492 JRE Review of Matt Damon & Ben Affleck

Summary

JRE Review Podcast – Episode 492

Review of JRE #2440: Matt Damon & Ben Affleck

Release Date: January 20, 2026
Hosts: Adam Thorne & Co-host Brandon
JRE Episode Reviewed: Matt Damon & Ben Affleck (#2440)
Main Theme: An in-depth discussion and breakdown of the much-anticipated Joe Rogan Experience episode featuring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. The review explores guest chemistry, industry insights, topics like AI and the future of filmmaking, and general podcast vibes.

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Episode Overview

This episode is a thorough review of one of JRE’s most high-profile guest pairings: Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. The hosts unpack the dynamic conversation, focusing on the guests' chemistry with Rogan, candid Hollywood insights, movie industry trends, AI in storytelling, and various memorable moments. The review casts the episode as both a nostalgia trip and a future-focused dialogue, mixing humor, skepticism, and fan appreciation.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Initial Impressions & Guest Chemistry ([00:32]–[05:04])

• Surprise at Guest Lineup:
  The hosts express excitement about such “big movie stars” appearing together, noting this boosted listener draw.
• Affleck vs. Damon Preferences:
  • Adam is a big “Bourne” fan (“if James Bond was slightly autistic. Brilliant.” – Adam, [01:28]), but also loves Affleck’s work in early films like The Town and Armageddon.
  • Brandon praises Affleck’s take on Batman—“My favorite Batman when it comes to the look and just like actor.” ([02:11])
• Massachusetts & Friendship Vibes:
  The “Boston boys” energy and real-life best friend dynamic comes across: “It seems like you’re just hanging out with two really close friends.” ([02:44])
• Super-rich Energy:
  Fun banter about their “super expensive mansions right next to each other” in Montana: “How about I park my yacht next to your yacht?” ([03:30])

2. Authenticity vs. 'Hollywood Elite' ([03:43]–[06:35])

• Press Tour Candidness:
  Both hosts enjoy how Matt and Ben discuss being on press tour and candidly diss the “other interviews”:

  “Trust me, dude, this conversation is way better than all the other stupid ones we've just done.” ([04:19] - paraphrasing Ben Affleck)

• Listener Reaction:
  Mostly positive, with a “lot of people returning” to JRE for this episode.
• Not a “Hollywood Elite” Episode:
  The hosts disagree with critics calling it elitist, noting the guests are relatable and “just coming on being bros [...] three 50-year-old dads that were cool hanging out.” ([06:13])

3. Hollywood Industry Insights ([07:31]–[09:23])

• ‘Sharing Model’ in Film Production:
  The hosts highlight Damon & Affleck's advocacy for a new revenue-sharing model where cast and crew benefit from the film’s success:

  “If this is successful and everyone wins, other production companies will start doing it because why not?” ([08:10] - co-host)

• Potential Industry Shift:
  Matt Damon’s push for this system is seen as inspiring by both hosts.

4. AI, Storytelling, and the Future of Art ([12:44]–[26:16])

The AI Debate

• Can AI Make Great Art?
  • Adam and Brandon debate whether AI can replace human creativity:
    • “AI can’t really write, like, a movie… it just takes all these ideas and just writes the most average of all of it.” ([12:44])
    • Brandon pushes back: “Maybe it can’t write a script now, but how good is your prompting?... You gotta be careful about limiting what [AI] can do.” ([13:20])
• Human Element & Nostalgia:
  Adam defends the “human element in storytelling,” predicting a future where “a majority of people [...] are going to really embrace human made art.” ([18:19])
• Generational Change:
  Brandon suggests future generations may not care who creates art if AI does it better and faster ([19:21]).
• Corporate Adoption:
  Both agree corporations will likely go all-in on AI content production.

Notable Quotes

• “Isn’t that the most motivating way everybody would work?” ([08:26])
• “Writers are not improving all that much. And also, you’re saying it’s not original. Right. It can’t be original because it has to just cleverly plagiarize. But what do you think writers actually do?” ([16:59] - Brandon)

Pop Culture Anecdotes

• The Duffer Brothers (Stranger Things) spotted using ChatGPT as a creative aid ([25:05]).

5. Movie Budgets & Marketing Realities ([26:38]–[29:17])

• True Costs of Blockbusters:
  Adam explains how marketing doubles the “official” production budgets (“If it’s a $50 million production budget, you’re going to have to dump $100 million into it for marketing at the same time.” [27:08]).
• Impact on Financial Success:
  Highlights recent big-budget “flops”:

  “No, the studio is now $400 million in the hole because it broke even…” ([27:09])

• Netflix’s Role:
  Streaming platforms like Netflix minimize marketing costs and risks compared to theatrical releases ([29:00]).

6. Memorable Stories & Anecdotes ([30:51]–[41:45])

Favorite Movie Scenes & Nostalgia

• Joe vs. the Volcano:
  Hosts love hearing Matt and Ben recite the suitcase scene together:

  “Hearing Matt and Ben say the line at the same time was just so funny. […] It’s like two dudes smoking weed, talking about their favorite movie quotes.” ([35:00]–[35:04])

• Saving Private Ryan:
  Behind-the-scenes Spielberg anecdotes and how the movie impacted modern war films (“That was a game changer for all war movies moving forward.” [35:49])
• Hunter S. Thompson Stories:
  Wild story about Matt meeting Hunter S. Thompson, being offered moonshine, and Rogan’s “FOMO” at missing out on interviewing the legendary gonzo journalist ([39:11]–[40:37]).

7. Rogan's Booking Process ([41:49]–[46:20])

• How Guests are Selected:
  Discussion of Rogan’s minimalist approach to guest booking:
  • “He does have an agent, and then he does have, I believe, like a PR person. [...] They just give him options. [...] Joe gets a text and he’s like, yeah, I’m interested, or no, I’m not.” ([42:26])
  • “Joe doesn’t even have an assistant… There’s Rogan, Jamie, the guy that edits the videos, the booking guy…” ([44:40])
• Comparison to Other Podcasts:
  Emphasizes how few people run the world's biggest podcast.

8. Psychedelic Therapy: Ibogaine ([46:46]–[50:39])

• Ibogaine for Addiction/PTSD:
  • Discussing Netflix doc Waves of War on ibogaine therapy, its promise for veterans’ PTSD/addiction, and why it’s illegal in the US ([47:47]).
  • “Ibogaine is supposed to be massively uncomfortable for about 12 hours… it is taking you on a pretty horrific journey of introspection into yourself…” ([49:47])
• Hosts’ Take:
  Intrigued by its effectiveness and challenging experience, but stress the need for medical supervision.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• “If James Bond was slightly autistic. Brilliant.”
  — Adam, referring to the Bourne movies ([01:28])

• “Bruce Wayne has a bit of a Boston accent. But hey, I’m from Massachusetts…”
  — Adam ([02:11])

• “Trust me, dude, this conversation is way better than all the other stupid ones we’ve just done.”
  — Ben Affleck, as paraphrased by Brandon ([04:19])

• “It was like three 50-year-old dads that were cool hanging out. That’s what it felt like to me.”
  — Brandon ([06:13])

• “If this is successful and everyone wins, other production companies will start doing it because why not? Then it’s a win for everybody and that’s just a better structure for how things should be.”
  — Brandon ([08:10])

• “I think there’s always going to be a human element that people are going to cling on to, but AI is going to take, like, it’s going to take over. You’re right.”
  — Adam ([25:17])

• “Joe doesn’t even have an assistant. […] There are like 40 people that work for Two Bears and whatever that show. I mean, yeah, all these shows have so many people—literally name a show, a podcast, and it has more people working on it than Rogan’s show.”
  — Brandon ([44:40])

• “Ibogaine is supposed to be massively uncomfortable for about 12 hours. I mean, it is taking you on a pretty horrific journey of introspection into yourself. So, yeah, it doesn’t sound fun.”
  — Brandon ([49:47])

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Important Timestamps

• [00:32] – Introduction & episode context
• [03:43] – Movie “The Rip” press tour, candid interview style
• [07:31] – Revenue-sharing film production discussion
• [12:44] – Beginning of AI discussion
• [18:19] – Human art vs. AI-generated content
• [26:38] – Movie budget/marketing realities
• [35:00] – Reciting “Joe vs. the Volcano” suitcase scene
• [35:49] – Saving Private Ryan impact and anecdotes
• [39:11] – Hunter S. Thompson moonshine story
• [41:49] – Joe Rogan’s guest booking process
• [46:46] – Ibogaine/psychedelic therapy for addiction
• [52:29] – Episode ratings and sign-off

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Overall Tone & Takeaway

• Casual & Relatable:
  The review maintains a relaxed, humorous tone, mirroring the original JRE conversation with Damon and Affleck.
• Engaging & Informative:
  Plenty of tangents, pop culture anecdotes, and critical analysis make the summary both entertaining and insightful.
• Balanced Perspective:
  The hosts celebrate the episode’s freshness and the guests’ camaraderie while digging into more serious debates on AI, art, and the future of the industry.

“If you’re a fan of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, if you like their movies and just want to hear kind of, like, get to know them a little bit better and, you know, hear a cool conversation with Rogan and them just kind of shooting the shit... Check this one out!” ([51:30] - Adam)

Hosts’ Ratings

• Brandon: 7.5/10
• Adam: 7/10
  “Did it blow me away? Great listen, though.” ([52:29])

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Summary:
An enjoyable, insightful episode that delivers on Hollywood nostalgia and contemporary cultural issues, with a strong focus on authenticity, industry transparency, and the future of both art and movie production. Essential listening for JRE fans and anyone curious about the intersection of creativity, technology, and celebrity culture.

Transcript

[A]

You are listening to the Joe Rogan Experience Review Podcast. We find little nuggets, treasures, valuable pieces of gold in the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast and pass them on to you. Perhaps expand a little bit. We are not associated with Joe Rogan in any way. Think of us as the talking dead to Joe's Walking Dead.

[B]

You're listening to the Joe Rogan Experience Review.

[A]

What a bizarre thing we've created now.

[B]

With your host, Adam Thorne.

[A]

This might either be the worst podcast.

[B]

Or the best one. One go.

[A]

Enjoy the show. Hello, everybody. Welcome to the Joe Rogan Experience Review. Today we are Talking about episode 2440, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. This was a pretty surprising episode in the feed because. Wow, such high profile guests. I enjoy this quite a lot. Joining me as always, host of the show, Adam Thorne. What's going on, man? How did you like this episode?

[B]

Dude, I liked it. I'm a big fan of, well, mostly Matt Damon, I would say, but I do like, I do like some movies with Ben Affleck in All right. Really more of his older ones. I liked the Town a lot. I'm a big fan of the Town. I liked him in Armageddon. That was a good role for him. Pretty old. So that movie, I liked that one when I was in high school. That was great. And you know, even like the real classics like Mallrats. He, you know, just way back in the day. But yeah, these guys are great. They've done a bunch. The Bourne movies, dude, don't get me started. I watch those all day. That's like if James Bond was slightly autistic. Brilliant.

[A]

Yeah. And you know, Ben Affleck is great and I love a lot of his movies. A lot of them. You mentioned Batman famously also.

[B]

What did you think of his? What did you think of his Batman?

[A]

I loved it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I don't like the direction of it when it comes to the writing, but I thought him as Bruce Wayne and like as Batman works so well. My favorite Batman when it comes to the look and just like actor. As much as I like the new one of the Batman, I think that's great. But Ben kills it. It's. It's weird. Bruce Wayne has a bit of a Boston accent. But hey, you know, I'm from, I'm from Massachusetts, you know, Cambridge. I was living like 40 minutes away from it.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

So it's just, it's cool to have some like Boston boys on the show. I feel like they had great chemistry. Like it seems like you're just hanging out with two really close friends. Oh, yeah.

[B]

They've known each other since, like, high school.

[A]

I think they did high school theater together.

[B]

Yeah. Well, here in Bozeman. Well, close to Bozeman, up at the Yellowstone Club, which is up in Big sky, where the super bougie rich people live. They have super expensive mansions right next to each other up there. They have houses together up there because they're super rich best friends. And that's what super rich best friends would do. Live right next door to each other. Why the hell not?

[A]

How about I park my yacht next to your yacht?

[B]

Hell, yeah.

[A]

You know, it's that kind of energy.

[B]

Join yachts, join them up, back them up to each other.

[A]

Let's have a water slide connecting our pools.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

You know, how awesome is that? But I want to get into some of the episode reception here. So they're on a press tour right now for the movie the Rip, which comes out January 16th on Netflix. Funny enough, Rogan has some. Some Netflix ties. So I think maybe Netflix was kind of like, hey, man, you know, you have a big platform. You should have these guys on, you know, put on a movie. And even Matt and Ben talk about, yeah, we're on a press tour, but this is the most exposure we're gonna get.

[B]

This is.

[A]

This is the most important show out of the whole thing.

[B]

Yeah. And they even kind of shit on all the other interviews they did, which I found pretty hilarious. I was like, good for them. And, well, what I loved about it is it just added to the authenticity of this conversation, because it was a lot more like a conversation these three would have at a bar when no one's listening. You know what I mean? It's like, that's exactly what Ben Affleck would say if no one was around. He'd be like, trust me, dude, this conversation is way better than all the other stupid ones we've just done.

[A]

Yeah. It's just so cool hearing actors like that talk about the film industry on the same level as, like, comics just shooting the shit about a comedy club.

[B]

No doubt. Yeah.

[A]

You know, and the. The. You know, the inner workings and everything. So when it comes to some of the, you know, reviews and comments and people reacting to this episode, mainly positive, obviously. Very enjoyable. This is an episode where I was seeing a lot of comments and just reception of people being like, hey, I kind of drifted away from this podcast, but I returned here, and this was an amazing episode.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So a lot of people returning to the show because of this. But on the other end of the spectrum, people are Kind of like, what is this, a Hollywood elite podcast now? Which I don't know. It's like, I don't agree with that. That doesn't come off that way to me because it just feels like Guy is shooting the. And Joe's like interested in their work and fans. And it doesn't just feel like a glaze fest, you know, it doesn't feel like they didn't come on either.

[B]

They didn't come on complaining about the, you know, right wing government or how we need to recycle. They weren't lecturing people on behaviors like they, they weren't really doing any of that. They were just coming on being bros. It was like three 50 year old dads that were cool hanging out. That's what it felt like to me.

[A]

But that's for me, what makes this such a genuine podcast. Because, you know, when the rock was on, I'm not sure if you listened to that episode. Oh, of course, it was very scripted because you would listen to that episode and then you would listen to him on Fallon and all. And it's the same exact talking points.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

And a lot of people were kind of upset about that because they didn't really dive into anything too out there. Like it was, there was a lot of like workout stuff. It was, it was very mainlined where this, it was all over the place. Getting into the industry, getting into acting, it just felt like Joe was like. And he did me, Ben for the first time on this episode. But it just felt like meeting someone you're a fan of and just kind of shooting the shit about what they do. That's what it felt like to me, for sure.

[B]

For sure. And I, you know, and I love what I, what I really liked about, you know, this show coming up, honestly, I mean, listen, I like these two, you know, I'm fans of them. But when I heard about their new movie coming out, I could have take it or leave it. I would wait for somebody I know to watch it and they would have to really sell it on me. Like, that's just me. And it's not a reflection on them and their show. It's just like me with how busy I am at the moment in my life, something has to really stand out. I just cannot be bothered to invest in a show or a movie just because it pops up as new on Netflix. Somebody has to go, hey, this was amazing. You've got to check that out. However, as soon as I heard that they're doing that like sharing thing, that sharing option for all the cast and how well it does, everybody benefits. That to me, I'm a little bought in on it. I like that idea. And especially when Matt said, well, they've talked about this in the past, but there's never been like a framework for it. So it's never kind of been set up. Well, now there is a framework. So put your money where your mouth is. If other people want to jump on board with something like this, give it a shot. And if this is successful and everyone wins, other production companies will start doing it because why not? Then it's a win for everybody and that's just a better structure for how things should be. And who knows, maybe it expands beyond shows and movies and goes into other industries to where it's like all sorts of businesses start working like this. Hey, everyone gets a cut of our success, I think. Isn't that the most motivating way everybody would work?

[A]

Yeah, and this episode was kind of a glimmer of hope in pretty dark times when it comes to an industry like this. Because not only that, which seems to be snowballing into something serious and it seems to be something that people are really agreeing on and obviously should be implemented. And I think we'll see that a lot more often because these are like massive big players talking about this on the biggest platform they can. And I feel like it is very inspirational also. At the same time, the AI talk on this episode was really nice to hear. I have to be honest, you don't.

[B]

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[A]

Because in all these times and conversations of it's taking over, we're. It's nice to just, like, hear some, like, serious. Okay, for real, here's what's gonna happen. Because AI can't really write, like a movie, you know, because it just takes all these ideas and just writes the most average of all of it. You know, I found that to be one of the most interesting topics about this whole podcast. What did you find to be, like, the most interesting?

[B]

You know, just to touch on that point, I'm gonna have to push back against you there, Brandon, for a second.

[A]

What?

[B]

Okay, bud, I'm gonna have to push back. Look, I believe that Ben Affleck probably is a good writer. So he knows a lot about writing. Does he know a lot about AI? I don't think he does. So he has all these opinions about what AI is and how it works and what it can do and what it's capable of. I'm like, okay, dude, maybe it can't write a script now, but how. How good is your prompting? Right? For one, it's like when people put these limitations on AI And I heard this, you know, from a bunch of graphic designers about a year ago, year and a half ago, when they were like, oh, AI. And never be able to make good pictures or logos. Look, look at that picture. This guy's got five fingers. Well, they've already fixed that. And now it's making movies that literally have the actor in and it's like, almost not clunky at all. It's only a matter of time. So when they gave that example of the rock in the hospital bed and he pulled the sheet over his face and it was like something his mother did. And then the way that he was making excuses about his addiction, that was like the rock's father. And he pulled that from a memory, and it's like, no, I could do that. Well, what the AI can do is source a billion stories from a billion other humans that also had very emotional store discussions and memories and put them into ideas that resonated with other humans and have already been tested. It's like, look, I'm not saying it's going to be perfect at doing these things, but you got to be careful about limiting what it can do. Sure, it cannot do it today, but do not underestimate what its capabilities are gonna be. I would be surprised if in 20 years, from a prompt, it couldn't outperform script wise or in most tasks, instantly doing a better job than humans with things like that. I just can't see how it wouldn't.

[A]

Now I remember.

[B]

You've also got to think, of course they're gonna say that because they're directors, they're writers, they're all these things. And it usually these strong arguments come from people that are being paid to do those things because they're desperately afraid of the possibility that they might be the only voices left saying, AI can't do that and won't be able to, because realistically, it probably is gonna be able to do those things.

[A]

Yeah, like, sorry, Ben, obviously, you know, way to rain on my parade here. And I'm trying to be optimistic, all right? But I. I feel like there is such a human element in storytelling. And AI does do that. That's the whole idea. It's like taking from many things at once where it might not be hard to make something super original, might make something great, you know, but in terms of, like, exploring new territory or like a crazy plot that you just haven't seen before, but I don't know, like, again, but think about hard for me, like, you have a great point here. You know, what was that quote? It was like a few episodes ago where the dude's like, yeah, AI has developed since, like, you know, the big. Since like three years ago or something. It's like, improves 300 times. It's like 300 times more powerful than it was three years ago or something. It was like two years ago.

[B]

Exponential, dude. Humans, our writers are not improving all that much. And also, like, you're saying it's not original. Right. It can't be original because it has to just cleverly plagiarize. But what do you think writers actually do? We're always building on the past. That's technically what is happening all the time. Think about it in terms of comedy. Comedians have to actually be quite careful that they don't accidentally write a joke that's like somebody else's. And it does happen, whether they actively do it to try and steal a joke or they kind of do it by accident, which can also happen. It's like this reinvention of these premises and styles and it's like people do build off each other. It's. It's what it is. Yeah.

[A]

And I think another element I'd like to touch on is kind of like the future of how people are going to perceive this because I kind of agree with what they're saying is, yeah, say AI makes the next Godfather. You know, I don't know. There's something about just something made by humans that I really do enjoy. I don't know, man. When it comes to listening to 50 Cent, I know which one I'm going to listen to, you know?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

As much as many men is cool, like the, the other version, it's like, I'm gonna, I'm not gonna be like, damn, I, I don't. It's way better than 50 Cent now. And even if it objectively becomes that which honestly, in 10 years with what AI will be, where it'll just be, Skynet probably will have the power to. But there's something so great about it. I think it's the same reason why people cling on to things like, you know, like physical media, because there's such an. It's so authentic, you know, it's human made. It's. You can hold it in your hand. There's so much to it. And I think when it comes to streaming and digital stuff, I don't know, there's. There's the whole idea about something digitalized and then with AI that's to like the next tenth extent, you know. So I feel like there will be people, a majority of people, who are going to really embrace human made art going forward.

[B]

I think you are correct. But I also think this is a generational thing. I think it's because we're used to it and the AI is new. But like, my daughter is two years old. She's going to grow up with AI, so she's going to know there are people that did things and there are AI that did things. And she'd be like, well, but the AI does it faster and it's just as good. Why did the people do it? And I'm like, well, we didn't have the AI before. And she's like, yeah, but why do the people do it now? Well, but it's nice that the people do it now and they're really good at it too. And she's like, yeah, but it takes longer and sometimes it's not as good. And that's how it'll be just perceived and thought about. I mean, the issue will be that there won't be like a celebrity at the end of it. Like to go to a thing live may not have the same feel because there won't be this. But they just make caricatures. They're just going to make optimus robots that are dressed up as, you know, anime characters and they're danced for all the, you know, teenagers, young teenagers, you know, K pop bullshit. And they'd just be like, yay. Woo.

[A]

Yeah, it's just crazy. In the future, like with AI, it's like, okay, this movie, I'm gonna have Rob Schneider in it, Marlon Brando, you know, it's whoever the fuck you want. Because it could just all just be created and. But I think for me and a lot of people, a big appeal of art, because film is art, you know, is expression, is human expression.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And a vision. You know what I mean? Look at David lynch, that the reason why I'm so drawn to his films is because he's so interesting as a person and I like to kind of see that window into his head. And I feel like with a lot of directors and stuff, there's that same thing now when it comes to a superhero movie. Yeah. Like when it comes to court, like minions 70, when that comes out, that's going to be totally AI show. The script's going to be. The animation is. I can see corporations really moving to this.

[B]

But I mean, think about it in terms of cartoons that you watched growing up, that had a massive impact. Did you ever watch the movie Dark Crystal or Labyrinth?

[A]

The David Bowie one?

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. So incredible. I think it's actually like the 40th anniversary of Labyrinth right now. I saw that. The movie theaters, but Incredible. But it's a lot of costumes, right. So you're not actually seeing the people. It's like puppets and they. You still have like strong emotional feelings to the characters and it's sad and they're going through things and blah, blah, blah. It's like Just change that for animatronics, change that for a little robot, and then also just change the whole story for it written by a machine. And then all of a sudden it's like, well, at what point are you missing the thing that you've been discussing, this, like, human element? I think the lines will get blurred easier than you would imagine. Yeah.

[A]

And a lot of people have different definitions of, like, what is the meaning of life? And a lot of people would say it's to experience, you know, and when everything you experience is just made by a machine, from art to devices to everything, it's like, then are you living in a simulation at that point? If just everything around you is like, you're, like you're. How removed are you from humanity at that point?

[B]

It's a good point.

[A]

And for me, I just feel like when it comes to art, I love seeing.

[B]

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[A]

Honest, whatever you feel about AI good or bad, it is cool seeing. Whoa, that's. That looks so real. It's so cool to see how much it's developed. If you're a fan of Cryptids, it's over. No, no. Evidence is like, you can't really. Anything could be fake at this point with Bigfoot and all that. But it is cool to see how realistic this stuff can be in terms of like, imagery, how well some of the writing could be. Yeah, it could be poopy scripts like Ben is talking about. But there are some, there are some, some moments where you can see, wow, there, there was some potential right there. The Duffer Brothers for Stranger Things. I'm not sure if you saw the new season, but on the behind the scenes documentary, if you Stop a frame when it's on their computer, they have two tabs open of chat. Gbt.

[B]

Hilarious. You know they're using it, dude. You know they're using that shit. Of course they get stuck on a bit. They're like, all right, we got to come up with something here. Yeah, of course they're using it.

[A]

I think there's always going to be a human element that people are going to cling on to, but AI is going to take, like, it's going to take over. You're. You're right. As much as I want to be an optimist about, like, oh, well, we're all you. We're all humans, and we all love human art and stuff. It's corporations, dude. Like, they're going.

[B]

But then also, I think there'd be, like, this retro element as well. You know how, like, you know, the vinyl came back and, like, just old shit just starts to come back and gets trendy again. It's like, before you know it, people are just putting their laptops down and everyone's like, back to, like, a quill, dipping the ink and just writing in their little. On a scroll. Just because some hipsters somewhere, it's like, yeah, I'm done with my laptop. I'm just like, this is how I write my notes out. And, you know, there's just elements of this. Like, some guys, like, yeah, I just make tables by hand. I'm just, yeah, done with all that. And people are like, I like these tables.

[A]

I feel like it's going to be almost vintage to, like, procreate in the future to, like, another human. It's like, why don't you just, like, Bluetooth your AI girlfriend to your Roomba and just that it's way easier.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, it feels way better.

[B]

Get your. Get your ultimist pregnant. What are you doing?

[A]

Gross.

[B]

What are you doing touching a woman? Yeah. Get diseases.

[A]

But, yeah, it's. It's a real weird future. There was a lot of cool movie talk on here. What I found interesting on the podcast is how they talked about budgets, where you have a $50 million budget, but you also have to keep in mind it's doubled with the marketing that goes into it. So if it's a $50 million production budget, the movie, you're going to have to dump 100 million into it for marketing at the same time.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And then you look at some of the flops this year. There were a lot of flops this year where the movie. The budget was like 400 million, and people are Saying it gets broke even, you know? No, the studio is now 400 million in the hole because it broke even. And it's something a lot of people don't realize and it's cool that they talked about that. Like, you look at some of the biggest movies ever. Star wars, the Force Awakens, Its budget was $533 million.

[B]

God. Half a billion dollars for a movie for two hours.

[A]

That's an billion dollar budget.

[B]

Oh, because of.

[A]

Maybe not because it's such a massive. Because the production budget's always doubled with the marketing. But I feel like maybe it's just such a massive production budget, you. But I don't know, dude, the Force Awakens, when that was coming out, that was everywhere. Yeah, it was that marketing budget. It was every other commercial. It was all over billboards. It looked like they spent half a billion on marketing. Yeah, maybe some, maybe a quarter. But yeah, it just goes to show and I feel like people should keep that in mind when they look at like this movie made this much compared to its budget. You always got to double the budget. That was a cool topic.

[B]

Do you think that they have to do that for Netflix or does Netflix. Because of the like, the whole setup with Netflix, it kind of can market itself because so many people already have Netflix. The marketing is kind of built in. You just open Netflix and it's like, boom, number one in movies, new release, there it is. It's like everyone's seeing it all the time.

[A]

Well, that's what they were saying, right? They were saying like something like Netflix and streaming, there's less of a risk. So you can kind of just make a movie and not really sweat having to spend a ton of money after on marketing. And I think that's the way to go. I think in the kind of surprise.

[B]

That I don't see more movie and show trailers pop up on Instagram. Do you get many on Instagram?

[A]

I get a lot of the, like the big ones. I know the super bowl commercials coming up. Minions. Minions 4 is coming out. Or 3. Whatever it is. I know that's going to be all over my feed. Really? Oh, yeah. All movies like that are all over feeds. It's weird. It's the kids movies that are all over like, you know, Instagram feeds and stuff. YouTube. YouTube.

[B]

Let me go into mine now. I wonder why I don't get any. Maybe they're just like, this guy never watches any movies. We're not wasting our time.

[A]

Yeah, I got a lot of like, I. You know what? I actually did get some on Reels on Instagram. I got a lot for the new fallout show that just came out.

[B]

The new season, I got UFC, a meme about Sydney Sweeney, UFOs, someone making fun of Dave Portney, some crap with Trump dancing and AI. I don't know what any of this says about me.

[A]

Wow.

[B]

Your.

[A]

Your Instagram has its thumb on your pulse, dude.

[B]

Yeah, I think. I think it just says, I'm trash. I'm trash. It's inescapable. I am trash. Oh, well. Well, there we go. But, yeah, no movie trailers for me. None.

[A]

Wow. Now, I just want to throw this out there because I thought this was just, like, something Joe threw in the podcast, which I was like, what? Where he was talking about Newton when he was, like, training, and it was the whole topic of, like, Matt Damon talking to some of these, like, people, like the. The Delta operators. And they're like, yeah. He's like, yeah, they're like chill guys. And he asked them like, hey, what's, like, the. The biggest factor? What's the most important factor? And they go, problem solving. And he's like, you think they'd be like these tough, masculine, you know, powerhouse, very demanding, aggressive people, but no, they're calm and collected, and it's like problem solving. Because you need to be sure in a situation like that where Joe just throws us in there, where he goes, yeah, man. I trained with a guy once. He. He got arrested because he was involved with this thing where they broke every bone in a guy's body and then cut off his hands and. And head. And then he. He did some time for that. Now he's dead. But, yeah, I get what you mean. Like, that was out of nowhere. It's like, what happened?

[B]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no. That was when they were talking about. When he. When Matt Dane. Ben Affleck was talking about going into prisons and interviewing. Interviewing criminals for the movie the Town. And they were. They gave that example of when all they were. They robbed the bank, they were dressed as nuns, and they pulled up on that cop, and he looked away, and he was like, yeah, he didn't want to be on the wall with the dead cops. And then Ben was saying, oh, this is because, you know, it's cool as a actor. You just go in and these guys just open up to you. They just want to talk to you. But, you know, they're these gangsters doing all these crazy things. That's when he said that story, when they were talking about the. The Delta guys and about making decisions, what I found funny about that. Is it set back to Ben? The Delta guy said he goes, yeah, it's just about decision making, much like what you do as an actor. And Ben was like, oh, no, no, dude, no.

[A]

He's like, I just do coke, bro. You know, but I don't do what you do.

[B]

But of course, it's like a clear, like, pragmatic, you know, sensible answer like that, you know, I don't know why Ben was, like, shocked to hear it. Like, what did he expect him to say? It's like, oh, how quickly you can stab people. It's like, no, that's not going to be the answer that the Delta Force person says. It's this going to be a very, like, organized structural thing that makes that happen. Right, Exactly. Yeah. So it was.

[A]

It was some bad stuff. Yeah, badass stuff. Yeah. I must have. I heard that thing Joe said, and it just completely fucking took over my head.

[B]

Oh, he's told that story a few times. So. Well, he basically trained that guy. He was sparring with him at the taekwondo school that he went to, and he was. He's like. Was sparring with him, and he said this guy was, like, nuts, super aggressive. Like, Joe was better at the martial art, but this guy was, like, always coming for him hard. And then once asked him the question, what's, like, the best way to kill someone? But then, yeah, supposedly was involved with torturing somebody to death horribly and then went to jail for something else. I mean, there's bad guys out there. Bad guys.

[A]

Boston. Yeah. Yeah, Boston. That's Boston for you. That's.

[B]

They don't fuck around. Yeah.

[A]

I loved hearing them talk about movies and some of their favorite movie scenes, like Joe versus the volcano, that luggage scene.

[B]

Oh, that's so cute.

[A]

Hearing Matt and Ben say the line at the same time was just so funny.

[B]

I love.

[A]

Yeah, it's like. It's like two dudes smoking weed, talking about their favorite movie quotes. That's what it felt like, you know? Yeah.

[B]

You could imagine them both being, like, 13 watching that together and just loving it. And now being in a position where they get to ask the people in the movies about, though, all their favorite movies growing up. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

So luggage is my life. I watched that scene after. I rewatched that scene after, like, listening to the podcast. I'm like, yeah, that's a fucking. I got to rewatch that movie.

[B]

Oh, it is a brilliant scene. Yeah, yeah, it's. It's amazing scene.

[A]

And then Saving Private Ryan, we. We can't forget about that movie. We have to touch on this subject. If we're talking about this episode, that.

[B]

Was a game changer for all war movies moving forward.

[A]

It was. And hearing Matt's story of talking about how when he was talking to Steven Spielberg when he went on set, and he's like, hey, so what about all that dialogue? He's like, yeah, I cut it all out just like 20 minutes of, of silence of just like, you know, any. And Matt's like, this is gonna be a next level movie.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

And he was more than right there. It's one of the most iconic movies in that scene when they're, they're in the boat and the, you can hear the, the pings of the gunfire on the. It's so good. It's so immersive. One of the best war movies.

[B]

Oh, yeah, for sure. I, you know, I kind of forgot when he said it that he was literally only in like the, like the very last part of the movie. But of course that's true. Like the whole movie happens before he gets there. Yeah.

[A]

And he was saying that Spielberg shot the movie in order. So by the time he was on set, a lot of the movie was already filmed.

[B]

Right? Yeah. Yeah. That opening scene is just so unbelievable. When I went to see that, it was so busy at the movie theater because I was in high school there, that we had to sit in the front row. And that's literally the worst movie to watch in the front row. I felt so sick. Not only is it super graphic and it was like nothing we'd ever seen before that. I mean, the guy like picks up his arm and he's like wandering around and. But the shaking at that size. I mean, you know, like a 50 foot screen or whatever the size of those screens were. I was like, ugh, I need to go outside. It was so intense.

[A]

Other people were nauseous because of the imagery. You were nauseous because dizzy.

[B]

And I ate too much popcorn probably.

[A]

But yeah, I wish I saw that in theaters. What a classic. One of the best movies ever made.

[B]

Oh, so good, dude. So good. Even Vin Diesel was in that. Did you know.

[A]

What?

[B]

Yeah, Vin Diesel, for like a short amount of time. He gets sniped from the bell tower. He gets sniped.

[A]

Really?

[B]

Yep. For a short amount of time.

[A]

I gotta look into that. Yeah, I'll have to find that clip. But there was. Honestly, there was some great things on this episode. I loved. The Hunter S. Thompson stuff was cool as well. That guy is a psychopath. I'm not sure how much, you know, about him, Legend, Fear and Loathing. I've read the book. I've. The movie's awesome too.

[B]

Yeah, we have.

[A]

He was a real psychopath.

[B]

We have some good artwork of him in the studio. When we setting the studio up, we needed some. Some good artwork from some legendary characters. We got some Jerry Garcia in here, Jim Morrison, Hunter S. Thompson. You know, we just. We just had to have some black and whites of. In fact, it's Jerry Garcia's mug shot. We have had to have it.

[A]

That's awesome.

[B]

And the Hunter S. Thompson is just him with a gun, shooting at something.

[A]

Just his natural state, you know, Just a natural state.

[B]

Regular Tuesday.

[A]

What did you think of the moonshine story?

[B]

Oh, nuts.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Just nuts. I mean, what. What did Matt meet him for, like, 12 minutes? It was more than enough.

[A]

What was it, like 9:30 in the morning too?

[B]

Brilliant. Unbelievable.

[A]

Listen, man, I don't care if it's. It's seven in the morning. If Hunter fucking S. Thompson is offering you moonshine, I'm drinking that shit.

[B]

I think that anytime somebody comes on Rogan and tells a story about meeting Hunter Joe, even though he's excited to hear it, there's so much FOMO in him. Like, that is the one guy from history that Rogan wishes that he had been able to interview. I think, you know, maybe.

[A]

What an insane maybe.

[B]

Terrence McKenna. Maybe Terrence. But I think. I think Hunter S. In his prime would have been the ultimate guest for Rogan for sure.

[A]

Yeah. He was such a loose cannon. I don't know how that would go. I just can't see it. Him sitting there very calmly and just being like, yeah, so this hat, like, he's crazy in interviews. I'm not sure if you saw my Conan be mental, like completely mental, but popularized gonzo journalism. And if there's anyone who did that, like, he is the embodiment of that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

In all forms. Legendary guy. I gotta read his other book. But they were talking about it on the.

[B]

Oh, the Hell's angel one.

[A]

Hell's Angels. I haven't. I haven't heard that.

[B]

Yeah. That's not as wacky as we're Fear and Loathing, but it's. It's still very good. And it's. The insights are incredible. And I think the Hell's Angels wanted to, like, kill him after he wrote that because he wasn't supposed to, like, give away that much information, but. Oh, really? Yeah. Some secret stuff that he got into, but incredible, dude. It was never meant to live very long. I think it was that was built into the design.

[A]

He kind of just did what any good writer does. You know, Hemingway, for example. I kind of disagree with it. Well, I definitely disagree with it, but it's. It's kind of just what happens to a lot of good writers for some reason, where they go, well, that was my time. Thanks, guys.

[B]

Mm.

[A]

I'm up. My. My creative time's up. That's all that matters to me. Creativity and creating. So I'm dipping. See ya.

[B]

100% to say lightly.

[A]

Yeah. But also.

[B]

Go on.

[A]

I. I thought that something that was interesting because we've always kind of speculated how Joe gets guest on the show, and he touches on that a little bit, and you probably have a lot more insight on this, but I. I really never truly knew how the process worked with him when it comes to guests. And he touches on it a little bit where he's like, yeah, I just. I look at my phone, I go, oh, that's. That's cool. Yeah, we'll have him on. So do you know what's up with that? Do you. Can you fill in some of those blanks? Is it Jamie who sets it up and then text Joe?

[B]

So as far as I know, he does have. We has his agent, and then he does have, I believe, like a PR person. Kind of like a PR person. But I think that the PR person just kind of arranges the guests, so they're basically just in contact with a bunch of guests, and they just give him options. So they'll be like, okay, these people are kind of doing the circuit, because, you know, people are often doing the circuit, right? They've got a new book and they're reaching out, and they, you know, so they have agents that are in contact with his PR guy because they've just well connected. So they're big guests, big time voices, and they're the type of people that would be able to get on Joe's show. So Joe gets a ping, oh, this guy's got this book. This lady's doing this. You know, these actors have made this movie. And then Joe gets a text and he's like, yeah, I'm interested, or no, I'm not. And then also, Joe has a continual backlog of just, you know, interesting guests that he wants to talk to that aren't necessarily doing the circuit or have specifically something today that they're trying to promote. Right. It could be like just some YouTuber that he's interested in or someone that he just wants to talk to, a scientist or whatever. So he's just slowly working through that kind of a list, I'm sure it's infinitely large. But what's amazing about his show is that people are just at a drop of a hat. They're on. You know, they just get one message from him and I'm sure people are canceling their plans left and right. And he's getting him a ticket. So all expenses played, trip out to Austin and boom, taken care of.

[A]

The amount of walls between the host of a late show and a guest is massive. And there's so many people and middlemen between them where it's so funny hearing this and it's just like, yeah, sure, have them on, dude.

[B]

Joe. Joe doesn't even have an assistant. And there are like, there are like 40 people that work for Two Bears and whatever that show. I mean, yeah, all of these shows have so many people literally name a show a podcast, and it has more people working on it than Rogan show guaranteed. There is almost no show for sure that has less people. It just almost couldn't. There's Rogan, Jamie, the guy that edits the videos, the booking guy. And I. Maybe you count Rogan's agent. But that's probably mostly for comedy. Really.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I mean, Rogan just organizes everything else like that. He is just how he rolls. He's like, why? Why do you need more things like, what are they doing? He's fucking hilarious with that, dude. I mean, even my lazy ass would get an. An assistant at some point. I. It just sounds like you would need one that they would be useful for something. I'd be like, I don't want to go to the store right now and get some stuff. Can you go do that? Yeah. And yeah, he just. That's how to do it.

[A]

That's how you do it. You don't need middlemen.

[B]

He just keeps this. I said it's smart. Smart.

[A]

It's very smart.

[B]

Yeah, it's gotta be. Gotta be less of a headache if he can pull it off and doesn't feel the need. It obviously isn't important.

[A]

Yeah, it's so interesting to hear some of the inner workings. Just because it's such a massive platform and people might assume there's a whole skyscraper dedicated to JRE Studios or something. But no, dude, it's a little compound and there's only a few people that are working the gears in it. Now I do want to touch on this. Would you try ibogaine?

[B]

And.

[A]

Is that how you pronounce it? It sounds like ibogaine. Yeah, Ibogaine. Where I was intrigued by It. When they were talking about it, because. Yeah, like, what do they say? 80% of the time it just cures any kind of, like, drug addiction. Well, alcohol addiction.

[B]

There's actually a really good new documentary on Netflix about a bunch of special forces guys that. Whereas I just looked it up too, for somebody. Where is it on my list? I'm always Googling too much shit to find it. Hold on, give me one second. I'll look it up.

[A]

Yeah, so I just. I'll say this. I heard that the dosing is very, like, strict and you need, like a bunch of medical supervision.

[B]

That's always a good idea. Yeah.

[A]

With really any drug that's extremely psychedelic and takes like, what, 24 hours?

[B]

Yeah, it's called 24 Hour Trip. It's called Waves of In Waves and War. Right. And it's excellent. I recommend anybody watches it. And, you know, these guys are getting back from action and service and many of them have extreme ptsd. And the current medical protocol is like, certain types of meds and not a lot of other support from the va. And many of them were committing suicide and have been. And it's been really difficult for them to integrate back into civilian life and just deal with, like, the struggles that they are going through. Many of them do get addicted or are drinking a lot and just, you know, really struggling with life. And they were finding that doing these ibogaine treatments were helping a ton of them. Now, ibogaine is illegal in the US and they're not even doing almost any research on it as far as I know. So you got to go to Mexico, which is a shame. They really should be doing this because there's. I mean, ex governor Rick Perry from Texas is a big supporter of ibogaine. He came on Rogan to talk about it, which as a Republican ex governor, like, that's surprising that he would be. But he supports the troops and supports their kind of rehabilitation and wants to help them. So hopefully, in the realm of therapy, some, you know, more positive movement comes forward from this. But, yeah, it's showing pretty incredible benefits for people of addiction and PTSD and trauma and many, many things. It's kind of remarkable from what I've heard, but it is supposed to be massively uncomfortable for about 12 hours. I mean, it is taking you on a pretty horrific journey of introspection into yourself. So, yeah, it doesn't sound fun.

[A]

You see your whole life play out, right?

[B]

Supposedly. That's what I've heard. Yeah, that's what I've heard. I can't imagine what it would be like. But, man, you must. You must go through the wringer. I mean, it's gotta be a lot of work if there's a. If there's a ton of positive change. You don't get positive change for free, I'll tell you that much. If you want to make a ton of positive change in your life, it usually comes with a lot of hard work. That's just how life works. That's how we work. You know, you don't pay a price, for sure.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. You don't get it from a day off. So. Yeah. Interesting. Ibogaine. Ibogaine.

[A]

Well, ibogaine's our new sponsor and use code jre. Go down to Mexico, set it right to your house.

[B]

25 off. We do not support illegal drug use, of course. Unless you're in Mexico.

[A]

Yep. So for our Mexican listeners.

[B]

Yeah, that'd be great. Do we have any Mexican listeners? I got. We gotta have a couple.

[A]

We gotta. I. I know. My friend Juan listens.

[B]

Fantastic. That's one. That's one one.

[A]

That's one.

[B]

One, one.

[A]

So dumb.

[B]

We got.

[A]

We gotta have a dozen.

[B]

Yeah, we gotta. Come on. We can. We can be this dumb. At 47 minutes into the podcast, there's only, like, six people left at this point listening.

[A]

Yeah, it's how it works.

[B]

We see the stats. But, yeah, look, if you're a fan of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, if you like their movies and just want to hear kind of, like, get to know them a little bit better and, you know, hear a cool conversation with Rogan and them just kind of shooting the shit, enjoying themselves and, you know, being cool dads. Check this one out. I enjoyed it. It was solid, and I'm really looking forward to watching that movie. I want to support that whole setup for those actors and the production team and all the rest of it. I hope that model gets picked up. I think there's huge benefit in that, and I really hope that, you know, something comes of it. Standby.

[A]

It's out now. It's out now. The rip came out January 16, so by the time we're recording this, it's already out.

[B]

Oh, damn.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

All right.

[A]

And, yeah, go support everything they're doing here because it's some great stuff. What would you rate this episode?

[B]

I give it a solid 7.5.

[A]

I'll give it a 7.

[B]

All right. Yeah. Yeah, that's good. It's worth.

[A]

Did it blow me away? Great listen, though.

[B]

Yeah, it's worth listening. And listen, there were some bangers this week. I mean, Johnny Knoxville, that one was excellent. I mean, there's just good episodes this week, and it's a different kind of vibe. I mean, there's an interesting theme.

[A]

So tough competition.

[B]

Check them out. Anyway, thanks so much for listening, as always, and we will talk to you next time. Laters.