camera.
Jason Mantzoukas
He dies off camera. And then when they flash to it in a horrific way. But like, but why even have it at all?
Paul Scheer
He also has a statue in the yard or whatever. And at a certain point, aren't they. They're unveiling as of the statue of Jon Voight and it keeps wobbling back and forth because it's clearly just made out of plastic. And the giant bronze statue, they're trying to take the curtain off of it and it's just like, wobble, wobble, wobble. And I was like, you couldn't get a take where the statue doesn't wobble.
June Diane Raphael
It's really tough because you have some incredible actors playing like handmaidens to other men. Like, there's the. There's Dustin Hoffman, who I guess is Jon Voight's second in command.
Paul Scheer
Yeah.
June Diane Raphael
There's Jason Schwarzman. There's Laurence Fishburne who's like putting chairs in front of, you know, Adam Driver. And I'm like, why the fuck are these guys playing these roles? That's why I really appreciated Adam Driver is because he was fully doing whatever it is that he was doing and there. And he really was. And I was like, wow, hats off. I believe that band deserves an Oscar for this film.
Jason Mantzoukas
I would give him to do what he did.
Paul Scheer
I wish we could write in. I wish we could write in for Oscars.
Jason Mantzoukas
By the way, it still could get nominated. It's. It's in contention. This is Oscar season. You know, people are jockeying for it. I will say this. I don't disagree that he's in a Nicolas Cage esque film, but I do think he's grounding it, in a way. When he's doing that speech, he's like, what are those things? They're little hot dogs and pastries.
Paul Scheer
Incredible. I loved it.
Jason Mantzoukas
Pigs in a blanket. Yes, that's what they are. I was like, wow. And he's. But he's not like, dammit.
June Diane Raphael
I'm interested in what he's saying now. Do I understand it? No.
Paul Scheer
In the scene where he's doing all of his architecture that we just were doing that montage, he turns to somebody at one point, later, late into it, and goes, what if. What connects? Power.
Jason Mantzoukas
I wrote this.
Paul Scheer
Stores it. I was like, yeah, man.
Jason Mantzoukas
But. But by the way, are you only now getting to that?
Paul Scheer
You've got Megalon.
Jason Mantzoukas
This is why I think the movie is so smart and so dumb. It's like, oh, yeah, power should be stored and controlled. But then they also have this scene. Like, my favorite, favorite line of the whole movie is, someone is being interviewed by a high school newspaper, and it's called Dingbat News.
Paul Scheer
Incredible. Incredible.
Jason Mantzoukas
Dingbat News. Hey, I'm from Dingbat News. And then it was like, I guess a commentary on how, like, sensational entertainment reporters are. I don't know.
June Diane Raphael
I don't know. I was confounded by that. And I think I'll think about it for the rest of my life, because it did not feel like that the teenage reporter was an actor. And I say that as a compliment. Like, she truly. Thank you, granddaughter.
Jason Mantzoukas
Perfect.
June Diane Raphael
I knew it was. And I didn't, but I did. I knew something. There was a texture to how she was. I was like, this is not someone who's an actor. But then there was also another little girl next to her. Now, that little girl, I was like, there's no way she goes to the same school and, like, reads that newspaper. She's way too young. Who is that? And she doesn't have any lines. I don't think she speaks. Is that just another granddaughter?
Paul Scheer
That's my guess. Why not? This felt like a grandpa giving everybody candy. Everybody gets candy. And guess what? You can do whatever you want all day. But no, there are no rules.
Jason Mantzoukas
Here's what it will be. It's not candy. It's old nuts. Like, old. Like, they've been out for a while. Like, they're in a jar. Like, why? These are the nuts. The company's nuts. And it's a lot of them are just, like, left. Like those big walnuts. And they're like. And you're. Yeah, it is technically food, but I'm like, I don't want it. Have a nut. Have a nut. And then you have to, like, take one of those big, like, almonds, like. All right. I guess that's what this movie feels like.
June Diane Raphael
Everything okay, buddy?
Jason Mantzoukas
Just think about those. Damn.
Paul Scheer
I feel like you said you got to say your favorite line. I'm gonna say my favorite line right now. Which was. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Jason Mantzoukas
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Paul Scheer
We talk about the fact that we take notes so you're not seeing us. If you're listening, we're looking at our notes. Never have I taken so many notes that I'm looking back on and finding confusing as to what they might refer to.
Jason Mantzoukas
I didn't write jokes.
Paul Scheer
I don't know.
Jason Mantzoukas
I just wrote things like Noxzema face. And I wrote Noxzema face.
Paul Scheer
I wrote Megalon face.
Jason Mantzoukas
Okay, so Noxzema, after his, after his.
Paul Scheer
Injury, I was like, I think he's had some Megalon done.
Jason Mantzoukas
See, I like that Megalon face. I was talking about Cicero's wife, the mayor's wife. When he gets that phone call in the middle of the night, it looks like his wife just has Noxzema all over her face. And I was like, I always heard that Noxima. You wash your face with Noxzema. I don't think you leave it on like as a base coat.
June Diane Raphael
I mean, I think it was, I think it was a mask. But believe me, I had questions. I was like, how could you ever go to sleep with that thick of a mask on?
Jason Mantzoukas
So he. Why does he Bruce Wayne it?
Paul Scheer
That's so weird. I also read, I believe this movie would function better as a Batman esque origin story. Yeah, Driver feels like at a certain point he has no choice but to become a vigilante. And when he gets shot in the eye, I'm like, here we go. Perfect setup. Let everybody believe you're dead. Come back as some sort of Megalon guy. I don't know what it does but be a Batman.
June Diane Raphael
But he. Well, he does have powers. Here's the question I have about powers. And Julia. Why does she have powers?
Paul Scheer
Why?
Jason Mantzoukas
I think what we're trying to get here is a little bit of, like a Romeo and Juliet thing. It's like, here are two sides. Hatfield, McCoy, it's like he's got the power to stop.
Paul Scheer
From Romeo and Juliet.
Jason Mantzoukas
The Hatfield McCoy, of course, classics.
Paul Scheer
Romeo. Oh, oh, Romeo. Wherefore, Romeo.
Jason Mantzoukas
But I think the idea is that, like, the only thing that can bring both houses together is, like, both houses have a special thing. So she has the ability to see what he sees in his head. He has the ability to stop time. And their baby is.
June Diane Raphael
I think their baby is trapped in that moment.
Paul Scheer
Well, that's what I wrote. I wrote that, too. The baby doesn't have the ability to, say, restart time.
June Diane Raphael
That baby's still crawling around right now, trying to figure out how to survive.
Jason Mantzoukas
I thought that if that baby took off on the carpet, like at the end of Aladdin, like, yeah, it's a whole new world.
Paul Scheer
But I would have loved it if it was a flying carpet. It looked like a little flying carpet.
June Diane Raphael
Wait, but here's what. I guess this is the only problem I had with the movie.
Paul Scheer
Yes.
June Diane Raphael
It'S a movie about these big ideas, but I felt like the fact that he had. Well, I don't know. But I felt like the fact that he had superpowers was undermining whatever this movie was trying to tell us.
Paul Scheer
Well, it's trying to. Well, I think the theme there is this line, which is which Julia says to Caesar, Catalina, artists can never lose their control over time.
Jason Mantzoukas
I wrote that down.
Paul Scheer
I have an update. They can. Yeah, there's something about, like, the movie wants to be about how art or the artist can stop and engage with.
Jason Mantzoukas
And I think the idea is you need to let me cook. Right. And then. And we'll figure it out later. And that's. If you look at Francis Ford Coppola, that's his career in a nutshell. But I guess his career, like, don't trust me. I'll make Apocalypse Now. And then he's like, don't trust me, I make Dracula. Don't trust me. And then it gets worse and worse. Everyone gets a little.
June Diane Raphael
But what does he do with the time? He's frozen. Because that's also what I didn't understand. Once he's drink why. And why once he's freezing time, why.
Paul Scheer
Does he walk off the. Rather the Chrysler Building and say, stop time? And then he's like.
Jason Mantzoukas
Because I think that that's him learning the power. I think that's the first time he's doing really. I think he did it once.
Paul Scheer
Why would he say it?
Jason Mantzoukas
Because I.
Paul Scheer
You laugh. Don't laugh at me. That's a real question.
June Diane Raphael
Wait, are you saying. So I thought stop Time was him. Him forcing time to stop. Like, I didn't think the magic could happen without stop time.
Paul Scheer
I agree, but what I think, what I'm curious about is Paul is saying that's the first time that's occurred to him. So like that would mean as you are falling off of the top of a skyscraper, you think to save. Stop.
Jason Mantzoukas
Oh, no, no.
June Diane Raphael
I see where you're.
Paul Scheer
Maybe, maybe it'll. Oh, shit, it worked.
Jason Mantzoukas
No, you see?
June Diane Raphael
I see.
Paul Scheer
Fuck. I wish I'd saved my wife.
Jason Mantzoukas
I think what happened.
Paul Scheer
I wish I'd known this. I would have stopped.
June Diane Raphael
But I think, here's the thing. He couldn't have saved his wife because he can only stop time. He can't do anything with. With time or actions.
Paul Scheer
Wouldn't it be cool if he could like go and mess with stuff?
June Diane Raphael
But he can't. He only stops it, but then. And restarts it.
Jason Mantzoukas
It's like that girl in that show Small Wonder. No, Small Wonder is a robot. This is the girl. It's a boom. She puts her fingers together. What I think was this, like, he was. He was at like, you know, he was at a pizza place and they're like, what do you want? He's like, stop time. Oh, everything stopped. He's like, huh? Next day does it stop time. Oh, let me go on top of the Chrysler Building now and then. Like, I think he was testing it. Like, so this is like his. We're seeing him like, oh, I got something. But that plays no part into the film. It does. Like when the. I was waiting for a Stop Time bullet.
Paul Scheer
No. Yeah.
Jason Mantzoukas
No, he got shot right in the face.
Paul Scheer
There was he never exactly.
Jason Mantzoukas
A child by a child Child killer. Or I guess he is not a child killer. A killer child.
Paul Scheer
So we do know. We know there are guns. Kids have them. It's not like everybody's got a tiny bow and arrow. I would have loved it if he's like, thanks for the autograph.
Jason Mantzoukas
Did he say de club?
June Diane Raphael
No, I didn't hear it.
Paul Scheer
You have that.
Jason Mantzoukas
I, I, I. Alright. So everyone said it, so I wrote it down. I was like, I think. I'm pretty sure he's a der club.
Paul Scheer
Do you think that's an improv or do you think Coppola was like, the line is der club.
Jason Mantzoukas
It's scene four. You find me cruel, selfish, and unfeeling.
Paul Scheer
I am.
Jason Mantzoukas
I work without caring what happens to either of us.
Paul Scheer
So go back to the club and.
Jason Mantzoukas
Start the point of people there it is fine.
Paul Scheer
The head wag is everything.
Jason Mantzoukas
That is pretty great.
Paul Scheer
The head wag says it all.
Jason Mantzoukas
Declare.
June Diane Raphael
Declare.
Paul Scheer
How was work today? Okay, I think now I did something today.
Jason Mantzoukas
Here's what I want to talk to you about, because I want to give it its due. When you saw this movie in the theater, there was a moment where someone was to walk in and do a line in the theater. Okay. They fix it. In the video version, someone just pops up, but it still is breaking the fourth wall in the sense that we're watching a linear movie, and then all of a sudden, we're watching a movie screen, and someone's standing up in front of the movie screen and so.
Paul Scheer
Wait, play that.
Jason Mantzoukas
Okay, I will. I'm gonna first play this.
Paul Scheer
I was in an active blackout for much of watching. I have so little memory.
Jason Mantzoukas
So you would be watching the movie, right, Watching the movie? I'd rather not be. And then. And then this would happen. I would just stand up and go, Mr. Catalina, you said that as we jump into the future, we should do so unafraid. But what if when we do jump into the future, there is something to be afraid of? And then he would answer me, and I would leave the theater.
Paul Scheer
That's it?
Jason Mantzoukas
Yes.
Paul Scheer
That's the whole bit. What's that meant to do?
Jason Mantzoukas
I don't know. But they couldn't figure out enough people to do it. So a lot of the times what would happen is Adam Driver would be sitting staring at the audience in silence and then go give his answer because no one had prompted him. So the audience had this uncomfortable moment of, like, I feel weird now, but this is the scene. I'll play that scene too. But it was such an odd idea, but also so interactive, but yet not interactive, because it doesn't make any sense in the movie.
June Diane Raphael
I read somewhere when it premiered at Cannes, and I think that this is what happened at Cannes, that someone walked up and that moment happened. But. But someone said the movie is both doing way too much and too little.
Paul Scheer
Yes.
June Diane Raphael
And it's such a confounding experience of, like, there's so much in here, and there's nothing.
Paul Scheer
It is. It is the quintessence of neither nor. Yes, it is. It thinks it's a European art house tone poem, and then it's also Interested in investigating, like, time and art and architecture, all this science and all this stuff. And then it's also not interested in any of that.
Jason Mantzoukas
I said it felt like I was watching an acting class where two people. I can't even tell if they're talented because I don't know the text. The text is bad. But it's like, I guess they're doing the best job because, like, I've seen people like, this is a scene from a play that you've never heard of. And I'm like, okay, yeah, I guess I can't fault them.
Paul Scheer
It feels. You know what it feels like? It feels. Feels like, you know, there was that rash of movies of Shakespeare interpretations that were put into modern context. Or it was a we're going to take Richard III, but we're going to put it in World War I. We're going to take this and ba, ba, ba. This feels like it's that. But they were like, we're going to take. Not Shakespeare. We're going to kind of put it in a bunch of Roman stuff. But it's also New York City, baby.
Jason Mantzoukas
And it's also about politics. Let's play that scene too, because I just want to go show you that scene too. This is the interactive moment of the film, which I wish. Maybe when we buy it, we'll have the option to have the line. By the way, Laurence Fishburne does the voiceover. As voiceover. And in real life, too.
Paul Scheer
And sometimes he does it and sometimes he doesn't. Sometimes text comes on screen and he reads every bit of it. Sometimes text comes on screen and it's just text on screen. There's no rhyme or reason. I don't know if he's telling me this story or not.
June Diane Raphael
I don't know. I don't know if this story's from his own Fever Dream.
Jason Mantzoukas
Yeah, I watched Laurence Fishburne in that scene, in the der club scene, and I noticed that he walked off camera and. And then he's only shown at the very end. I'm like, oh, this got out of frame real quick.
June Diane Raphael
Although when he does come back in, I laughed so hard. There are moments in this fucking thing that made me laugh.
Paul Scheer
Oh, yeah.
June Diane Raphael
He comes back on screen and there's some weird, like, space diorama hanging from the ceiling. And he.
Paul Scheer
I think it's pronounced diarrhea.
June Diane Raphael
Lawrence Fishburne comes back in and just sort of resets all of the little ornaments coming off. And I just thought, wow, to let actors out there like this hanging, like, hanging out there. Trying to fucking stay alive in these scene.
Paul Scheer
Trying to effortlessly deliver lines like, there are only two things impossible to stare at very the sun and your own soul. Wait, I know I can stare at the sun quickly, but I can't look at my own soul at all, never mind stare at it.
Jason Mantzoukas
I just wanna hit this one more time. Did Laurence Fishburne marry him and Sonny Hope in the back of a car?
Paul Scheer
Okay.
June Diane Raphael
Yeah.
Paul Scheer
So this is what I wanted to say. I would say one of my top two performances in the movie is by the Citroen car that they drive.
Jason Mantzoukas
Oh, I love that.
Paul Scheer
It has more character than most of the people in the movie.
June Diane Raphael
I thought the way that it redecorated itself for the wedding was quite beautiful. Quite beautiful. Now, by the way, who played Sunny Hope? Because I thought she looked exactly like.
Jason Mantzoukas
Haley Sims.
Paul Scheer
I thought we were supposed to make a connection between. I thought as well, they were meant to be somehow connected, and they weren't.
Jason Mantzoukas
I have a very big idea. I have a very big idea that just.
Paul Scheer
Oh, my God. Yeah, this is a Megalop Megalon.
June Diane Raphael
The Megalopolis type idea.
Paul Scheer
Get a shot of Megalon in the green room. So I'm ready for that.
June Diane Raphael
Paul said a number of times, you gotta let these men cook. So, babe, just cook. Let it turn.
Paul Scheer
You know what? Turn our mics off. Just Paul, give him a spotlight.
June Diane Raphael
Just let him cook.
Jason Mantzoukas
Back to those nuts. Now, the. What if Sonny Hope was an alien that he fell in love with and when she died like that, like. It's not like that. He found the Megalon in the ocean because that's where it crashed. It's like she is Megalon because she's an alien from that planet. And that's why she is so intertwined with the Megalon. That's why when he gets it on his face, he sees her. She is one. She gives him the visions. She's like an alien race that's trying to, like, help our race become more.
Paul Scheer
Okay, I. I don't mind that. It's certainly not in the movie. You're doing. You're doing a lot of work to help the movie, because that is categorically not present. But I want to be clear. Upon getting shot in the head, Adam Driver is given Megalon treatment that ultimately make his head appear to be totally normal.
Jason Mantzoukas
Right. He was shot through the eye.
Paul Scheer
Shot through the eye. He then takes Megalon moving walkways with it. What are you doing? This is a medical breakthrough. This can cure so much. And what he's doing with it is making moving Walkways. What is Megalon?
Jason Mantzoukas
No, I think the Megalon was already like. It was like this. It's like we can use it for moving walkways. But what if we also used it for gunshot victims?
Paul Scheer
Yes.
Jason Mantzoukas
Like, so I think they just found a nut. It's like George Washington Carver found a lot of things for peanuts.
Paul Scheer
He also made a dress.
June Diane Raphael
God, you are nut.
Paul Scheer
Wait, what's going on? Are you okay, man? Wait a second. Is this episode sponsored by Nuts or something?
Jason Mantzoukas
Big Peanut has got to me, people.
Paul Scheer
Is this. Are we. Is this festival sponsored by Big Nut?
Jason Mantzoukas
Big Nut Planter? That would be Comedy Fest.
Paul Scheer
That would absolutely be a thing that would advertise on podcasts. Get Big Nut.
Jason Mantzoukas
Nut up. But I mean, but. But I think what we're. What we're saying is Megalon is a tool of an alien world. We. Right.
Paul Scheer
Wouldn't that be so interesting to make a movie about that? Nope.
Jason Mantzoukas
But I mean, like, I'm just saying, like, even though the movie is not telling us it, that's what we are supposed to believe. It's not a material found on our planet.
Paul Scheer
I don't think so.
June Diane Raphael
I don't think so. But I guess what I come back to is, is what. Where else is Megalon in Megalopolis? A, Aside from the walkways?
Paul Scheer
The. Yes. And it's. It's. It's. Vestra's dress is made of Megalon. Oh.
Jason Mantzoukas
Only certain points though, right? Because when she's singing that song, she's in a white dress and then she. And then at the end of the.
Paul Scheer
Song, she's like, be the Megalon looking like a white dress.
Jason Mantzoukas
Got it.
Paul Scheer
Because the Megalon seems to be able to change its properties.
Jason Mantzoukas
So you see, it's moving walkways, it's dresses, it's gunshot victims, it's everything.
Paul Scheer
But yeah, I guess, you know that.
Jason Mantzoukas
They went to Taylor Swift for that part. I felt like they definitely went to Taylor Swift for that for sure. I mean, it seems like it's a. Yeah.
Paul Scheer
I mean, well, and how obsessed everybody was with the fact that she was a 16 year old virgin that only.
Jason Mantzoukas
Bought for $10 million.
Paul Scheer
100 million. I'm so sorry, Paul, To. To correct you. A hundred million million to support her virginity.
June Diane Raphael
That's what was. So I had to tip my hat to her though. I really did, because I was like, this bitch is onto something. Like, she's not getting money. She's not raising funds for them to take her virginity. She is raising funds for them to just sort of salute it.
Paul Scheer
Yeah.
Jason Mantzoukas
Oh, oh, oh, yeah.
Paul Scheer
Oh, I. For sure.
Jason Mantzoukas
No. I love. The winner gets to marry.
Paul Scheer
No. Oh, I don't think.
Jason Mantzoukas
Oh, did you. I thought the winner. I.
Paul Scheer
We'll only hear from the architect in the balcony. Do you think that she was supposed to marry whoever it was?
June Diane Raphael
No.
Jason Mantzoukas
No, no. Yes. There's a. There's a little bit confusion.
Paul Scheer
Let's see who says no. Okay. Shut up. Time. Stop. Who says yes? Okay. Interesting. I thought. No. I thought everybody was supporting her virginity. And then they play the sex tape and then it's revealed she's a 23 year old non virgin and she's stuck on the Mack the Knife half moon, but they're terrified out of her mind in some sort of coliseum where the wedding of the century is happening and people are being murdered. I don't know.
June Diane Raphael
And she's just also like hustling during this wedding and making a buck.
Paul Scheer
Yeah.
Jason Mantzoukas
It's also like, why put a hat on a hat, right?
Paul Scheer
She's supposed to be a virginie, loves hats.
Jason Mantzoukas
Oh, my God.
June Diane Raphael
Everybody in this movie, we have not talked about the scene and you know, it was improvised where Shia says, pick up my hat. And then they all throw their hats and they all pick up their hats. That was truly clown work. It was best. So good. This is so funny.
Paul Scheer
My favorite character in the movie Full Stop is Shia's sidekick who we meet when he's the tuba player in a parade band. Shia is like, hey, hey, come here, come here. And the guy's like. Drops his tuba and is like, yeah.
Jason Mantzoukas
What do you want?
Paul Scheer
For the rest of the movie, the tuba player is an essential member of Shia's crew. What?
Jason Mantzoukas
And Shia's crew.
Paul Scheer
What a glow up for the tuba guy.
Jason Mantzoukas
Shia's crew all look a little bit like Shia. One of them is Balthazar Getty, which is interesting.
Paul Scheer
Oh.
Jason Mantzoukas
But here's what Coppola had to say about Shia. He is an actor who. This is the quote, deliberately sets up a tension between himself and the director to an extreme degree and whose method was so infuriating and illogical, it had me pulling my hair out. He then compared the actor to Dennis Hopper and Apocalypse Now. So not an easy shoot for Shia or. Or. Or at least for Francis Ford Coppola because Shia's doing a lot.
Paul Scheer
Oh, is he? Oh, I thought it was pretty measured.
June Diane Raphael
But see, there are like, that's tuba player. I would have loved the entire movie to be about that man's journey.
Paul Scheer
Like, that's an arc.
June Diane Raphael
That's a character on an arc that I think I could understand.
Paul Scheer
You know, and yes, rags to riches.
Jason Mantzoukas
And is the tuba player the same one who decides to kill. Well, he puts out the hate.
Paul Scheer
He thinks he's killing Caesar. He's also the character who in the last. In the third act, appears to have the character from the Marvel Universe, Bullseye's tattoo.
Jason Mantzoukas
Yeah.
Paul Scheer
When did he get his forehead? And I was like, when did he become Bullseye?
June Diane Raphael
I think. I don't know. I don't know what went on there. One of my favorite moments was when was when Cesar Catalina finds out that he's gonna be a dad. And by the way, this is often a trope in movies where men take so long to figure out this information. Information. It's like. It's so confounding to watch. It's like, sir, you were a part of this. You have to have known this was a possibility. He takes a solid minute and we watch his face. And again, it's so compelling because it's Adam Driver. Go through every human emotion and land on your. We're gonna have a baby. And I just. You know, again, it's a trope. I see it in so many movies, and it just delights me every time, the surprise.
Paul Scheer
But he is. You're right. He is so good at landing preposterous stuff. Such as the scene when they. Then he and his beloved Julia, they meet with her parents. So now his soon to be in laws. And Giancarlo Esposito is her father, who is the mayor, who is his sworn enemy. He's Cicero. And he is. They are at odds. They are enemies. They play cards. But for the first half of the scene, Adam Driver's just carrying a casserole dish around. Like an old school casserole dish.
Jason Mantzoukas
Like the one that's like an old.
Paul Scheer
Pyrex casserole dish or a Corningware castle. That's exactly what it's. The blue and white Corningware square, small, full size. Right. Casserole dish. And I was like, now what the fuck is this about? And why is he making it look so effortless?
Jason Mantzoukas
I.
Paul Scheer
What's in the dish?
Jason Mantzoukas
What's in the dish? What's in the dish?
Paul Scheer
What was in the dish?
Jason Mantzoukas
What's in the dish?
June Diane Raphael
There was nothing in the dish.
Jason Mantzoukas
There's so much. There is so much here. I mean, Saturnalia is Hanukkah, Christmas, New.
Paul Scheer
Year's, all of it.
Jason Mantzoukas
It's everything.
Paul Scheer
It's interesting because you were talking earlier.
Jason Mantzoukas
About how it's also Halloween.
Paul Scheer
Everybody was encouraged to improvise and all of this. And who is the true author of the movie. You know, Coppola has been writing it since the 90s. People were. Actors were encouraged.
Jason Mantzoukas
Right.
Paul Scheer
But I would say a full quarter of the movie was written by Marcus Aurelius and just quoted by Julia because she says she's. He speaks in just Marcus Aurelius quotes from going to say four minutes straight. Absolutely. It is in. I will say it is in WGA arbitration.
Jason Mantzoukas
I was looking at here just like. So when he originally announced the film was in 1989, he planned to move to Italy to work on two productions in the next five years. And he called the film so big and complicated, it would seem impossible. That's where it started in 1989.
June Diane Raphael
That's where it ended.
Jason Mantzoukas
It's by the way, true and by the way. So he went to Rome to make Megalopolis and a year later he released the Godfather Part 3.
Paul Scheer
What's interesting is like that it is a New York movie. They talk about it being America. It is not interested in being like Roman or Italian or anything like that.
Jason Mantzoukas
I think it's much more about. I think what it is. Honestly, if I'm really looking at it, I'm saying this is.
Paul Scheer
If you're really looking at. Up until now, you've been looking at it rather obliquely.
June Diane Raphael
I mean, so you've been looking at it like through a bag of nuts.
Jason Mantzoukas
Yeah, just like I'm trying to get into.
Paul Scheer
You're looking through like eclipse glass.
Jason Mantzoukas
I'm taking out all the raisins of this trail mix and I'm going to tell you what nuts are. I think what he's trying to do was. I think originally he was talking about how the Roman Empire got corrupt and took this really beautiful society and it fell apart. But then Trump came and he's like, I'm gonna do a politics version. So he took the original idea and he's like, politics, right? And then it gets really muddy and then it's like. Cause I think that there's a couple things at play and that's what it feels like. Heavy handed. At points it's like, it's like, I'm a populist, I'm for the people. But everybody is kind of like Trump at a certain point too, because it's like they're all kind of villains.
Paul Scheer
Shia is very Trump coded.
Jason Mantzoukas
Right.
Paul Scheer
And there is a whole section that feels very J6.
Jason Mantzoukas
Yes, yes, 100%. But then I also feel like.
Paul Scheer
But I also feel like, okay, okay, New York. New York's like, I don't know about that. We're on board for September 11th. But J6 was cool. Right.
Jason Mantzoukas
But I also feel like the other person for the people is Adam Driver. Right. Adam Driver is like, I am for the people. And then. And then when he tells everybody what they. Then they all get behind him because they hear his speech right before he's getting arrested. Or maybe that was later. God damn it. I forgot where. But yeah, the end of the movie really happens very quickly.
Paul Scheer
Nobody's a good guy. Right. Everyone's a villain.
Jason Mantzoukas
Yeah, because Adam Driver's a drunk and he's a mess, and he's doing a lot of things. I don't know. But is he a good guy? Guess so. He's got this.
Paul Scheer
No, I think. I think everyone's a villain.
June Diane Raphael
Yeah. Except for the baby at the end.
Paul Scheer
Oh, yeah. Well, no, you know what? No. I'm so sorry, June. The baby is a villain. I'm putting the baby in the villain in category. I hate to disagree with you, but that baby was a.
June Diane Raphael
The baby is now the only person on the planet.
Paul Scheer
The baby? Yes. That baby's too powerful. How many years is the baby just.
June Diane Raphael
Like, just scrounging around for food, just waiting to learn little bits of milk?
Paul Scheer
Yeah, just like. And like, what happens to the people frozen in time. But also what I noticed was when they would be frozen in time. Time frozen, wind still blowing their stuff all over the place, blowing their dresses. So time has stopped, but the wind is still going. Right. Right.
Jason Mantzoukas
You can't control nature, but you can control time.
June Diane Raphael
I was very upset because at this point, I don't think we know. Or maybe we do know. She know. She can see him stop time. Yes, she knows, but she can't stop time.
Paul Scheer
She cannot. She's a. She's a time stopping viewer, not a participant.
June Diane Raphael
She's a witness of time stopper.
Jason Mantzoukas
But now at the end, she will be stopped.
June Diane Raphael
She will be stopped by the baby or.
Jason Mantzoukas
No, but at the end, when he frees time, she stops too.
June Diane Raphael
Or maybe she's pretending like Aubrey Plaza did when she was a statue in the bedroom.
Jason Mantzoukas
Let's go to the audience and see what they have to say.
Paul Scheer
Not once does he stop time and be a creep and look at boobs and stuff.
Jason Mantzoukas
All right.
Paul Scheer
Which. Come on.
Jason Mantzoukas
Hi. How are you? Good. What is your question?
Paul Scheer
So you kind of touched on it.
Jason Mantzoukas
But the end with his speech, right before everyone in the crowd basically wants to kill him. Right.
Paul Scheer
And then when he's done with his.
Jason Mantzoukas
Speech, they're all behind him. But, like, his speech meant nothing. Right. At that point, it would be really hard to get everyone back on board. Cause they hate him so much.
Paul Scheer
I know, but that's how convincible. That's how dumb you people are. That's how stupid you are. He says a bunch of words and you're all like, yes.
June Diane Raphael
And honestly, that's why the movie needed to be longer.
Jason Mantzoukas
Yeah, well, that ending, I was like, you're gonna. You're. Now you're picking up the pace here. Like, why. Why now? Like, this is. We should have had a moment. Everyone's wearing great shirts out here. I'm not gonna comment on all the shirts. You got a great shirt yourself there, sir. They're all how Skip made shirts. Thank you for wearing them. Yes. Okay. And you had the notebook. You did it all. I love it. What's your question? The question? Well, it really was, to June's point, who really was playing a lot of these characters? Have you guys ever seen characters fade in and out, out of the credits?
Paul Scheer
Because everybody had their characters named, except for right at the end where the.
Jason Mantzoukas
Name title faded in and out of the fixer.
Paul Scheer
Do you guys see that?
Jason Mantzoukas
No.
Paul Scheer
What? Who was it?
Jason Mantzoukas
You're saying that, like, the fixer wasn't a real person.
Paul Scheer
Hoffman's character didn't actually have a name.
June Diane Raphael
Oh, I see what you're saying.
Paul Scheer
But right at the end, if you.
Jason Mantzoukas
Look, the fixer pops up right under his name and fades in and out.
Paul Scheer
Right before it does.
June Diane Raphael
So maybe that's when we were being told who that character was, what his role was really just.
Paul Scheer
I applaud you for watching this. The credits.
June Diane Raphael
I do too, sir.
Paul Scheer
I applaud you. The minute the movie went to credits, I turned my brain off. I died a small death.
Jason Mantzoukas
Everyone. These guys have had their hands up very passionately. All right. What? Oh, you. Now you're pulling back from it? No. All right, here we go. I came here because I. Okay, what do you got?
Paul Scheer
Okay, okay.
Jason Mantzoukas
All right, here we go. Did.
Paul Scheer
Did Julia pretend to be a six.
Jason Mantzoukas
In their meet cute? Was that what happened?
June Diane Raphael
Say it again.
Paul Scheer
Oh, yes, you're right.
Jason Mantzoukas
She sneaks into the office by pretending to be a sixth grader, but he sees through that very quickly.
Paul Scheer
But I think she's also dressed like Red Riding Hood in that scene too.
June Diane Raphael
Yes.
Paul Scheer
I firmly believe there are many, many scenes that were shot and are just missing that are the connective tissue for the absolutely bizarre nonsense that this movie does.
June Diane Raphael
Fair enough.
Paul Scheer
At least we got to see Jason Schwartzman play the drums. Loved it. Jesus.
Jason Mantzoukas
I am in the balcony Watch out, Paul.
Paul Scheer
Watch out.
June Diane Raphael
Be so careful.
Jason Mantzoukas
Hi, how are you? So, what's your name?
June Diane Raphael
Marissa.
Jason Mantzoukas
All right, Marissa, what's your question? So at one point, like, the mayor's.
Paul Scheer
Daughter, I forget their name. And then Caesar were, like, on the bed, and they were doing, like, patty cake. Oh. Oh, yeah.
Jason Mantzoukas
Do we think that was, like, before or after they did it?
Paul Scheer
Well, that makes me feel like. Do we think she is supposed to be a sixth grader?
Jason Mantzoukas
Yeah. Like, was that after Cara?
Paul Scheer
Was that, like, foreplay?
Jason Mantzoukas
Like, what's going on there?
June Diane Raphael
You know, there's parts of this movie that you all are reminding me of that I think I very intentionally tried to put away. That scene was one of them.
Paul Scheer
This. This movie has such an unstructured Terrence Malickian kind of tone poem vibe, but none of it makes sense and none of it's interesting.
Jason Mantzoukas
It's as if there's a million puzzle pieces on the floor and we all remember a handful. I love a puzzle. And I love a puzzle too. And what's your question?
June Diane Raphael
So they have, like, television and obviously the, like, a Fox News type of thing. I'm just curious if this is, like, a future type thing. Like, where's all the cell phones and laptops and things like that? The future is shockingly low tech.
Paul Scheer
Is it the future? I don't know that this is the future.
Jason Mantzoukas
It's not. It's an alternate reality.
Paul Scheer
It's just New Rome.
June Diane Raphael
I think it's the future. I think it's futuristic. I mean, I only know that because there's so many lesbians out and about. And so I have to imagine that that's the future.
Jason Mantzoukas
I gotta say, I loved. And I don't know why I didn't think I was going to. I loved Jon Voight in this. I think that Jon Voight did, like, levels that I was surprised at. He played drunk. He played old. He played Archer. But I do feel like he's doing a lot. Like, I like when he's, like, flirting with. You know, he's flirting with whatever her name is. Champagne.
Paul Scheer
Wow.
Jason Mantzoukas
Or ShamWow Wow.
Paul Scheer
Platinum.
Jason Mantzoukas
Wow. Platinum. I will say this. The movie does look beautiful in many sequences. Like, I was like, oh, this is.
June Diane Raphael
I thought so too.
Jason Mantzoukas
I was confused that there was actually a Roman Coliseum doing Roman Coliseum things. And one of the things was like, okay, Chariot race. Got it. Wrestling. Got it. Guys running through walls. Weird. Don't get it. Don't think that that's a thing. Never heard about that. Looked cool. Felt anachronistic. Obviously, we had an opinion about this movie. But there are people out there with a different opinion. It is now time for second opinions.
June Diane Raphael
So if you care to find me, look to my Amazon.
Paul Scheer
As someone told me lately, everyone deserves second opinions. And if I'm raiding so low, at.
June Diane Raphael
Least I'm rating free my love for Drop Dead Fred, Con Air and Deep Blue Sea. It's time to find my second opinions. I'm flying high with second opinions.
Paul Scheer
And soon I'll match them in renown. And nobody in Amazon, not Jason, June, or even Tall John, is ever gonna bring me down.
Jason Mantzoukas
Amazing. Amazing. That's it, everyone go back.
Paul Scheer
Great work.
Jason Mantzoukas
That's it.
Paul Scheer
You're done. Get out of here. Great work.
Jason Mantzoukas
You did it. You did what we needed to be done. Normally we go to Amazon for five star reviews. Unfortunately, there are no five star reviews on Amazon. There are, however, 175,000 reviews on Letterbox. And we went to the five star reviews, of which there are 5%. 5% of 175,000 reviews. Now the most common rating, by the way, is two stars. Okay, so here we go. This is titled Portrait. This was a cute movie and the people who didn't understand it are just dumb. I'm sorry, it's not even that hard. Five stars. Soup. Soup. 007 writes New York better welcome this in the next 20 years, bruh. Caesar got a Crunch Lab and shit. What the fuck? Absolute masterpiece of a film by ffc. I don't care what anyone says. Sex, Drugs and Megalon. Five stars. Meju wrote if I had 120 million and it was a film director, I would also make a film about the destruction of New York and the United States and dedicate it to my late wife in my house. Everything by the Coppola family is praised here. It's a five star film. And the critics. Anyone who's a fan of Coppola's Old Testament, the Godfather trilogy, has to at least be happy for the director's personal achievement. I love you, Franz Ford Coppola. I love you. What you do now stays forever. Heart emoji. Coops writes like if you built a time machine specifically with the intent of bringing Shakespeare to the present day and asking him to write a script set about a decade from now, inside of 20 minutes, while high out of his mind. And despite all of that, the whole thing pretty much makes perfect sense. I was on the film's wavelength from the start and I stayed there for the entire runtime. One of the most sincere and optimistic films I've seen all year. In other words, I'm a big fan. Cesar clearly took massive inspiration from the Virtual Insanity music video during the design process.
Paul Scheer
I would love it if when he's showing his in laws the moving walkway, JK just walked out and was like, virtual insanity.
Jason Mantzoukas
Shelby writes, to be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to understand Megalopolis. The humor is extremely subtle and without a solid grasp of Emersonian literature, most of the jokes will go over a typical viewer's head. The fans understand this stuff. They have the intellectual capacity to truly appreciate the depths of these jokes, to realize that they're not just funny, they say something deep about life. As a consequence, people who dislike Megalopolis are truly idiots. Five stars. Here we go. Would you recommend this movie?
Paul Scheer
Absolutely. Yes.
June Diane Raphael
Yeah. It's something to see.
Jason Mantzoukas
Thank you, New York. You're the best. Good night.
Paul Scheer
Eat shit.
Jason Mantzoukas
That's all from New York. We have a great T shirt that we created that night. Sex, Drugs and Megalon. You can get that@teepublic.com storesh hdtgm. I love that shirt so, so much. My book, Recollections of Trauma is available wherever you can get your books, your ebooks and all that sort of stuff. How did this get Made? Is going on a giant spring tour. Head on over to hdtgm.com for tickets and information. We are going to be going to a bunch of new places that we've never been before and we want to see you out there. So make sure you get tickets early because they've been selling fast. We'll also see you up at Sketchfest at the end of this month. That's Dinosaur performing up there. And Dinosaur will be performing at Largo along with how to discipit Maids rescheduled shows in March. So check the schedule, check the calendar, check the website, check it all. And also if you want to watch a brand new comedy show with myself and Rob Huebel, make sure that you are following Enter the dark web on YouTube. It's a weekly show where we find the weirdest stuff on the Internet and we challenge each other to test it out. Anyway, Enter the Dark Web. Rob Huebel, Paul Scheer. It's a blast, people. That's it for today's show. A big thank you to our amazing how did this Get Made team. Live on the ground in New York and also here in Los Angeles. We will see you next time for last looks. And by the way, if you have a comment about Megalopolis, we want to hear them. Just head on over to our Discord. Discord Gg hdtgm and you can leave a comment in our Megalopolis section, or you could just give me a call. That's right, leave a voicemail for me and we will play them on the show if they're good. All right, that's all for now. We'll see you next week for Megalopolis. Last Looks did you know adults with financial literacy skills have 82% more wealth than those who don't? From swimming lessons to piano classes, as.
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Paul Scheer
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Episode Information:
The episode kicks off with the hosts expressing their perplexity and fascination with Coppola's latest endeavor, Megalopolis. They've invested significant time and money into understanding the film, setting the stage for a deep dive into its convoluted narrative.
The hosts attempt to unravel the plot of Megalopolis, highlighting the film's non-linear storytelling and dreamscape-like sequences that challenge traditional narrative structures.
A significant portion of the discussion centers on Adam Driver's portrayal of the protagonist, Caesar, and the supporting cast including Jon Voight, Jason Schwartzman, and Laurence Fishburne. The hosts commend Driver's ability to anchor the film amidst its chaotic elements.
Megalopolis is analyzed for its underlying themes such as legacy, time, art, and the corruption of the Roman Empire juxtaposed with modern political undertones resembling contemporary issues like those surrounding events similar to J6.
The hosts delve into the tumultuous production history of Megalopolis, noting Coppola’s experimental approach that involved significant improvisation and last-minute script additions. They discuss how this led to inconsistencies and a disjointed narrative.
The unique architectural designs and visual effects of the film are a focal point, with the hosts debating the plausibility and artistic merit of the moving walkways and the influence of Megalon, an alien technology central to the plot.
Towards the end of the discussion, the hosts reflect on the mixed critical reception of Megalopolis, referencing Amazon and Letterboxd reviews that range from high praise to harsh criticism. They emphasize the film's polarizing nature.
The hosts highlight several standout scenes, such as Caesar’s soliloquy, the interactive movie moments at Cannes, and the climactic speeches that attempt to bring coherence to the film's fragmented plot.
Concluding the episode, the hosts express a mix of admiration and frustration with Megalopolis. They acknowledge Coppola’s ambitious vision while critiquing the execution, ultimately recommending the film as a polarizing masterpiece worth watching for its audacious attempt at redefining cinematic storytelling.
Megalopolis serves as a testament to Francis Ford Coppola’s enduring quest to push cinematic boundaries. While the film's ambitious blend of political commentary, architectural fantasy, and non-linear storytelling offers a unique viewing experience, it simultaneously confronts audiences with its perplexing narrative and fragmented execution. The hosts of How Did This Get Made? provide a comprehensive yet bewildered exploration of the film, encapsulating the mixture of awe and confusion that Megalopolis evokes.