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MFM Presents…Dear Movies, I Love You
01:24:55
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- [00:01]
Millie De Cherico
Hello. Hello. We are so excited that we finally.
- [00:04]
Casey O'Brien
Get to make this official announcement.
- [00:06]
Millie De Cherico
Episode one of our new film podcast, Dear Movies, I love you has arrived.
- [00:11]
Casey O'Brien
That's right. And now you're about to listen to.
- [00:13]
Shalewa Sharp
An advanced screening of their premiere episode.
- [00:16]
Casey O'Brien
Whether you're a full on film buff.
- [00:17]
Millie De Cherico
Or just in it for the popcorn, this is the movie podcast for you.
- [00:21]
Casey O'Brien
Hosts Millie Di Cherico and Casey O'Brien cover everything in the world of film, from the good and the bad to the ugly. So grab your bucket of soda, sit.
- [00:29]
Millie De Cherico
Back and enjoy the very first episode of Exactly, Exactly Right. Newest member of the family, Dear Movies, I love you.
- [00:36]
Casey O'Brien
And don't forget, at the end of this episode, head over to their feed. Dear Movies, I love you in your podcast app and check out the next episode, like a double feature.
- [00:44]
Millie De Cherico
Hey, and while you're there, don't forget to follow rate and review. It really helps.
- [00:48]
Casey O'Brien
Yippee ki yay, movie lovers. Goodbye. Goodbye.
- [00:54]
Shalewa Sharp
Hello, Casey O'Brien.
- [00:56]
Casey O'Brien
Hi, Millie de Chirico. How are you?
- [00:58]
Shalewa Sharp
Oh, great. I mean, you know what we're doing right now?
- [01:01]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah. We are doing a new podcast, you and I, both of us, making a movie podcast together. It's thrilling, it's terrifying, and it's liberating all at once.
- [01:15]
Shalewa Sharp
That's right. Yeah. This is our very first episode and we're really excited because we've got a lot of stuff to cover. First off, we're going to kick off the show with something we're calling Film Diary. And I was wondering, Casey, can you tell them what it is?
- [01:29]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah, I can do that. This is our. The movies we've watched like in the last week. And we're going to be discussing the movies we have most recently watched. Now, these are not necessarily recommendations. This is just like our extracurriculars.
- [01:43]
Shalewa Sharp
That's right.
- [01:43]
Casey O'Brien
These are our studies as film enthusiasts. You know, we're trying to like mine through all of film of all of time. You know, both of us were both students of film, so these aren't necessarily recommendations. Some of these might suck for frankly.
- [01:57]
Shalewa Sharp
A lot of them will probably.
- [01:58]
Casey O'Brien
A lot of them will. Yes. You gotta break a lot of eggs, kiss a lot of frogs.
- [02:03]
Shalewa Sharp
Also, we're gonna talk about drinking in the movies. So, you know, movies that feature complete drunks or people that are trying to get off the stuff, whatever it is, we're gonna be talking about it, but we're also gonna really like, hammer into one movie in particular, and that is 2018's A Star is Born featuring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper and We might even talk a little bit about Bradley Cooper as the director as well.
- [02:31]
Casey O'Brien
And today we have the wonderful comedian Shalewa Sharp. She's on to talk about her area of expertise, which was important to both of us, wouldn't you say, Millie?
- [02:41]
Shalewa Sharp
Oh, yes. We had a very emotional conversation with Shaleiwa about a topic that is, you know, near and dear to all of our hearts, which is the Magic Mike franchise.
- [02:53]
Casey O'Brien
Oh, so fabulous. Much more to come on Dear Movies, I love you.
- [02:59]
Shalewa Sharp
Dear movies, I love you.
- [03:04]
Casey O'Brien
And I've got to know if you love me too.
- [03:09]
Shalewa Sharp
Yes or no? Check the box below. Welcome, everyone, to Dear Movies, I love you. This is a podcast for those who are in a romantic relationship with film.
- [03:31]
Casey O'Brien
That's right. Those who are down bad for film, those who have a crush on film. Those are using movies as a way to fill your sexual and amorous holes in your life. I don't know if that's the right way of expressing that, but, uh, it's for those who sincerely, sincerely love film and care about it very deeply.
- [03:55]
Shalewa Sharp
That's right. I am one of your hosts, Millie de Chirico. I used to host a film podcast.
- [04:01]
Casey O'Brien
Yep.
- [04:02]
Shalewa Sharp
It was called I Saw what yout Did. It was on this very network. It's probably on the feed that you're listening to right now.
- [04:11]
Casey O'Brien
Yes, it's the same feed. It's the same channel.
- [04:13]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah, you can go back and listen to all 200 something episodes of it if you want to. But I did that podcast podcast with my co host, Danielle Henderson, who is one of my dearest friends. And Kasey, you were a part of that podcast too. You were actually the producer of that podcast, right?
- [04:29]
Casey O'Brien
That's right. I produced that wonderful podcast. And this is sort of, you know, a phoenix rising out of the ashes of. I saw what you did, and I'm just so thrilled and thankful that you wanted to have me be a part of this show, Millie, in this capacity.
- [04:46]
Shalewa Sharp
That's right. I mean, you know, it's not unlike A Star Is Born if you think about it. Did find you in a total dump.
- [04:54]
Casey O'Brien
Yep.
- [04:54]
Shalewa Sharp
Plucked you out of obscurity and put you on.
- [04:58]
Casey O'Brien
That's right.
- [04:58]
Shalewa Sharp
But anyway, the thing about doing a podcast with you is that this is like a new thing. I'm very excited by it. I know a little bit about you. I won't say I know everything about you, but I do know that you've got a lot of film bona fides, which makes you qualified to host this podcast with me, wouldn't you say?
- [05:16]
Casey O'Brien
Sure. I Guess so. First of all, I produced an excellent movie podcast before this one called I Saw what yout Did. As we've already covered, I've produced several movie podcasts. But also, like you, Millie, I went to film school.
- [05:28]
Shalewa Sharp
La la.
- [05:29]
Casey O'Brien
And so hopefully, you know, we can, throughout the course of this podcast, we can get some of those, like, you know, film school tales and we can bring up our time in film school because that's sort of a funny time in everyone's life. So anyways, went to film school. I also would consider myself a filmmaker. I would, because I do make short films and I'm working on a feature film. Right. And I really love movies. They're a big part of my life and my creative identity. I also used to host a film podcast, that's right. Called Fart House where we talked about artsy fartsy films. And I did that with my friend Patrick Mallon.
- [06:11]
Shalewa Sharp
What's up, Patrick? Listen, like, you might be wondering, I mean, I think obviously if you're a fan of I Saw what you did, you have heard many episodes where Danielle and I had talked about, you know, film bros, you know, you know the type. Film bros, sure. We're trying to, like, you know, bring some other people to the table. And so for me, the idea that I would be hosting a new film podcast with a guy who went to film school, you know, might be kind of unexpected. But guess what? You're a good one. You're not a film bro.
- [06:45]
Casey O'Brien
Thank you.
- [06:45]
Shalewa Sharp
You're not a film bro. I will stand by that 1,000%.
- [06:50]
Casey O'Brien
Well, thank you. I appreciate that, Millie. I think that it's not unlike Worf in Star Trek. You know, he's a Klingon, and a lot of people have, you know, thoughts about him. As, you know, the Klingon race is very violent. But, you know, people just need to understand that Worf is a gentle soul and, you know, over time, they accept him.
- [07:11]
Shalewa Sharp
So I'll just be plain honest with you. I have no idea what you just said. I've never seen Star Trek in my entire life.
- [07:18]
Casey O'Brien
That's fine. I won't bring it up again on the show. But anyways, I, I, I appreciate that. And I think, you know, more than just film bro. Dumb. You know, I think there's a kind of, there can be kind of a lot of rules in terms of or, and they're all imagined, of course, but, like, there's a lot of pressure to think about movies in a very specific way. A lot of that is, you know, it tends to be from, like, a more male point of view. And it's kind of like, these are the good movies, these are the bad movies. If you like these movies, you're cool. If you like these movies, you drool, you know, And I think this podcast wants to kind of dash away any sort of pretension or, you know, rules about what you need to do in order to consider yourself a lover of movies. You know, if you sincerely love a movie, even if it's considered, you know, a bad movie by some, that should be celebrated. And that's what this podcast is about. It's about, like, enjoying film at all levels.
- [08:31]
Shalewa Sharp
Yes.
- [08:31]
Casey O'Brien
You know what I'm saying?
- [08:32]
Shalewa Sharp
I agree. And I also think it's important to say that, you know, I mean, I think obviously the title of this podcast, Dear Movies, I love you, the icon that pops up when you pull it up on your podcast platform. You know, the idea that one of our favorite bands of all time, the Softies, has done the wonderful theme song, it all contributes to this idea of, like, again, having a crush on a film, having an emotional relationship to movies, and how movies are a big part of people's lives and they help them through, like, hard times and good times. I mean, I cry all the time in movies, and they don't have to be sad. I cry at happy movies. I cry at sweet movies. I cry at, you know, violet films. Like, sure. I am such an emotional person that I, you know, I've realized this over several years of therapy. I'm a very emotional person. And I think kind of what you're alluding to, like, with the things that you've just said, is that, like, a lot of times, you know, film is one of those mediums where people feel like they got to be, like, super analytical or they have, you know, they got to come at it in a very kind of sterile way in order to seem legitimate or something. And I'm like, that we should be talking about our crush on movies. And, yes, talking about how much we love it and how much they get us through our lives and how they're a part of our lives. So that's what it's going to be, guys. It's not going to be this whole, like. Well, the box office numbers from 1989 show that this movie did 5% better. Fuck that. I mean, if that comes up, it comes up. But for the most part, you know, we're going to be a little sensitivo.
- [10:07]
Casey O'Brien
Well, we are going to be sensitivo. I'm a very emotional person. You know, I've said before that I consider myself a soft straight. I'm a softy. Yes. And I love. Rom coms are like, kind of my favorite genre of film. But I also. I'll throw on Salo. Wait, who's the director of Salo?
- [10:27]
Shalewa Sharp
Pasolini.
- [10:28]
Casey O'Brien
Pasolini, which is a movie that is one of the most, I don't know, sexually violent and perverse and there's a lot of, like, eating poop in it. And Date night Movie. Great date night movie, but it's a very extreme art house movie from the 70s. Is that when it's from. But anyways, you know, I can throw on that movie as much as I can throw on, you know, Sleepless in Seattle, a movie I truly love. So I think this is more about the emotional connection to film rather than any sort of intellectual debate or study of film, if that all makes sense.
- [11:10]
Shalewa Sharp
It all totally makes sense. I mean, we are intellectuals.
- [11:13]
Casey O'Brien
We're emotional intellectuals. Exactly.
- [11:16]
Shalewa Sharp
That's right.
- [11:17]
Casey O'Brien
I think that's. I think that is what brings us together and why we thought this show would be good is because I think we both seem so tough and hard on the outside, but on the inside, we're just. We're marshmallows, you know, we're a big softies.
- [11:31]
Shalewa Sharp
We're not unlike John Wick, if you know what I mean.
- [11:34]
Casey O'Brien
We're exactly like. In so many ways, we're exactly like John.
- [11:37]
Shalewa Sharp
That's right. But you know what? Also I like about you, Casey, and part of the reason why I poached you from the film podcast Streets to be on a podcast with me, I like that you understand that high art and low art, they both are able to sit at the same table. You know what I'm saying?
- [11:56]
Casey O'Brien
Absolutely. Yeah, I. I think that way about food too.
- [12:00]
Shalewa Sharp
Like, I agree.
- [12:01]
Casey O'Brien
I used to work at a very fancy restaurant in La Jelena and love the food there, but I'm a frequent McDonald's. I'm in there getting a McRib, you know, on the regular when it's there.
- [12:12]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah.
- [12:12]
Casey O'Brien
So yes, I agree. High and low, they're the same. They sit at the same table.
- [12:16]
Shalewa Sharp
For me, if I were to like, talk about my own career and the things that I've done, like programming and writing and things like, you know, sort of being sort of general film historian type, I think that that's kind of how I approach. That's how I approach film is that I'm like, I want to speak in a smart, intellectual, kind of, I don't know, competent way about all kinds of shit. It can be highbrow, but it also. There is a way to talk about Showgirls and Ed Wood and, you know, like, truly depraved cinema at the same time that you talk about, I don't know, more sort of intellectual fare, the kind of Criterion Collection Y type of things, if you will.
- [12:57]
Casey O'Brien
Yes.
- [12:58]
Shalewa Sharp
To me, that's kind of what I like about us both, is that we're able to kind of get you a man that can do both type of feeling.
- [13:04]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah. And all are welcome at this table.
- [13:07]
Shalewa Sharp
That's right.
- [13:08]
Casey O'Brien
All levels of filmdom will be excited to listen to this show. We'll talk about, you know, art house filmmakers like Ingmar Bergman, but we'll also talk about silly movies like Adam Sandler's Hooby Halloween. I don't know. That's just an example. A movie I liked.
- [13:24]
Shalewa Sharp
Who?
- [13:25]
Casey O'Brien
But anyways, that's sort of the crux of our new podcast, our new endeavor together. And we're psyched. Yeah, we're psyched about it.
- [13:32]
Shalewa Sharp
We just wanted to do a little intention setting before we, you know, rolled out all the other episodes. But hopefully you're on the ride with us. I mean, if you liked. I saw what you did, you're gonna like this podcast. So we're excited.
- [13:43]
Casey O'Brien
There we go.
- [13:44]
Shalewa Sharp
We're excited to be here.
- [13:45]
Casey O'Brien
Well, moving on. Our first segment is called Film Diary. Millie. One way of keeping track of the movies we've watched is on a social media app that we both use. And I'd love if listeners followed us on there because the comments I'm making on these movies are hilarious.
- [14:06]
Shalewa Sharp
Cannot be ignored.
- [14:08]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah, they can follow us on there. You like letterboxd as an app. You use it. You're a user.
- [14:13]
Shalewa Sharp
I'm a. I'm a user. Of course. I talked about this on my substack once about how I probably use letterbox in the wrong way, which is that I'm not, like, consistently using. So here's letterboxd, right? If you haven't been on it before, it's basically a way for you to kind of catalog the movies that you've seen. You know, there's an ability to rate it, like five star, you know, one to five stars or no stars, you can leave reviews. There's a kind of social component to where you can friend other people and see what they've been watching and see what they've been reviewing. So it's kind of just like a big social media platform for movie nerds. And there are definitely power users out there who are writing, like, Thousand word essays on every movie they've seen.
- [15:00]
Casey O'Brien
Yes.
- [15:01]
Shalewa Sharp
I am real loosey goosey about it. I definitely catalog everything that I've seen, so my film diary is always accurate. Am I reviewing things all the time? No. Am I writing intelligent things in those reviews? No. Am I rating it with the star system? Not all the time. That's another topic for another time. By the way, is the star rating system on letterboxd? Maybe that's a film gripe we can talk about.
- [15:28]
Casey O'Brien
Sure. Yes.
- [15:29]
Shalewa Sharp
Because it's very contentious and I've gotten called out on it before. But please friend us on there because it's a way for us. We're gonna be, like, talking about letterboxd a lot because this is like, again, where we're cataloging what we've seen. But first and foremost, I have to say, Casey, I don't know if you remember this at all, but it took you eight.
- [15:50]
Casey O'Brien
I'm gonna be upset that you're bringing. I'm upset that you're bringing this up. The people continue know that it took.
- [15:58]
Shalewa Sharp
You a very long time to friend me back on letterboxd.
- [16:02]
Casey O'Brien
So Millie followed me on. And it's not exactly like, you're not really friends on letterbox. You basically follow someone and then they can follow you back. It's not like accepting a friend request on Facebook in your mind.
- [16:16]
Shalewa Sharp
It's not. It was for me.
- [16:18]
Casey O'Brien
Okay, well, Millie had followed me on letterboxd, and I went about my life after that, after. And I don't know if I missed the notification or something, but it took me maybe a year before I followed you back and I mentioned it. Kind of like, oh, Millie, isn't it funny? I just. I didn't realize you were on letterbox. I can't believe it took me so long to follow you back. And you were like, yeah, I noticed.
- [16:47]
Shalewa Sharp
It was an offensive amount of time that went by. Like. And let me. Let me just tell you right now, I had not only fretted you, but it actually commented on one of your reviews.
- [17:00]
Casey O'Brien
I know. I think I had just. I assumed I had followed you back. I think that's what happened. I think I had assumed. There's no way I didn't follow you back, but I fucked up. I don't know what you want me to say here.
- [17:15]
Shalewa Sharp
I was like, okay, we work on a film podcast together. We're, like, in communication pretty much every other day.
- [17:22]
Casey O'Brien
I know.
- [17:22]
Shalewa Sharp
I friended this guy because I want him to feel included in what we're fucking doing around here. And it took Him a year to follow me back. Anyway, I'm just. I'm just saying. Sure, that broke me for a while, but then you. It fixed itself and I forgive you. And now we're obviously doing a podcast together.
- [17:42]
Casey O'Brien
Now we're doing a podcast together.
- [17:43]
Shalewa Sharp
I've let it go. Well, and, like, there's other functionality on there too, that, like, you could come up with lists. I'm a big list person.
- [17:49]
Casey O'Brien
Yes.
- [17:50]
Shalewa Sharp
I also, you know, like, I actually love the review component because there are people, like I said, who are using it, like, as, like, they're writing for RogerDeibo.com type of thing. But then there are people who are, like, putting one, two sentences about, you know, the thing that they've watched.
- [18:07]
Casey O'Brien
That's how I do it. I do one or two sentences, and I like that. I prefer that as a user to read. I don't really want to read an essay on here, to be honest.
- [18:14]
Shalewa Sharp
Oh, I know. And a lot of times it's like. And this is the way I do it. But other people do it this way, too. It's like the funniest observation about a movie.
- [18:22]
Casey O'Brien
Yes.
- [18:23]
Shalewa Sharp
And I actually had one go, sort of. Vivi. I gotta say.
- [18:27]
Casey O'Brien
Wow.
- [18:28]
Shalewa Sharp
My review for a complete unknown where I talked about. I don't know if you've seen it yet. I won't spoil it.
- [18:34]
Casey O'Brien
Haven't seen it.
- [18:35]
Shalewa Sharp
Well, there's a moment of that movie that happens which is a non spoiler.
- [18:39]
Casey O'Brien
Sure.
- [18:40]
Shalewa Sharp
But it was like the weirdest thing to me. That was like, the one thing I couldn't stop thinking about. And then I wrote it. And then all of a sudden it's like, ping, ping, ping. Everyone's like, we love it. We love the review. So that's what I like about letterboxdes, that it's kind of like, again, I think it's a high low scenario where you can either be really, like, deliberate and professional about it, or you can be a fucking goon like me.
- [19:01]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah. Well, here's like, kind of one of my favorite reviews. This is Ayo Edebiri, if you ever follow. She's a great follow on Letterboxd. This is her review of the Empire Strikes Back. This movie is great, but I was really shocked by how ugly Yoda was. Sorry if that pisses anybody off, but I had only seen baby Yoda and adult Yoda is busted. I mean, that's the whole review, so it's great.
- [19:23]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah.
- [19:23]
Casey O'Brien
Anyways, this isn't an ad for Letterbox, but we love it, and I use it all the time and it's where I keep track of all the movies I've watched in the past.
- [19:32]
Shalewa Sharp
That's right. I mean, if the letterbox wants to give us a check, we'll take it. But I'm just saying this is what we're going to be using. Let's go into this film diary.
- [19:39]
Casey O'Brien
Fabulous.
- [19:43]
Shalewa Sharp
So in the past week, I've gone down this, like, kind of strange rabbit hole. So I discovered this Japanese director recently, and I don't actually know how I discovered him. I feel like I'm following some kind of Instagram account that's like a Asian film archive, I think it's actually what it's called. And they posted a trailer or something about this movie. And the movie is called Haru H A R U.
- [20:10]
Casey O'Brien
Okay.
- [20:11]
Shalewa Sharp
It was directed by this Japanese director. His name is Yoshi Mitsu Morita.
- [20:16]
Casey O'Brien
Okay.
- [20:17]
Shalewa Sharp
This movie's from 1996. And for some reason, when I saw the trailer, I was like, this seems so charming. Like, I think his filmography, if I'm not mistaken, I'm not like a scholar on him yet, but he was making movies in, like, most of his movies came out in like, the 80s and 90s, which is a real. For me, kind of like a gap. I don't. I have.
- [20:39]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah.
- [20:39]
Shalewa Sharp
You know, I started thinking, like, have I watched a lot of Japanese movies from the 80s and 90s? Like, and then as the more I kind of was reading about him and sort of that. That era, I think actually. And like I said, I don't want to say that this is the general attitude, but I've read that, you know, people kind of actually perceive that Japanese filmmaking in the 80s wasn't very good. Like, they weren't making good movies generally in the 80s.
- [21:04]
Casey O'Brien
80S, interesting.
- [21:06]
Shalewa Sharp
And so I came into it going, okay, so this is supposed to be like an era of, like, bad Japanese filmmaking. Yet I walked into this movie and was like, completely charmed by was. It's essentially a movie. I mean, this is. This movie is probably like as close to this film podcast as we can get. It's essentially a woman who is a cile. She's a single woman, a school teacher living in Japan, and she's a cinephile. And she then she gets on like a movie message board. And this is 96. So this is early Internet days.
- [21:39]
Casey O'Brien
This is just like, inject this into my veins. I know this sounds wonderful, and I've never heard of this guy or this movie.
- [21:47]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah. And it basically, it's like a lot of the movie. Is there kind of like Literally on screen, like sending messages on the message board. It's like her and this other person. And the other person at first is, you know, kind of presents as a woman, but then it's actually a man, you know, because back in the day, you could really fool people about being, you know, like. I mean, I guess you could still catfish people now.
- [22:09]
Casey O'Brien
Oh, catfishing is thriving right now.
- [22:12]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah, thriving. But back in, like, 96, man, you could literally be anybody. And so they kind of developed this, you know, I don't know, this online sort of epistolary relationship. And they're kind of like, he's in a bad marriage or he's in a kind of weird spot in his life, and they just kind of bond together and it's this kind of like, you got mail in Japan in the 90s over the Internet.
- [22:36]
Casey O'Brien
Oh, my God, that's so cute. That sounds so cute.
- [22:39]
Shalewa Sharp
And they're both cinephiles. And I'm like, oh, it was lovely.
- [22:43]
Casey O'Brien
That's so interesting. You say, like, not knowing Japanese movies from the 80s or 90s, and I was just thinking. I was like, I don't really either, except for one of my favorite movies of all time, Tom Popo by Juzy Itami, which is also like the cutest movie in the world. And so, like, it definitely feels like it's an area that I want to explore and I definitely want to check out. Is it Yoshimitsu Morita? His movies? Yeah. These look incredible.
- [23:11]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah. And then I actually watched another one because I liked Haru so much. So there's this movie that he made in 1984 called Main Theme. And I gotta tell you, I don't think it's online anywhere. I had to go through, you know, the Dark Web.
- [23:24]
Casey O'Brien
The Dark Web.
- [23:25]
Shalewa Sharp
Nefarious.
- [23:26]
Casey O'Brien
And Millie, she's in the Dark Web all too often.
- [23:30]
Shalewa Sharp
Always. Yeah, I mean, actually, I get. I get my groceries from the Dark Web. You know, it's. You know, I just use it for everything now. Why not?
- [23:37]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah.
- [23:38]
Shalewa Sharp
But this movie, Main Theme. Oh, my God, that movie was also incredible. It was also kind of a romance, but it had this, like, super whimsical. It was kind of like an Umbrellas of Sjorberg feel.
- [23:51]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah, yeah.
- [23:52]
Shalewa Sharp
And it was. The colors were amazing. I don't know, just the setups, the camera work, the colors, the costumes, everything. I was like, who the hell is this director and why have I just figured him out?
- [24:04]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah. So amazing. That's great.
- [24:07]
Shalewa Sharp
So what about you? Now you got to tell me.
- [24:09]
Casey O'Brien
Oh, my God. Okay, so Full disclosure here. I'm in a bit of a horror movie zone right now. And so all of these are horror or horror adjacent. And these ain't elevated, I'll tell you that much. I saw this Quebec Qua film called Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person. What? Very cute. That's from 2023.
- [24:36]
Shalewa Sharp
Wow, what a title.
- [24:38]
Casey O'Brien
It's very cute. It feels like I'll read my letterbox review. It's Only Lovers Left Alive meets Twilight. Because it's about kind of like a. It's very cutesy, but it's also very tweet. I'm like over the vampires who are like, I don't want to kill people. That's like, I find that annoying now. And I. And sure, vampires are, you know, they, they, they should murder people. That's, that's what I took away from that.
- [25:01]
Shalewa Sharp
Are you a Twilight? Were you?
- [25:03]
Casey O'Brien
Oh, indoctrinated. Indoctrinated. I've never read any of these books, but I was in college when all of those movies came out and all of my gal pals were obsessed with it. And so unfortunately, I have seen every single Twilight film at midnight on the day it came out. So I know a lot about it. I think people like, like them. Now in retrospect, those are bad movies.
- [25:27]
Shalewa Sharp
You'll be surprised to know I'm a little bit of a Twilight apologist. I kind of, I've watched all of them.
- [25:32]
Casey O'Brien
Really?
- [25:33]
Shalewa Sharp
Oh yeah. And I was way too old to be into it. Like, I mean, when did the first one come out?
- [25:38]
Casey O'Brien
Like, like 2008? Nine maybe?
- [25:42]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah, I mean I was a grown ass woman in a full time job when those movies came out. I have no business. But you know, here's what I will say about that. I actually kind of feel that I might like them better now knowing who Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart became.
- [25:59]
Casey O'Brien
True.
- [26:00]
Shalewa Sharp
Do you know what I mean?
- [26:00]
Casey O'Brien
Absolutely.
- [26:01]
Shalewa Sharp
Like I go backwards now and I'm like, oh, these, these are like two cool people making cool films. Like, yeah, I don't know. They made a bunch of teen shit. It's kind of cool. I don't know.
- [26:10]
Casey O'Brien
Well, and I saw them at the height of my like shithead stage because I was in film school. I was like, this isn't, you know, this isn't like the workmeister Harmonies, like this sucks, you know, or whatever the name of that Bellator film is. But I think I do need to revisit them because I think they would be fun to watch now.
- [26:29]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah. Agree.
- [26:31]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah. Twilight. Worth a revisit then. I Watched. Okay. I saw this movie that I thought was incredible, and I feel like it should be more famous. It's called Black Rainbow. It's directed by Mike Hodges. It's starring Rosanna Arquette and Jason Robards. Have you seen this movie? It was just re released by Arrow Video on Blu Ray, like Harvey Weinstein and Miramax. Totally up the release of this movie, so it went straight to cable. So, like, nobody knows about it, but it's really good. It's about a traveling psychic played by Roseanna Arette, her father, Jason Robards. And they're kind of a, you know, shysters. They, they, like, are kind of scamming people. But then she starts getting visions of people actually dying. And it's really good. I thought it was really interesting.
- [27:16]
Shalewa Sharp
I will not confuse it with Black Moth Super Rainbow, which is a band from Pennsylvania.
- [27:20]
Casey O'Brien
Okay, that's good. And I believe there's a movie beyond the Black Rainbow. Okay, that's a different movie. Okay, that's by Panos Cosmatos of Mandy fame. Oh, that's a different film.
- [27:33]
Shalewa Sharp
Okay. Get it right.
- [27:34]
Casey O'Brien
Get it right. Pay the price. Did you ever watch Salute your shorts on Nickelodeon?
- [27:41]
Shalewa Sharp
What are you asking me right now?
- [27:43]
Casey O'Brien
What you've seen Salute your shorts?
- [27:45]
Shalewa Sharp
Are you fucking kidding me? Dude, I've seen, like, every episode.
- [27:48]
Casey O'Brien
Okay, doesn't UG say, yeah, get it.
- [27:51]
Shalewa Sharp
Right or pay the price?
- [27:52]
Casey O'Brien
Okay, okay.
- [27:53]
Shalewa Sharp
Ugg says it. Yeah. Buttnik screwed it up.
- [27:56]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah. Okay. I'm just glad. I just wanted to make sure we're on the same page when it comes to Salute your Shorts. And now I know we are. And so we can move forward with recording the podcast. And then the last movie I watched last night, which I'd never seen before, the Crow, I loved it. I thought it was great.
- [28:14]
Shalewa Sharp
The OG Crow.
- [28:16]
Casey O'Brien
Not Bill Sarsgaard's the Crow.
- [28:18]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah.
- [28:19]
Casey O'Brien
Brandon Lee's the Crow. I have been told I look like Bill Sgaard.
- [28:23]
Shalewa Sharp
Good movie.
- [28:24]
Casey O'Brien
By two different people.
- [28:26]
Shalewa Sharp
Wait, move your, Move your face away from the microphone.
- [28:28]
Casey O'Brien
I mean, he's like, a little bit. I, I, I'm loath to say such a thing because he's like, one of the hottest men on the planet or. I think he's very hot.
- [28:36]
Shalewa Sharp
Me too.
- [28:36]
Casey O'Brien
I will say two people told me that. That, but still a thrill.
- [28:41]
Shalewa Sharp
I would say you were a little bit. Casey Affleck meets Bill Skarsgard.
- [28:46]
Casey O'Brien
Okay. Okay.
- [28:47]
Shalewa Sharp
Have you been told about Casey?
- [28:48]
Casey O'Brien
I get told Casey Affleck frequently, and my name is Casey.
- [28:52]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah, and maybe it's because your name is Casey. Right, Exactly.
- [28:55]
Casey O'Brien
I get Casey Affleck.
- [28:56]
Shalewa Sharp
Casey Affleck and who else?
- [28:57]
Casey O'Brien
Oh, Paul Rudd.
- [28:58]
Shalewa Sharp
Paul. Wow. You just happen to look like all the hottest men in Hollywood right now. And I. And I do not. That's what I'm trying to underscore.
- [29:05]
Casey O'Brien
And that's my burden, you know.
- [29:22]
Shalewa Sharp
Okay, so that was our film diary. How'd you feel? Good.
- [29:27]
Casey O'Brien
First one, I feel good. It felt like writing in a real diary. I feel relieved of some emotional baggage.
- [29:34]
Shalewa Sharp
That's good. Well, okay, now we're moving into our main discussion, which is, again, like I said, 2018's A Star is Born. We're gonna talk about drinking in movies. But first, Casey, I have a question for you. Do you participate in what they call Dry January?
- [29:54]
Casey O'Brien
Now, this is a great question I have, but here's a. I have a huge problem with dry January. My birthday is in January, and that's going to be wet. You know, I'm not that. I refuse to not drink on my birthday because it's in dry January. And also, my daughter's birthday is now in January. Now, maybe I shouldn't be drinking. You know, it shouldn't necessarily be a cause for drinking, but there'll be a party, and I would be sad if I couldn't have, like, a beer at my daughter's birthday party, which my daughter's birthday is the day before my birthday. Isn't that funny?
- [30:32]
Shalewa Sharp
Oh, well.
- [30:33]
Casey O'Brien
But I do think it is nice sometimes to dry out a little bit and just, you know, reconfigure, because I am a drinker, but it's good to, you know, kind of reconfigure your system. I feel like I kind of participate. Is my answer in Dry January?
- [30:54]
Shalewa Sharp
Sure. Okay. Okay. That makes sense. I was thinking about this, obviously, because it's such a huge topic right now, because we're at the beginning of the new year. Happy 2025. And a lot of my friends are doing this Dry January thing.
- [31:07]
Casey O'Brien
Yes.
- [31:08]
Shalewa Sharp
White knuckling it.
- [31:09]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah.
- [31:09]
Shalewa Sharp
It's so interesting because I'm kind of like, okay, a. When did we start? Like, I don't remember Dry January when I was a kid. Like, I don't remember people's parents.
- [31:17]
Casey O'Brien
No. I mean, it feels like it's like 10 years old.
- [31:20]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah. And then it's sort of that feeling, too, where I'm like, I get that it's in sort of the mode of, you know, we're in a New Year's resolution phase where we're trying to be better people for a little while, and it all falls Apart. But I'm also like. I guess it's because I am not, like, a huge drinker, so I don't need a dry January, if you know what I mean.
- [31:46]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah. I think it's like, people will go extra hard leading up to dry January and then go real hard after dry January. And it's kind of like, well, why? This isn't good. You know, moderation is best.
- [31:58]
Shalewa Sharp
Well, so it got me thinking, you know, because, you know, it's our first episode. It's the first of the new year. And so I was, like, kind of thinking, let's maybe talk a little bit about, you know, classic movie drunks or, like, movies about drinking. And, you know, not all of it is fun all the time.
- [32:17]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah.
- [32:18]
Shalewa Sharp
Like, charismatic drunks, but mean drunks.
- [32:20]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah.
- [32:21]
Shalewa Sharp
And, you know, the whole gamut.
- [32:22]
Casey O'Brien
I mean, it's interesting because there aren't that many movies where it's like, a celebration of drinking without it being about alcoholism.
- [32:32]
Shalewa Sharp
Yes.
- [32:32]
Casey O'Brien
You know, or like, the downside of imbibing.
- [32:36]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah.
- [32:37]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah.
- [32:37]
Shalewa Sharp
Well. And, like, so I started thinking about, like, what was the last movie that I remember seeing that just really was truly about alcoholism? The darkest alcoholic. Like, maybe a movie you'd watch that would inspire you to adopt a dry January.
- [32:55]
Casey O'Brien
Sure.
- [32:55]
Shalewa Sharp
Something really hardcore. And I was like, I think the last one I saw was A Star is Born. The remake. The most recent remake of it.
- [33:01]
Casey O'Brien
Yes.
- [33:02]
Shalewa Sharp
Which was such a juggernaut when it came out. Did you not feel that?
- [33:06]
Casey O'Brien
Oh, absolutely. And it's one of those movies. When I saw the trailer, I was like, oh, this is gonna be so bad. I just. I don't know. Like, I was like. I was like, it's Bradley Cooper's first movie. It's obviously like, this passion project. It just. I feel like it had things going against it. It had kind of a goof goofy moment in the trailer that was like, memed and is still memed. You know, the. I just want to take. But I love this movie. And I was really blown away. And it was a juggernaut. And it's the first movie in a while where it was like, oh, it's a big hit movie with stars, and there's a huge song attached to it. Like, that was fun. It kind of was a throwback to old blockbusters in a way where there's, like, a hit song kind of attached and embedded in the movie itself, you know?
- [33:55]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah, yeah. Like, so I decided that I was gonna re. Watch it actually during the Christmas break because I think it was on, like, I don't know, Paramount, you know how it's just like movies. I was like, oh, cool. A nice holiday movie where Bradley Cooper drinks himself to death. Amazing. So I watched it at my parents house and I gotta say, it's still really enjoyable.
- [34:19]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah.
- [34:19]
Shalewa Sharp
And here's the thing that I. I thought was really interesting about this version of it because. Because if you don't know, I don't know how you. How you wouldn't. At this point. A Star Is Born is this like, very storied franchise. Really, at this point.
- [34:33]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah.
- [34:34]
Shalewa Sharp
It almost seems like it gets remade like every 20, 30 years. You know, the original, the very first Star Is Born was made in 1937 and it was a William Wellman movie. I'm a huge fan of William Wellman, the director. And that is my actual favorite version of the story.
- [34:53]
Casey O'Brien
Wow.
- [34:54]
Shalewa Sharp
Is the 37. Because first of all, it's like. Well, it's the. It's the original meaning the story, you know, sort of is contained in its own, like, little universe. Right. But also the lead actor of that film, Frederick March, who is. I don't know if. If listeners really know Frederick March. I mean, he's kind of. He's a. He's a very famous actor of the 30s, but, you know, isn't like a Gary Cooper type. He was very, you know, like, kind of under the radar. I say if you are a Frederick March fan, we should be friends because you're a real head. You know what I mean? That's how cool Frederick March is. He's like the big star of 1930s comedic actors.
- [35:37]
Casey O'Brien
He's in a movie I like called I Married a Witch.
- [35:39]
Shalewa Sharp
Of course. Yes. With Veronica Lake.
- [35:41]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah.
- [35:41]
Shalewa Sharp
Frederick March is the most charming drunk in cinema history, for my money. Like, and this is what makes A Star Is Born. The original, the best. Because obviously, same premise. This guy, famous guy, you know, meets this kind of like young Hollywood upstart ingenue type. They form a relationship. Then she quickly realizes, oh, he's like a alcoholic who, like, can't handle his shit. And what do I do? I'm ascending my stars on the rise. This guy is falling on his ass and, you know, peeing himself in front of the Oscars or whatever it was. But it's like she loves him. She's tied to him. That's the. The, you know, the baseline of, of the franchise. Right. But Frederick March is so charming and funny and, like, sweet that I truly feel like I do not want this guy to fail. Like, I want him to get his shit together and I want him to like, win, but as you know. Spoiler alert, he can't win.
- [36:35]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah.
- [36:36]
Shalewa Sharp
There's gotta be tragedy. There's gotta be tragedy.
- [36:38]
Casey O'Brien
So that's something I want to ask you about because you. Have you seen all of the Star Is Born?
- [36:43]
Shalewa Sharp
Yes, I would say the Star is Born is like my Star Trek.
- [36:46]
Casey O'Brien
Sure, sure. Many have that.
- [36:48]
Shalewa Sharp
Like, I. I'm very committed.
- [36:50]
Casey O'Brien
Yes. And so I have. I have a few questions because I have only seen the Bradley Cooper Lady Gaga one. And honestly, I'm sorry, but spoiler alert to the heavens on this. I'm not. I'm not holding back on the ending of this.
- [37:03]
Shalewa Sharp
Sure, sure.
- [37:04]
Casey O'Brien
Does the male protagonist pee his pants in front of people in all of them or was that just in the Lady Gaga Bradley Cooper one?
- [37:13]
Shalewa Sharp
So what happens in the 30s version is that he accidentally hits her. Oh, I think so. Basically, like, she goes to the awards, he does this whole, you know, interrupts the speech and then he throws his arm back and hits her, like on accident. And everyone's like, okay, that's what happens in 37. Now. I haven't seen the 70s one in a while. I actually don't think it's in there at all. And then the James Mason version. No, I don't think he pisses himself because they wouldn't have allowed that in the 50s.
- [37:48]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah, I can't see James Mason pissing his pants on screen.
- [37:52]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah, I feel like that was something that Bradley coops, you know, he put his own stank on that moment.
- [37:58]
Casey O'Brien
Yes.
- [37:59]
Shalewa Sharp
So let me ask you this, because I have a huge fascination with Bradley Cooper as a director.
- [38:06]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah, me too.
- [38:07]
Shalewa Sharp
So this being his first movie that he's directed, he went ham. Right. Because he's in the movie. He sang some of the songs. He, you know, adopted this like almost kind of like this new Persona, wouldn't you say?
- [38:19]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah, absolutely. It's like kind of like Austin hippie cowboy guy, you know?
- [38:25]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's like maybe having a drink at Pappy and Harriet's in Pioneer Town or something, you know.
- [38:32]
Casey O'Brien
Can I interrupt you? I have something to say to that matter. I have a personal connection to this film. How I went to college with Lucas Nelson, Willie Nelson's son.
- [38:46]
Shalewa Sharp
Okay.
- [38:46]
Casey O'Brien
He co wrote all the music with Bradley Cooper for this movie. And Bradley Cooper based his personality on Lucas Nelson.
- [38:56]
Shalewa Sharp
Is that a known fact?
- [38:58]
Casey O'Brien
There are articles about this.
- [38:59]
Shalewa Sharp
Okay, okay.
- [39:00]
Casey O'Brien
I didn't know Lucas that well. We hung out a few times and then he'd left college after his freshman year to become a rock star. And lead the band, Lucas Nelson and the Promise of the Real. My good friend, though, Logan Metz was in the band the Promise of the Real.
- [39:19]
Shalewa Sharp
Oh, wow.
- [39:20]
Casey O'Brien
And Lucas Nelson is in A Star Is Born. He's like the guitar player.
- [39:23]
Shalewa Sharp
Oh, I see. Yeah.
- [39:24]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah. It is interesting. Bradley Cooper did have a new Persona, and it's kind of based on Lucas Nelson.
- [39:29]
Shalewa Sharp
Interesting. There's something fascinating to me about. Because this. Obviously, he made more movies after this one. This was the one where he was like, I got a lot to prove.
- [39:38]
Casey O'Brien
Yes.
- [39:39]
Shalewa Sharp
I am taking this beloved, storied historical ip, and I'm gonna do my own weird, you know, Nashville guy thing with it. Right?
- [39:50]
Casey O'Brien
Yes.
- [39:50]
Shalewa Sharp
It was a juggernaut. People loved it. Like, it was memeified. I mean, people were, you know, imitating his exit, you know, which was essentially.
- [39:59]
Casey O'Brien
Let me touch your nose.
- [40:02]
Shalewa Sharp
Sam Elliott's accent. And, you know, I mean, it left people shook. I remember. So, I mean, I hate to say this about y'all, but, like, so many straight guys that I'm friends with were, like, shook by that movie.
- [40:14]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah.
- [40:14]
Shalewa Sharp
That they were like, man, what a movie. Like, they had never seen a. A movie that affected their kind as much as this film. Right.
- [40:24]
Casey O'Brien
My people. My people.
- [40:26]
Shalewa Sharp
Welcome to our world. What the. Like, they're like, oh, my God. This, like, you know, dramatic story is hitting me in the feels. And I'm like, that's what we do here, by the way. As, you know, we cry about every movie we watch. But then he went on to. To make Maestro, which. Did you. You saw Maestro, right?
- [40:47]
Casey O'Brien
I loved Maestro. It was, like, one of my favorite movies of last year. I feel like A Star Is Born is such a big swing. It's such a big risk because, like, it could have been such a flop because it's like. It's so sincere.
- [41:03]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah.
- [41:04]
Casey O'Brien
It's so emotional, and it really goes for it. And Maestro is much the same, but even more so. I feel like he felt empowered by A Star Is Born to make a nuttier movie.
- [41:20]
Shalewa Sharp
Exactly.
- [41:20]
Casey O'Brien
Someone pointed out that, like, every movie he's been in and has directed, and he plays a genius, essentially, and there's, like, a martyred genius. And that's sort of funny to think about. I keep thinking back to this interview with Leonard Bernstein's children that Bradley Cooper was in that interview. Do you know what I'm talking about? Have you seen this?
- [41:45]
Shalewa Sharp
I think so. I think I remember it.
- [41:46]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah. And the interviewer asks the children, what do you miss most about him? Of course, Leonard Bernstein died in, like, 1991. Bradley Cooper doesn't know Leonard Bernstein, but Bradley Cooper answered the question and he's like, oh, my God, I just. I miss him so much. I just. And he, like, started crying and I was like, this is so delulu crazy. Like, that he felt comfortable answering that question, that it made me like, maestro more. I mean, it's just such a. Like a vanity project and it's just. It's so outrageously theatrical and they're doing so. There's so much like accent and makeup work going on. I mean, it is so crazy. Bradley Cooper's movies are, like, invigorating and alive in a way and, like, passionate.
- [42:38]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah.
- [42:39]
Casey O'Brien
And it just sucks me in because they aren't like other movies coming out now where so many movies that are like highbrow art house movies are so quiet and, like, muted and the performances are very muted.
- [42:55]
Shalewa Sharp
Yes.
- [42:56]
Casey O'Brien
But Bradley Cooper's, they are loud, taking big swings. And so I just, I just. It just. I just drink it all in. I just. I. I'm a fan, I guess.
- [43:06]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah. I. I'm glad you think this because I want to say that I have this very nuanced opinion of Briley Cooper as a. A. A famous person, right?
- [43:15]
Casey O'Brien
Yes.
- [43:16]
Shalewa Sharp
And that I think it is informed by my love, my love and my passion and my writing about fucking cult movies. I mean, basically, I'm a cult movie person and I'm like, oh, so here's this like, megalomaniac director type.
- [43:32]
Casey O'Brien
Yes.
- [43:32]
Shalewa Sharp
Like, he's basically like extremely well funded. Ed Wood meets Tommy Wiseau meets, you know. I mean. Yeah. That's not a disparaging comment, by the way. Like, I love Ed Wood, but it's like in that way that's like making ridiculous big swing artistic statements. I mean, maybe not Edwood. Maybe we call him like Bob Fosse.
- [43:53]
Casey O'Brien
Sure. Bob Fosse is a good comp, I think.
- [43:56]
Shalewa Sharp
Yes. Yes. I appreciate there being at least one or two people at any given moment in Hollywood being that maniac. Like, I appreciate the mania, the like, ridiculousness. The sort of, you know, over the top, like, you know, putting himself in his own movies, like giving himself the duty of. Of making old classic things relevant, you know.
- [44:22]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah.
- [44:23]
Shalewa Sharp
You know, have feeling like you. The onus is on you to like extend the story of a star sport or whatever the right. And pulling in like all of your. In the world, you know, like all of your weird isms and costumes and noses and, you know, lots of noses. Who left Snoopy in the vestibule?
- [44:43]
Casey O'Brien
Why, like, damn, I was. I'm Mad that you said that because I was. I was thinking about doing that for Halloween this year. Holding a Snoopy doll. Who left Snoopy in the vestibule? Oh my God.
- [44:58]
Shalewa Sharp
Like that to me is like a. That is my actual letterbox review for Maestro, by the way, is who left Snoopy the vestibule. That's all you need to know about Maestro is in that one fucking sentence. But just also is the like essence of why I think he's so funny and I like him ultimately is because he's just like that.
- [45:21]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah.
- [45:22]
Shalewa Sharp
Like throwing that into his three hour movie about, you know, somebody that he feels like he needs to like cry about in front of his children. You know what I mean?
- [45:34]
Casey O'Brien
Oh my God. Yes. So I am a fan.
- [45:37]
Shalewa Sharp
Yes.
- [45:38]
Casey O'Brien
I look forward to whatever his next project is. I hope Maestro didn't throw him off course at all. Do you like the music in A Star is Born?
- [45:54]
Shalewa Sharp
I don't like the bop that they told us was the bop. The shallow is the shallow. Shallow. Shallow.
- [46:01]
Casey O'Brien
You don't like shallow? Oh, Millie don't really hit for me. I feel like that's man. I'm just. I'm an easy mark. I just, I was like. I just thought I was. I thought that was a great song and I. When that, when she first sings it in the movie, I was like. Like I was taken away. I don't know. It worked for me.
- [46:19]
Shalewa Sharp
God, the whole thing is just such a bummer.
- [46:21]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah, it is like the whole movie.
- [46:23]
Shalewa Sharp
Is a real fucking bummer by design. It's been that way for decades. Cause the 37 version is a fucking bummer as well to me. I don't know. When I rewatched it again, I was like, whoever programmed this at Christmas is a G. Cause this is like a fucking straight up bummer of the highest order. I feel like shit. Thank you. And then. Yeah, it just sort of made me like, re. Like just have to remember kind of this, you know, the reality that we were living in when this movie came out and how like, you know, Bradley Cooper's maniac Lady Gaga had. Had she acted before or like this was her big, like, God, her big thing.
- [47:05]
Casey O'Brien
I mean, I think she had like hosted snl.
- [47:08]
Shalewa Sharp
Oh yeah.
- [47:09]
Casey O'Brien
And like, I think she was. Is in the Ryan Murphy universe doing God knows what goes on there. She is so charming in this.
- [47:18]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah.
- [47:19]
Casey O'Brien
There's a shot when he. When she's on the side of the stage and he's like trying to pull her on to sing Shallow for the first time and she's like, Hi. Like, she's, like, acting like such a, like, kind of, like, weirdo. Like, she's, like, totally overwhelmed, but it's like. It's so disarming and charming, and I don't know. I really. I thought she was so good in this movie.
- [47:38]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah, I was absolutely delighted that Andrew Dice Clay played her dad.
- [47:43]
Casey O'Brien
Incredible, right? Absolutely incredible.
- [47:45]
Shalewa Sharp
He was great in it. And considering, like, how obnoxious he was, like, in his heyday, the fact that he just was, like, some, like, dad in a movie really, like, made me kind of happy. Yeah, I was like, oh. He's like, you know, I don't know. He's back and he's like Lady Gaga's dad who, like, drives a limo or whatever. I don't even know what he does. But, yeah, she was really great at it. And I. You know, again, like, that. That's the thing about A Star Is Born. It attempts to take that kind of, like, famous diva of the era and put her in that role. Right. So it's like, you know, we got Judy Garland, we've got Barbra Streisand. I mean, the first one, you know, I wasn't alive in the 30s, so I don't know if Janet Gaynor was the lady gaga of the 30s or whatever. I don't believe so. But that's the thing, is that, like, it kind have could have been many other people, but Lady Gaga to be this role.
- [48:37]
Casey O'Brien
Were you ever influenced to drink an alcoholic drink based on seeing it in a movie?
- [48:41]
Shalewa Sharp
Yes. I drank a White Russian after I saw Big Lebowski.
- [48:46]
Casey O'Brien
I did that, too.
- [48:47]
Shalewa Sharp
Thought it was kind of nasty, to be honest.
- [48:49]
Casey O'Brien
I like a White Russian, but they're an acquired taste. I saw the movie north by Northwest with Cary Grant, and he orders a Gibson, which is a martini with pearl onions instead of olives. And that's my favorite drink.
- [49:06]
Shalewa Sharp
Really?
- [49:07]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah.
- [49:07]
Shalewa Sharp
Do you eat the pearl onion?
- [49:09]
Casey O'Brien
You can? I don't always, because that is a potent punch, but it is. I like the brine of the pickled onion in my martini.
- [49:18]
Shalewa Sharp
I love martini olives.
- [49:20]
Casey O'Brien
They're great.
- [49:20]
Shalewa Sharp
Oh, man. I'm like, yo, put like, 12 of them shits on a stick, and I'm.
- [49:24]
Casey O'Brien
Just gonna dunk, dunk, dunk. Yeah, that. Okay.
- [49:26]
Shalewa Sharp
I'm gonna dunk the olive in the martini drink. Just eat them. They're so delicious.
- [49:30]
Casey O'Brien
So do you like a dirty martini? A dirty martini is where they actually pour olive brine into the martini. Should try it out sometime.
- [49:39]
Shalewa Sharp
I like the eating component, though. That's the one I like. About martinis.
- [49:43]
Casey O'Brien
You know what's funny, Millie? This is so random. You and I have only seen each other in person for once and it was like, for 30 seconds. Isn't that interesting? Was it at the Egyptian Theater or down that way? It was.
- [49:54]
Shalewa Sharp
Since you have a terrible memory involving anything with me, it was at the Chinese multiplex in Hollywood.
- [50:01]
Casey O'Brien
Okay.
- [50:02]
Shalewa Sharp
And you were about to see. Was it a movie with Rod Steiger?
- [50:05]
Casey O'Brien
No, it was. It was Paul Newman, the Hustler.
- [50:09]
Shalewa Sharp
That's right. I got you and your wife Trisha into the movie.
- [50:13]
Casey O'Brien
Yes.
- [50:14]
Shalewa Sharp
And that was the first time I'd ever met you. Even though you had been recording the podcast for a while before that, right?
- [50:20]
Casey O'Brien
No, I think it was pretty early on, and I think it was maybe I'd been doing it for like, two months.
- [50:27]
Shalewa Sharp
Oh, I see.
- [50:28]
Casey O'Brien
We will be reunited at some point in person, hopefully drinking martinis and eating olives.
- [50:33]
Shalewa Sharp
Absolutely. Alrighty. That was our discussion of A Star is Born and getting hammered in film. So now it's time for our guest segment, which we're calling My Area of Expertise. So this is where we're gonna bring on a guest. Usually somebody funny and cool, I hope.
- [51:04]
Casey O'Brien
Always cool. Funny. I don't know necessarily, but very cool. Always cool.
- [51:10]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah. Well, we're setting a high bar with the funny because Shalei was an incredible comedian. But, you know, normally what would happen is we're gonna bring on somebody, they're gonna discuss this, like, hyper specific area that they are an expert in when it comes to movies. Right. And since we spoke about, you know, the modern iteration of A Star Is Born, which is a movie about music, obby. We're gonna bring on a guest to talk about, you know, this area of their expertise that's also sort of another example of like a modern cinematic fantasia, the Magic Mike franchise, I think. You know, our first guest is a wonderful human being, and I am not at all lying about that in any way, shape or form. I've known this woman for so, so long. She originally is an Atlanta comedian who has been in New York for decades at this point, I would say. And very funny. She does stand up all over the country, all over the world, to be honest. And also has this incredible podcast called the War Report that she does with a fellow comic named Gastor Almonte. They're very funny together, and she's just a wonderful human being. And I want to bring her on the pod. So, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Shaleiwa Sharp.
- [52:37]
Millie De Cherico
Yay.
- [52:38]
Shalewa Sharp
Hello.
- [52:40]
Millie De Cherico
Hi, everyone.
- [52:41]
Casey O'Brien
Welcome, welcome. Wait, how did you guys first Meet.
- [52:45]
Millie De Cherico
Oh, the dirty, dirty streets of Atlanta, Casey.
- [52:49]
Casey O'Brien
Oh, my God.
- [52:51]
Millie De Cherico
Where there were just young people roaming, just looking for their next, you know, Brit pop fix, or just any dive bar that needed people in horn rimmed glasses to hang out around the edges.
- [53:07]
Shalewa Sharp
I will say this, though, not to say that we were not good friends before this, but I feel like the event that really crystallized our friendship in a deep, meaningful way is that Playboy article slash interview with John Mayer that came out many years ago.
- [53:30]
Millie De Cherico
Yes, absolutely.
- [53:32]
Shalewa Sharp
Like, I think the biggest topics in that moment were the fact that Jessica Simpson had been called sexual napalm. Remember, I know we talked about that. And that he called his penis racist.
- [53:43]
Millie De Cherico
Yeah.
- [53:44]
Shalewa Sharp
Which is, I think, was the biggest. That was like, I see issue number one.
- [53:48]
Casey O'Brien
I remember this now. I was. I didn't realize it was from that article, but that's.
- [53:52]
Millie De Cherico
Yeah, yeah. I mean, when you say, like, sure, I. I'd love to date women that aren't white, but my penis is racist. Yeah. You're gonna have people who are not white sit down and go, what? Right.
- [54:05]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah.
- [54:06]
Millie De Cherico
And so that's. That's what we had to do for hours.
- [54:09]
Casey O'Brien
Okay, Millie, why don't we transition a little bit into why we wanted to bring Shalewa on the show today.
- [54:17]
Shalewa Sharp
We like to bring people on and talk about, you know, an area of their film expertise. Right. Like, have you gone really hard on, like, a specific director or a specific genre? Are you, like, very well versed in, you know, a certain type of film or, like, franchise of some kind? And so when I asked you this question and you replied, yes, I do have an expertise. And then you told me what the expertise was, I was thrilled. Let's just say that.
- [54:43]
Millie De Cherico
Oh, yay.
- [54:44]
Shalewa Sharp
And I think that because Casey and I both share this passion as well.
- [54:48]
Millie De Cherico
Oh, good.
- [54:48]
Shalewa Sharp
So I feel like we're gonna have an incredible debate, slash debate. I think there's gonna be a debate because I feel like, like, over the course, I mean, let's just say it. Shale, what is your area of expertise that you like to talk about today?
- [55:05]
Millie De Cherico
My area of expertise that I'd like to discuss today is the Magic Mike universe.
- [55:10]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah.
- [55:11]
Casey O'Brien
Fabulous.
- [55:13]
Millie De Cherico
The trilogy. The trilogy, yes.
- [55:16]
Shalewa Sharp
Okay. I would like to. First and foremost, I would like to establish a timeline, if. If you'll bear with me. Okay, let's establish a timeline. And of the moment you figured out who Channing Tatum was, did it start with the Step up films or did you know him prior to that? Like, how did. How did you enter the universe via Channing Tatum?
- [55:39]
Millie De Cherico
It Was the Step up movie, the first one. I didn't see it in the theater, and I did end up renting it and watching it. And I remember at some point standing up and yelling, why didn't I see this in the theater? Because it's so amazing. But that definitely was my entry point into Channing Tatum. And I viewed him in a particular way, which definitely evolved as I got to know him. More air quotes around. No, but yes. He came in and he really stole my heart very quickly because he is what I like to call one of our chinstrap beard warriors. And that is what I call any young Caucasian man who has an affinity for black music, for R and B, especially for hip hop, for all aspects of hip hop. The graffiti. All of the graffiti. The breakdancing. The breakdancing is important. Important.
- [56:44]
Shalewa Sharp
It is my kryptonite. I've gone on record. I. I cannot.
- [56:48]
Millie De Cherico
I truly am stone cold. I'm Medusa out here. But if you are a young white man with a respectable fade or a shaved head and. Or a chin strap beard, I don't know, there's going to be problems. I'm a weakened. I'm a little weak.
- [57:07]
Casey O'Brien
And what was it when you saw it? What was your reaction to it? Was it nervous and excitement or, like, were you surprised by your reaction to it? Were you comforted by the dancing?
- [57:18]
Millie De Cherico
I fully enjoyed it, Millie. We saw it together.
- [57:20]
Shalewa Sharp
Yes, we did. Full disclosure.
- [57:22]
Millie De Cherico
Full disclosure.
- [57:23]
Shalewa Sharp
I was there.
- [57:24]
Millie De Cherico
We saw it together. We, like, ran. We ran. But I enjoyed Magic Mike. But it also was a little dark.
- [57:33]
Casey O'Brien
Yes, yes.
- [57:35]
Millie De Cherico
And I remember walking out and I was like, I mean, yeah, they dance.
- [57:38]
Shalewa Sharp
But.
- [57:38]
Millie De Cherico
But, oh, my God. What?
- [57:40]
Casey O'Brien
They could have danced more.
- [57:41]
Shalewa Sharp
Well. And this is kind of the, like, trajectory that I think is really interesting about this franchise because it's like, okay, the first movie was, like, kind of a dark drama, right. With. In certain parts. And it was really mostly about the Alex Peter character who was kind of like. Like cuz. Channing Tatum, like, magical Michael, if you will. Well, yes, he was already in the world.
- [58:07]
Millie De Cherico
Yeah.
- [58:07]
Shalewa Sharp
And then. Then you as a viewer were with the Adam character, the Alex Palifer character, who was like, I'm new to this. I need some extra cash. I guess I'm gonna, like, start, you know, down this road of exotic dancing and drugs and women and all this stuff. And that was kind of more about his descent into the world. And so there was a serious moment, you know, or two. But it was like, it was really his story.
- [58:31]
Millie De Cherico
Yeah.
- [58:32]
Shalewa Sharp
And then when the second one came Out.
- [58:35]
Millie De Cherico
Oh, right, yes.
- [58:37]
Shalewa Sharp
They basically were like, well, the public has spoken. We have heard the requests. Nothing. No more serious stuff. We don't care about this. Who the fuck cares about Adam? We might as well kill him off.
- [58:48]
Millie De Cherico
Right?
- [58:49]
Casey O'Brien
We need to get rid of the darkness. We need to get rid of plot.
- [58:52]
Millie De Cherico
Right.
- [58:52]
Casey O'Brien
We need to get rid of, you know, all the. The extra stuff and really concentrate. It's a concentrated film into what is the essence. And I think Magic Mike XXL is the one that is. Is now remembered mostly.
- [59:07]
Shalewa Sharp
Absolutely.
- [59:07]
Millie De Cherico
Yeah, absolutely. I think so. I think what they did is they took the montage in the first one of. First they took out all the soderberghness, and for XXL, they took the montage of Matthew McConaughey teaching the new kid how to move like a rattlesnake in the mirror. And then you stick it. They took that and then they took it out of the golden hour lighting, put it in brighter lighting, did some col. Let's brighten this up. Let's check the color. This bitch. And then they. And then they were like, let's make a whole movie of that energy.
- [59:46]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah. Put them in an ice cream truck and let them travel around the South.
- [59:50]
Millie De Cherico
America loves a road movie.
- [59:52]
Shalewa Sharp
America loves it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [59:54]
Casey O'Brien
They really. They remove all stakes, too. I mean, there's like no stakes in the second one, really. I mean, in some ways, Magic Mike XX out feels more like kind of like an art house experimental film because you're like, where are they going? Where are they going? It's not a competition. They're not going. It's like a showcase. They don't win anything, so there's no, like, prize money that they like, need to get something. They're just kind of like hanging out, going place to place, you know, dropping in on all these people and thrusting on them. And it's just like. It's more of an interesting kind of experiment in what a film can be than the first one, which is more of like a traditional, like, arc, you know?
- [60:36]
Millie De Cherico
Yeah, yeah, yeah. The second one is definitely. It's a magic. Magic. Magic. Magic mic.
- [60:44]
Shalewa Sharp
Yes, well, and what I think is also really fascinating about the second one too is that they introduced this Jada.
- [60:52]
Millie De Cherico
Pinkett Smith speak on it.
- [60:55]
Shalewa Sharp
Mansion of. Of exotic dancing men. Like whatever this private club was. And that in and of itself has a lore that needs its own movie.
- [61:07]
Casey O'Brien
Totally.
- [61:08]
Shalewa Sharp
Like, that house needs to have its own franchise.
- [61:12]
Casey O'Brien
It has to. Has its own, like, ballerina, John Wick type movie.
- [61:16]
Shalewa Sharp
Exactly.
- [61:17]
Millie De Cherico
Yeah. And I may be getting ahead of Us. But this is why I was so angry with the Last Dance. Magic Mike's Last Dance, the third one.
- [61:25]
Casey O'Brien
We'll get there.
- [61:25]
Millie De Cherico
Yeah. But because of. Of what they did in the second movie, like, there were a couple of stories that definitely could have been just, like, offshoots from this main thing. That would have been fine. Maybe not theatrical release, I don't know. But you could have thrown that either straight to DVD or a streamer, wherever it would have fallen in the timeline of things.
- [61:47]
Shalewa Sharp
Pluto.
- [61:48]
Casey O'Brien
Pluto.
- [61:49]
Millie De Cherico
Excellent to be movie. Excellent Tubi movie.
- [61:52]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah.
- [61:52]
Shalewa Sharp
It'd be like an Amazon free V original.
- [61:56]
Millie De Cherico
Yeah, Free V original of like, what's his name?
- [62:00]
Casey O'Brien
Big.
- [62:00]
Millie De Cherico
Big Dick.
- [62:01]
Shalewa Sharp
Big Dick Rich.
- [62:02]
Millie De Cherico
Big Dick Rick. Like, he finally finding his glass slipper and now moving in, like, probably taking up with that woman. What did that look like?
- [62:14]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah, totally.
- [62:15]
Millie De Cherico
Also, to find out the personalities of these dancers.
- [62:17]
Shalewa Sharp
They were like a boy band. It was like following a boy band. Like, it was like he had. The Matt Bomber character was kind of this, like, Ed Kowalchik, like, kombucha Eastern religion guy. And you're like, why did that happen?
- [62:31]
Millie De Cherico
Y.
- [62:32]
Shalewa Sharp
And then, you know, you've got, like, the Big Dick Richie story. I mean, even, like, the fucking. Kevin Nash had a moment.
- [62:40]
Casey O'Brien
He's a painter.
- [62:40]
Shalewa Sharp
Yes.
- [62:41]
Casey O'Brien
He's an artist. Yes.
- [62:42]
Shalewa Sharp
Right.
- [62:42]
Millie De Cherico
And then it was in Desert Storm, like, all kinds of. All kinds of stuff that it's like, what? And it's not like, I need you to give me a movie for each one of these guys. Like a. Like a children's book or something. I don't need. I don't need to know all of that. But there were a couple of things that happened to them that it's like, how did you end up up here?
- [63:04]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah, yeah.
- [63:05]
Millie De Cherico
You know, you definitely could be. We could do a four rooms.
- [63:08]
Casey O'Brien
Sure. Yeah.
- [63:08]
Shalewa Sharp
Different directors. Just, you know, directors for each one. Like an anthology.
- [63:13]
Millie De Cherico
Yeah. I feel like we could do that for them at the very least. That would have been something.
- [63:18]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah.
- [63:19]
Casey O'Brien
Well, bringing up the characters and, like, how you get to know them in the second one, which is like, what makes that second one so great. Then they take that away immediately in the third one. I think they're on a zoom call or something.
- [63:31]
Millie De Cherico
Yeah.
- [63:32]
Shalewa Sharp
So offended by. By that. I was. I was like, I am walking out of this theater and I saw the third one in London.
- [63:39]
Millie De Cherico
Oh, wow.
- [63:41]
Shalewa Sharp
I was actually in England the weekend that it came out, and I was like, I feel like I'm in the story. You know, whatever. Why in London? Don't know. Why? And then when that happened, I was like, you're meaning to tell me that the. The boys, the gang, are going to be relegated to a fucking zoom? That was like, all stuttering and like, you know, bad wifi. I was like, this. This is an insult. An insult to the second one.
- [64:06]
Millie De Cherico
Yeah. I was so mad.
- [64:08]
Casey O'Brien
Well, I thought that they were, like, setting it up. It's like, oh, don't worry. They're going to have to fix some things with the show and they're going to bring the boys back to help fix the show. And that did not happen. No.
- [64:18]
Millie De Cherico
We didn't even get a good, like boys in that. They found. That's really what got me. I was like, okay. It really was bad. It was. It was Godfather 3, y'all. It was. The whole thing gave me. I was like, oh, this is my personal godfather. Because I. I love the first one. I really love the second one. The second one had two stories going on, really. And then the third one is questionable at best, but I do not like it.
- [64:50]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah, well, the third one made me sad, too, because, you know, in Magic Mike xxl, it seems like he's gotten the furniture business off the ground. He's making his own money, he's doing well. The third one starts with his. Him working some shitty catering job at Selma Hayek's house. I'm like, what happened? I don't know. It just sort of like starts as a. Off as a bummer. I don't know.
- [65:10]
Millie De Cherico
It does. It really does. And I mean, after the first performance that he gives for her. Yeah, he did a few things. I was just like, physically, I'm like, oh, wow, okay, you still got it, Mike. And I'm like, you don't want to train like Magic Mike, the Next Generation, or, like, you know, which I think is already like a reality show or something. But there was space for him to pass down his chinstrap like, learnings teachings.
- [65:37]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah.
- [65:37]
Millie De Cherico
To London, where I'm sure. I'm sure the chinstrap dude situation there is fantastic. They concentrated on the wrong thing because they paid for Salma Hayek to be there.
- [65:48]
Shalewa Sharp
That's why do you feel like this franchise could either be rebooted at some future point, maybe even completely different people.
- [65:59]
Millie De Cherico
Right.
- [66:00]
Shalewa Sharp
You know how they do now. Or there'll be like a fourth movie way into the future that could be done. Maybe it is like a Netflix thing or something. Like, do you feel like that's at all possible? Any future with this franchise at all?
- [66:14]
Millie De Cherico
I don't think the reviews were great. On three. And that may have stuck in Channing Tatum's craw maybe a little bit, because that is. I feel like what it would take for a fourth one to be made. It's. There's room. You can. You can save it.
- [66:30]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah.
- [66:30]
Millie De Cherico
If you have a movie with a little life in it. I Honestly, I. I really love the idea of, like, doing the Jada story, but that might be too far gone now.
- [66:39]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah. Yeah.
- [66:40]
Millie De Cherico
But I think that they could do some sort of a reboot.
- [66:44]
Shalewa Sharp
Like, what if they got, like, Nicholas Galitzine to be.
- [66:49]
Millie De Cherico
Oh, Nicholas Galitzine. That's my new favorite guy. I love him so much.
- [66:54]
Shalewa Sharp
What if he was Magic Mike? The son of Magic Mike?
- [66:58]
Millie De Cherico
If they called it the son of Magic Mike, that would be enough. Son of Magic Mike is, like, so funny. Yeah. I think that's what they would have to do. They'd have to do it like, they did the Step up move, like, where Channing just comes through for one scene, and he's literally glowing like a. I don't know, Obi Wan Kenobi or some. And he just kind of comes through, and it's just like, I. I give you the power or. Or something. Something glittery. And now he's able to. His son or his nephew or some. Whatever is now able to. I think that's what it would take.
- [67:34]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah.
- [67:34]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah. I have a pitch just based on everything you just said. Shala. So, okay. Son of. Son of Magic Mike.
- [67:41]
Millie De Cherico
Okay.
- [67:41]
Casey O'Brien
Nicholas Gallett. Why do you say Galaxy Gallery? It's okay. He's Channing Tatum, and he has a bad relationship with his father. And he goes up into his attic and he finds all the old pictures and videos of his dad stripping. And then he starts stripping, and then Magic Mike is like, you don't want to go down that road. Like, it'll ruin. It'll kill you.
- [68:05]
Millie De Cherico
Love it. Let's go. Let's go.
- [68:07]
Casey O'Brien
In the end, the finale, Channing comes out out to save his son somehow by stripping.
- [68:14]
Millie De Cherico
I'm here. I'm kind of here for it.
- [68:16]
Casey O'Brien
I think that would work.
- [68:18]
Shalewa Sharp
And the other angels. The other angels from the old show up.
- [68:22]
Casey O'Brien
Okay. Like, at the end of Star wars, you see the ghosts of Obi Wan and Darth Vader standing there. You see Big Dick and he's, like, translucent, you know, like, smiling down on them because they're dead.
- [68:37]
Shalewa Sharp
Absolutely.
- [68:37]
Millie De Cherico
I would love nothing more than to see Nicholas Galitzine in an attic lifting out of a dusty box. A penis pump.
- [68:46]
Casey O'Brien
Yes.
- [68:47]
Millie De Cherico
Just blowing the dust off a penis pump and just like, what is this? And then like packing it all up, leaving the house. You know, give us a little bit of the Love is a battlefield, Pat Benatar video vibe. Like all of this. A little bit of Footloose, very 80s like us against the system vibe.
- [69:09]
Casey O'Brien
Yes.
- [69:09]
Millie De Cherico
Anything that ends with somebody with their fist up at the end in a freeze frame, I think we got it.
- [69:14]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah.
- [69:15]
Millie De Cherico
No, I think that's it. Yeah, I think that's it.
- [69:17]
Shalewa Sharp
Oh, my God.
- [69:18]
Casey O'Brien
It's a way in.
- [69:18]
Millie De Cherico
It's a way in and it's so wild. And then you just want to see what happens.
- [69:23]
Casey O'Brien
Yes.
- [69:23]
Millie De Cherico
Oh, man.
- [69:24]
Shalewa Sharp
My lord. I. I'm gonna cash out my 401k and. And fun. If you guys co write the screenplay, I will fund whatever. I will fund the production.
- [69:35]
Millie De Cherico
That's great. Yeah, I'm here for it. I'm here for it.
- [69:39]
Shalewa Sharp
Well, Shalay, well, listen, we really, really appreciate you coming on the pod to give your takes, your expertise on the Magic Bike franchise. If people want to find you online or do you have any shows coming up. What's all that info?
- [69:56]
Millie De Cherico
Oh, sure. I am tragically and chronically online at still at all of the things. My handle on all of them is at Silky Jumbo. All one word, traditional spelling, except for TikTok, where the o at the end is a zero. But if you actually just put the o in, you'll find the other account that I forgot the password to. You'll find me. Look, I'm there. I'm there, I swear. My website is shalewasharp tumblr.com because I don't know what I'm doing. Why would I leave Tumblr? Yeah, I'm on Instagram a lot. I'm on Twitter, the only dead name I use. I'm on Twitter all the time. That's usually where you can find where I'm going to be. If you are in the New York City area, UCB has a theater on East 14th Street. And on Monday nights there's a free standup comedy show called Whiplash and I am the host of that. That's a very storied stand up show that is back from the Risen from the ashes along with UCB again. And so I'm hosting that so you can find me there. Just stumb through jokes and, and pointing at people in audiences and laughing at them and yeah, that's about it. I. I teach at the Brooklyn Comedy Collective online. If you look up Brooklyn comedy dot com, that's them.
- [71:24]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah.
- [71:24]
Millie De Cherico
And then otherwise I'm just kind of haunting the streets a lot. I can easily be found.
- [71:31]
Shalewa Sharp
Great. Yeah. No, I. And then War Report. I gotta say, such a great podcast. You and Castro are absolutely hilarious. Serious. It's more like a current affairs, like, you know, news of the day kind of podcast that comes like on what, every week? You guys had do bonus every.
- [71:45]
Millie De Cherico
Yeah, every Thursday for sure. And occasionally on Mondays. That's our bonus episode that we still seem to have done and people expect. And I'm like, I don't know if we understand what bonus means, all of us. But yeah, it's me and Gastro Amonte, who's a very funny comedian and he's a very Brooklyn. Yeah, a Brooklyn boy and just very New York. And I have to break him of that. Break him of that because he's so Brooklyn. And I just gotta. It's enough. It's too much. So that's. That's what we're doing while talking about news stories.
- [72:20]
Shalewa Sharp
Well, thanks again, Shalewa. You're the best. We really appreciate it.
- [72:24]
Casey O'Brien
Thank you, Shalewa. This is great.
- [72:26]
Millie De Cherico
My pleasure. Thanks for having me. I just would be sitting in my living room talking about these movies anyway, so there you go.
- [72:46]
Casey O'Brien
Oh, my goodness. Love Shalewa, man.
- [72:50]
Shalewa Sharp
I've known her for so long, we have been bros for so long that it's kind of like, I don't know, it's effervescent.
- [72:58]
Casey O'Brien
Yes.
- [72:58]
Shalewa Sharp
When I talk to her and I'm just glad now you know each other.
- [73:02]
Casey O'Brien
That was a hard conversation to even stop talking about Magic Mike because I feel like it really. There was so much more in the chamber there. We really. I mean, we could have.
- [73:12]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah, for sure.
- [73:14]
Casey O'Brien
It was really hard to pull back on that. I mean, we might need to do follow up episodes. Honestly.
- [73:19]
Millie De Cherico
Yo.
- [73:20]
Shalewa Sharp
Yo. It made me want to change the theme of the podcast. Just doing one about the Magic Mike franchise. So there you go.
- [73:26]
Casey O'Brien
Frankly, the format of the podcast to all of our episodes being about the Magic Mike extended universe. So that was great.
- [73:36]
Shalewa Sharp
Oh, God.
- [73:37]
Casey O'Brien
Okay, moving on. Let's get into our final segment of the show, Employee Picks. This is where we do a film recommendation based on kind of what we talked about in this episode. Did I ever tell you about the chicks picks at Mr. Movies at my local video store?
- [73:55]
Shalewa Sharp
No. I love employee picks. So tell me, tell me about it.
- [73:59]
Casey O'Brien
So there was like, you know, the staff picks at my local video store, Mr. Movies in Minneapolis, and it was all dudes who worked there and. And they were nice men. But my mom was like bothered by this. My mother. And so she went in and she was like, you know, you don't have any women on the staff picks. It's like five guys recommending action movies.
- [74:24]
Shalewa Sharp
Love that.
- [74:25]
Casey O'Brien
And the manager was like, oh my gosh, you're right. To his credit, he was like, oh my gosh, you're right. We need to do something about this. And my mom goes, well, I have an idea. How about we do a box box and women can submit their picks to this box and you can have a chicks picks row.
- [74:42]
Shalewa Sharp
Oh my God.
- [74:42]
Casey O'Brien
He's like, oh, that's great. Yeah, maybe we'll get started on that. And then my mom is like, well, I already made a box for you, so here's your box and you can put it up on the counter. So then like the next week there was a little, you know, on one of the shelves it said, chicks picks with movies recommended by women.
- [74:58]
Shalewa Sharp
First of all, you're fired. Your mom is hired to go host this podcast with me.
- [75:03]
Casey O'Brien
My mom's a pioneer. She's a hero.
- [75:06]
Shalewa Sharp
I think it explains a lot about you, to be honest. That is wonderful. She's like a suffragette or something. I love it.
- [75:15]
Casey O'Brien
Oh my God. Anyways, yeah, that's kind of my, you know, part of my film history. You know, as a child, I was probably like 12 when my mom did that.
- [75:24]
Shalewa Sharp
Wow, that's like. And honestly, were you ever able to create an employee pick at all in any of your jobs? Cuz I take that real serious. Seriously.
- [75:34]
Casey O'Brien
No, I don't think. I don't think I've had an opportunity to do something like that.
- [75:38]
Shalewa Sharp
Oh my God. You should just get a job where you could do it. It is so fun.
- [75:43]
Casey O'Brien
So quit this podcast and do something else and have my mom co host the podcast with you instead. Okay, got it.
- [75:49]
Shalewa Sharp
Of course. Listen, I think we were ironing out the rest of your life here.
- [75:52]
Casey O'Brien
Sure.
- [75:52]
Shalewa Sharp
But I used, you know, I worked at many record stores. I worked at Tower records. That was like, yeah. Such a huge responsibility because that was in a very prominent location in the store. I mean, Tower Records, of course. And I was like, your mom. I was like, this is such a moment for me.
- [76:09]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah.
- [76:10]
Shalewa Sharp
As one of the only women that work in a store, a music store, I was like, I'm doing research. I'm gonna do things unexpected. I'm not doing it like the other guys do it. So needless to say, this is. The employee picks is such a part of video store culture. So we wanted to kind of replicate something like that because we just thought it would be really cool.
- [76:29]
Casey O'Brien
Cool, totally. So imagine this on a shelf in a. A digital video store somewhere.
- [76:34]
Shalewa Sharp
Yes.
- [76:35]
Casey O'Brien
So, Millie, why don't you give your. Your pick first?
- [76:38]
Shalewa Sharp
So my employee pick for this week because we are talking about dry January and, and. And drinking in films is actually about alcoholism. It's kind of a bummer, not going to lie. But it's a film from 1952, and it's called Come Back, Little Sheba, directed by the great Daniel Mann. This is a movie that stars Burt Lancaster and Shirley Booth, who is one of my favorite actresses in classic Hollywood. If you like Shirley Booth, email us@dearmoviesxactlyrightmedia.com we are going to be friends if you like Shirley Booth. But it's a movie about this married couple, you know, obviously Burt Lancaster. Shirley Booth, married couple. And Burt Lancaster is an alcoholic and he's in recovery. And it was one of the first or maybe the first time that Alcoholics Anonymous AA was ever mentioned in a film. So it kind of has a little bit of. A little bit of historical relevance because of that. But it's a heartbreaker, man. And I love a 50s weepy. I love these types of films. There's no, like, Frederick Marr to being a charming, joyous drunk. This is straight up, like, I hate my life because I can't have a drink and I don't know if I want to be married anymore. And now I gotta watch my husband feel this way. And it's just. It's a bummer of a film, but it is a great film. And I feel like it's not talked about enough. So there's that. That's my wreck.
- [78:10]
Casey O'Brien
Fabulous. Yeah, fabulous. I haven't seen it. I got it. I must check it out.
- [78:14]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah, yeah.
- [78:15]
Casey O'Brien
My recommendation, since we're talking about drinking, is a movie from 2020. It's a Danish film, so you will be reading subtitles, y'all. It's called Another Round. It's by the filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg. It stars the. The very hot Mads Mikkelsen. And it is about these four high school teachers who kind of all sort of have depressing lives. They're friends and they read about this medical guy who says that. That you actually operate better if you're a tiny bit drunk. Like, your optimal PH kind of level is if you are a little bit drunk. So they decide to test this out and, like, are just kind of drunk all the time. And at first it's, like, fun. Yeah, they feel great all the time. And then it sort of devolves, as some of these guys shouldn't be drinking all the time. It's an interesting kind of exploration of alcohol because I think it has a more complex conversation because it's not saying like, drinking is bad. It's more like drinking can be bad. If your life is bad and you are drinking a lot, that is bad. But alcohol in it of itself isn't bad, but it can be.
- [79:30]
Shalewa Sharp
Oh, I see.
- [79:31]
Casey O'Brien
And so, I don't know, it's kind of an interesting thing because I just feel like sometimes movies, exploration of drinking is so cut and dry. If you see someone drinking hard alcohol in a movie, you're like, oh, something bad's gonna happen. That guy's tortured orchard, you know? So I think it's a really interesting movie by a really interesting filmmaker. It won best international film at the Oscars Go out. Thomas Vinterberg is a very interesting filmmaker. He comes from Denmark and he was a part of the Dogma 95 movement, which he started with another Danish filmmaker named Lars von Trier. And that was like in the 90s. And they had all these rules for making films. It was like, had to be shot in like a video camera with no tripod, odd, no violence. They had all these rules.
- [80:16]
Shalewa Sharp
That's right.
- [80:16]
Casey O'Brien
They were kind of like really art housey movies. And there are some really good ones. Like one of his films, the Celebration, is really good, even if it is shot on a video camera. But he kind of was like, I don't want to do that anymore. And he stopped making move. He stopped being like such a pretentious prick.
- [80:35]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah.
- [80:35]
Casey O'Brien
But another round is fabulous. Leonardo DiCaprio was supposed to remake it, but I don't know if that's still.
- [80:41]
Shalewa Sharp
Happening, but I'm checking it out.
- [80:44]
Casey O'Brien
So anyways, another round. You can watch that on prime. It's on if you're a prime video. I think it. It's. You can stream it on there. Peacock Canopy, which is a library app. You can watch movies for free on there. So it's in a lot of places, but check it out. It's a great movie. Another round from 2020.
- [81:01]
Shalewa Sharp
Sounds great. I love it.
- [81:03]
Casey O'Brien
Millie. Oh, my God. We recorded our entire first episode and we didn't kill each other by the end of it?
- [81:11]
Shalewa Sharp
No, I just fired you and hired your mother.
- [81:14]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah, I was fired a few times. Replaced by my mom, which was humiliating. But we made it to the end.
- [81:22]
Shalewa Sharp
We did. We did. I'm excited. This is. This is gonna be so fun.
- [81:25]
Casey O'Brien
I know.
- [81:26]
Shalewa Sharp
We hope you enjoyed it.
- [81:27]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah. I mean, we have so many ideas about what we want to do. For this show. This is going to be changing all the time. You know, new segments are coming in. It's going be a very vibrant show. We're very excited about it. We have so many ideas for it. But one of the ideas I have in the future is we want to give out film advice at the end of our shows. So please write in your questions for us. You know, if you're in need of specific movie recommendations for specific situations, like you're on a date or something and you need a movie to watch, or if you need help navigating a certain director's filmography, fee, we can help. Or if you need a film gripe resolved, we're going to have film gripes. That's going to be a big part of the show moving forward. Huge part. Please write in at Dear Movies at exactly right media.com we want to, you know, give out advice to the people as movie experts. We want to help you. We want to help people. But, you know, you can write in or even better, you can leave us a voicemail. You can record a voicemail on your phone, keep it under 60 seconds, please, and email that voicemail to dear movies@exactlyrightmedia.com so we'd love to hear from you people. Please write in.
- [82:39]
Shalewa Sharp
Yeah, we love hearing your voices. Like, the accents are fantastic. That's like my favorite part.
- [82:45]
Casey O'Brien
We'll play it on the show. Yeah, I love hearing these accents.
- [82:48]
Shalewa Sharp
Also, we have social media. We are at Dear Movies. I love you on Instagram and Facebook. Just a little FYI, Casey and I are going to be doing a couple Instagram lives once in a while. We're going to be posting some video. So Instagram is going to be hot, people.
- [83:07]
Casey O'Brien
It's going to have its own vibe to. It's almost like a second shows going on. That's right, Instagram.
- [83:11]
Shalewa Sharp
That's right. And because Casey's a filmmaker, it's going to be in 4K digital restorations.
- [83:18]
Casey O'Brien
Yeah. Lots of tricky camera moves, dolly shots, Dutch angles, all sorts of stuff.
- [83:25]
Shalewa Sharp
We built the rig from the first Evil Dead movie. We're going to be running through the woods with it. So it's going to be exciting. But just wanted us to shout that out as a way to, like, you know, engage with the pod a little bit more. And also if you are on letterboxd, if you are a letterboxd user and you haven't followed us already, our letterboxd handles are Aclee, O'Brien and Decherico. And that's where we are. That's where we're hanging out, putting down movies.
- [83:56]
Casey O'Brien
That's right. Well, Millie, thank you for a wonderful first episode. Hopefully many more to come after this.
- [84:03]
Shalewa Sharp
Oh, I agree. I had such a blast.
- [84:05]
Casey O'Brien
So much fun. So much fun. All right, well, bye, everybody.
- [84:09]
Shalewa Sharp
See you next time. This has been an exactly right production, hosted by me, Millie De Cherico, and produced by my co host, Casey O'Brien.
- [84:20]
Casey O'Brien
This episode was mixed by Tom Bryfogel. Our associate producer is Christina Chamberlain. Our guest booker is Patrick Cotner, and our art artwork is by Vanessa Lilac.
- [84:30]
Shalewa Sharp
Our incredible theme music is by the best band in the entire world, the Softies.
- [84:35]
Casey O'Brien
Thank you to our executive producers, Karen Kilgariff, Georgia Hardstark, Daniel Kramer, and Millie Di Cherico.
- [84:41]
Shalewa Sharp
We love you. Goodbye.
- [84:44]
Casey O'Brien
Be kind.
- [84:46]
Shalewa Sharp
Rewind.