Sunday Hang with Clay and Buck - Aug 24 2025

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show — Sunday Hang with Clay and Buck (Aug 24, 2025)

Podcast: The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
Episode: Sunday Hang—Aug 24, 2025
Date: August 24, 2025
Host: Clay Travis and Buck Sexton
Theme: Lighthearted, humorous takes on current pop culture and news, with deep dives into the intersection of entertainment, politics, and American culture.

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Episode Overview

This episode blends entertainment banter with sharp cultural commentary as Clay and Buck dissect viral moments, reader feedback, and the state of Hollywood. The hosts open with a playful segment on Jeopardy, segue to the controversy surrounding Clay’s Superman movie comments, and finish with a lively debate about the greatest movies of the 21st century. Political and cultural currents—especially around wokeness, immigration, and Hollywood’s ideological inclinations—are humorously critiqued throughout.

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Main Discussion Sections & Key Moments

1. Jeopardy! Sports Segment & Celebrity Flubs

Timestamps: 02:45–07:28

• Wolf Blitzer’s Infamous Jeopardy Loss
  Clay delights in exposing Wolf Blitzer's disastrous Celebrity Jeopardy performance, playing a montage of missed questions to poke gentle fun at CNN’s “brainiac.”

  • Quote (Clay, 04:37): “He lost almost $5,000 on Jeopardy, which is really hard to do.”

• Sports Jeopardy for Buck
  Clay quizzes Buck on sports trivia. Buck correctly answers the point value of a safety in the NFL (“2”) and tackles a tough WNBA question, but, like the Jeopardy contestants, misses the Paige Bueckers answer.

• Reflection:
  This light segment serves as a setup for the episode’s broader theme of public scrutiny, viral moments, and taking oneself both seriously and not-so-seriously in the media.

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2. The Superman Movie Controversy

Timestamps: 07:28–22:11

Background

• Clay’s tweet criticizing director James Gunn’s comments about the new Superman film’s underlying political messages goes viral, attracting international attention and a deluge of angry fan emails—even from Japanese media.
• James Gunn described Superman as "about an immigrant...about politics," sparking Clay's take that audiences crave apolitical entertainment—a stance that led to personal attacks from online Superman fans.

Discussion Highlights

• Personal Attacks from Superman Fans:
  Clay reads from the onslaught of angry emails, some outright hostile, for his criticism of politicized storytelling.

  • Quote (Clay, 12:16):
    "You're being a bitch. You're an idiot. Wrong...Go kill yourself. James Gunn isn't the moron. You are. Your family will burn for this."
  • Reaction (Buck, 12:31):
    “Whoa.”

• Is Superman an Immigrant or an Asylee?
  Buck and Clay (with input from Clay’s wife, Laura, an attorney and superhero fan) nerd out over Superman’s legal status. They argue—tongue-in-cheek but with legal rigor and pop culture fluency—that Superman is more accurately an “asylum seeker” than an immigrant.

  • Quote (Buck, 12:40):
    “Superman is not an immigrant. If we're going to play this conversation out...he's an alien.”
  • Quote (Laura Travis via Clay, 15:04):
    “He’s orphaned as his parents die, so he’s legally adopted by the Kents...thus giving him American citizenship.”

• Why Hollywood Fails at Blockbusters:
  Both hosts bemoan how ideological commitments trump the profit motive for many in Hollywood, damaging the mass appeal of big franchises.

  • Quote (Clay, 17:35):
    “I don’t understand why these people can't get it through their heads that apolitical entertainment...should be the goal.”
  • Quote (Buck, 17:35):
    “These are communists. Their goal is indoctrination...It is not profit motive first.”

• Barbie and Hollywood Economics:
  The hosts agree Barbie succeeded on nostalgia/girl power, but call it “trash.” They also address failures like the Snow White reboot, arguing that pure entertainment is key to success (citing Tom Cruise as the last superstar sticking to apolitical blockbusters).

  • Quote (Buck on Barbie, 18:42):
    “I watched some of it. I’m like, this is just trash, trash.”

• Clay’s Prescription for Hollywood:
  Clay offers a Michael Jordan-style approach:

  • Quote (Clay, 15:35):
    “I would go full Michael Jordan. Republicans buy sneakers too.”

• Superman Casting and Nostalgia:
  They debate who the best Superman is, with nods to Christopher Reeve and Dean Cain, recalling how older movies managed to unite rather than divide audiences.

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3. Political Moment: Immigration, the Law, and Public Perception

Timestamps: 28:03–29:35

• Listener Call:
  Joe from Mesa, Arizona laments the inability to discuss immigration without accusations of racism and asserts the primacy of the rule of law.
  • Quote (Joe, 28:03):
    “The law either matters or it doesn’t. Has nothing to do with race—has to do with being a rule of law society.”
• Clay and Buck agree, noting how public fear and emotional arguments cloud issues, both in politics and public life.

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4. Best Movies of the 21st Century—Team & Listener Picks

Timestamps: 29:35–41:18

Context

Drawing on a New York Times “Best of the 21st Century” list, hosts and producers give their own nominations and debate what makes a movie “great” or “fun,” separating entertainment from prestige.

Selections and Debate

• Dark Knight Rises to the Top:
  Producers and hosts agree Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” Trilogy is a high point, with Heath Ledger’s Joker performance especially praised.
  • Quote (Buck, 36:01):
    “Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker is the best bad guy performance...It's the No Country for Old Men with...Javier Bardem.”
• Old School, Superbad, Wedding Crashers, 40-Year-Old Virgin:
  Lively debate ensues about the funniest movie: Clay nominates "Old School," Buck champions "40-Year-Old Virgin," and both praise other raunchy comedies of the era.
• Animated and Family Picks:
  Clay notes “Up” as the best Pixar film, highlighting a divide between kid movies, comedies, and dramas.
• Serious Cinema:
  Buck names "The Pianist" as near-perfect but “intense”; “There Will Be Blood” and “No Country for Old Men” are also referenced as frequent fan favorites, though both hosts argue raw re-watchability matters as much as critical acclaim.
• Book Adaptations:
  Clay emphasizes that movie greatness should be about originality, not simply a reflection of a great source novel. Cormac McCarthy is lauded as “probably the greatest author of the last 30 years.”

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5. Listener Engagement: The Lord of the Rings Nerd-Out

Timestamps: 40:11–41:32

• Fun Listener Call:
  Zeb from Texas nerdily corrects the hosts on Lord of the Rings geography, leading Clay and Buck to revel in their audience’s blend of all-American and nerd culture.
  • Quote (Buck, 41:02):
    "I just love that we have listeners who clearly have a 12 gauge across the backseat...but you get Lord of the Rings wrong and they're dropping knowledge on you."

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Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• Clay (12:16): “You're being a bitch. You're an idiot. Wrong...Go kill yourself. James Gunn isn't the moron. You are. Your family will burn for this.”
• Buck (12:40): “Superman is not an immigrant. If we're going to play this conversation out...he's an alien.”
• Laura Travis via Clay (15:04): “He’s orphaned as his parents die, so he’s legally adopted by the Kents...thus giving him American citizenship.”
• Clay (17:35): “I don’t understand why these people can't get it through their heads that apolitical entertainment...should be the goal.”
• Buck (17:35): “These are communists. Their goal is indoctrination...It is not profit motive first.”
• Buck (18:42): “I watched some of it. I’m like, this is just trash, trash.” (on Barbie)
• Clay (15:35): “I would go full Michael Jordan. Republicans buy sneakers too.”
• Buck (36:01): “Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker is the best bad guy performance...”
• Joe (28:03): “The law either matters or it doesn’t. Has nothing to do with race—has to do with being a rule of law society.”
• Buck (41:02): "...you get Lord of the Rings wrong and they're dropping knowledge on you."

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Tone & Style

• Conversational, irreverent, and playful—Clay and Buck mix serious underlying critiques with banter, teasing, and pop-culture references.
• Willingness to self-deprecate (mocking their own pop culture knowledge, hypothetical viral losses, etc.).
• Frequent audience engagement and inside jokes (including nerd references, e.g., “Minas Tirith”).

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Conclusion

This episode delivers a mix of culture-war hot takes, inside-Hollywood critiques, self-aware humor, and movie nerd-out fun, all driven by Clay and Buck’s chemistry. Whether debating Superman’s legal status, the woes of modern Hollywood, or ranking favorite movies, the hosts channel the voice of the “average American consumer”—seeking fun, not lectures, in both their blockbusters and their politics.

Transcript

[Announcer]

This is an iHeart podcast.

[Big 3 Basketball Promoter]

IHeart presents the big three playoffs this Sunday. The remaining four teams battle to make the championship in the most physical, fierce and competitive basketball league in the world. The action starts with the big three Monster Energy celebrity game, then Dwight Howard and his LA Riot take on Montrez Harrell and Dr. J Chicago triplets. The finale will see popular Miami 305 with stars MVP Michael Beasley and Lance Stevenson take on Nancy Lieberman's Dallas power who will make it to the Big Three championship. The no holds barred action starts Sunday at 3P Eastern, 12 Pacific only on CBS Now.

[Clay Travis]

You can stream Fox News Live on the Fox One app. Stay on top of breaking news and the biggest stories live as they happen, all from the Fox voices you trust, bringing you the coverage you won't find anywhere else.

[Buck Sexton]

Start your 7 day free trial today. Offers are subject to change. Go to Fox one for complete terms and conditions. Fox one we live for live streaming now.

[Announcer]

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[Clay Travis]

You want smart political talk without the meltdowns. We got you and I'm Carol Markowitz. And I'm Mary Kathryn Ham. We've been around the block in media and we're doing things differently.

[Buck Sexton]

Normally is about real conversations, thoughtful, try to be funny, grounded and no panic.

[Clay Travis]

We'll keep you informed and entertained without ruining your day. Join us every Tuesday and Thursday Normally on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Buck Sexton]

The Sunday hang is brought to you by Chalk Natural supplements for guys, gals.

[Clay Travis]

And nothing in between. Fuel your [e-mail] Bold, reverent and occasionally random.

[Buck Sexton]

The Sunday hang with Clay and Buck podcast starts now.

[Clay Travis]

I'm promising you guys a bunch of fun. Superman movie fans are mad at me for my take on the Superman movie and I can't believe this is real. But I'm gonna read to you some of the unbelievable emails that I am being deluged with and I promise you that some of you are not gonna be able to. I'm gonna have to be really careful to edit some of the things that are being said to me. But I never expected that I was just gonna be in a Superman movie fan. Like I'm, I'm, I'm the Antichrist according to the Superman movie people right now. So trust me. Top of next hour. We're going to have some fun with this. But on the clock right now, Buck Sexton. Sports Jeopardy. Was a category last night. First of all, before we get to Buck, can we play the flashback of Wolf Blitzer lose on celebrity jeopardy. Losing nearly $5,000 here? I I mays more on Twitter shared this with me. I had not seen it. This is from 2009. CNN's Wolf Blitzer gets destroyed. Not on real Jeopardy. On Celebrity Jeopardy. Cut 29.

[Buck Sexton]

Name of this pasta similar to penne means little mustaches. Doesn't sound so tasty now. Wolf, what is fettuccine? No. King David and Jesus both hailed from this town. Wolf, what is Jerusalem? No. An accused person in court along with his counsel. Wolf, what is a defendant? No. From a larger work. Wolf. Anodated. No. Add one of this five letter word that refers to an economic crash and the fear driven rush to sell. Wolf, what is a crash? No, Wolf, things have not worked out as well as you had hoped for.

[Clay Travis]

I'm sure he didn't make Final Jeopardy because they're playing for charity. Buck, you have to be positive. You have to have positive dollars to be able to make it Final Jeopardy. He lost almost $5,000 on Jeopardy. Which is really hard to do.

[Buck Sexton]

So we have, we have Jeopardy. Sports questions. Clay, Clay thinks he's gonna, Clay thinks he's gonna light me up here. I, I, I, I give you my word. I have not. We did not coordinate this and I have not seen or heard these before. So go ahead.

[Clay Travis]

All right, Here is cut 27 a Jeopardy. NFL question for Buck. Play it.

[Buck Sexton]

Number of points a team gets for a Safety in the NFL.

[Clay Travis]

Safety in the NFL. Buck 2.

[Buck Sexton]

I played Madden for years in college. Okay.

[Clay Travis]

All right. Okay, here were the jeopardy. Answers last night. 27A. Play it.

[Buck Sexton]

Scott, what is three? Sorry. No.

[Clay Travis]

Rahul, what is one?

[Buck Sexton]

Also incorrect. Sarah, what is two?

[Big 3 Basketball Promoter]

Right in the middle.

[Buck Sexton]

It's two points for a safety.

[Clay Travis]

So the girl finally gets it right. So the two guys go, oh, for one and two. And I would bet they both voted.

[Buck Sexton]

You're not gonna ask me a WNBA question?

[Clay Travis]

This, this is harsh.

[Buck Sexton]

This is.

[Clay Travis]

Honestly, this would have been. I, I. This was the thousand dollar question. So there was a WNBA question. Here it is. Cut 28.

[Buck Sexton]

This Yukon star had an intense spring in 2025, playing on her first national championship team and being picked first in the WNBA draft. I mean, Caitlin Clark.

[Clay Travis]

That's a good guess. And in fact, you and Rahul would have been in. In cahoots here. Cut 28A. Here was Rahul's answer. Rahul, who is Caitlin Clark?

[Buck Sexton]

No, scarter sack.

[Clay Travis]

That's nobody. Paige Beckers.

[Buck Sexton]

I now could offer me a million dollars. I wouldn't get that one.

[Clay Travis]

To be fair, I don't think you would have guessed Caitlin Clark. Cause they do have the picture up. So if you were on Jeopardy. Like this, this player is blonde and Caitlin Clark is brown haired. So I think you would have probably. That's a tough one. That was the thousand dollar question. But you did get the safety right.

[Buck Sexton]

Sunday, hang with Clay and Buck.

[Clay Travis]

Congrats. As you just heard, Buck Sexton successfully knowing how many points of safety is worth, unlike two thirds of the Jeopardy. Contestants. Gonna have a little bit of fun here. Um, and this is all real, but I want to. How funny is that Wolf Blitzer clip? I mean, that, that he would. I mean, for everybody out there watching, he is held up as one of the brainiacs of cnn. Right. Wouldn't you say that's probably fair to say that Wolf Blitzer is seen as one of the smarter guys on the air at cnn. I think that's probably fair.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, I don't know if it's as a result of his Jeopardy. Appearance, but people have been suggesting that he's like the confused fool for a while now. Okay. I think so. But I don't know.

[Clay Travis]

To be fair, he's probably. I mean, he's got to be over 70 now, right? Like that clip was from 2009.

[Buck Sexton]

I will say, I will say. I have heard from people within the CNN world for a long time. He's actually a pretty pretty.

[Clay Travis]

I've heard he's a super nice guy.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah, he's a nice guy. So I will give him Total credit on. He's apparently a good dude, and we're having a little bit of fun at his expense, but he's paid millions of dollars, and he's had a good run. And so, you know. But he is apparently unlike. Unlike most of the CNN anchors. And I could go through chapter and verse. He's apparently a nice guy.

[Clay Travis]

To be fair, if I went on Celebrity Jeopardy and I lost $5,000, it would go insanely mega viral. And I would. I mean, I would have to own it, right? But all the clips of me missing the questions and everything else, it would actually. It would probably be better for me to go and lose a ton of money than to win a ton of money. Because if I won tons of money, nobody would share it. They would be like, oh, whatever, Clay Travis. Still stupid, meanie, head moron. If I lost, like, $5,000, everybody that hates me would share it. So it probably would go more viral for a collapse than actually being successful. Okay. I tweeted this last night. I got a sense that my take this is all real. I got a sense that my take on Superman, the new movie, had gone mega viral. Because yesterday I woke up and I had an email from a Japan news agency asking if they could interview me for my take on the new Superman movie.

[Buck Sexton]

So when you see the Suntory commercials with Clay Travis in them or Sapporo, you will know that this is. That he. Clay is big in Japan. Let's just say Clay is big in Japan.

[Clay Travis]

In my entire career of telling, tons of sharing, tons of opinions on everything under the sun, there has never been any request for me to be interviewed by any Japanese news agency.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, I think the one part we have to let everybody know, though, is that the director, James Gunn, I'm. I used to be. I will say, if we were talking like, late 90s, early 2000s movies, I was absolutely dialed in. I had my favorite directors, my favorite actors, you know, excited about. I don't even know who's. I don't know who's been directing movies for the last 10 years. I basically have no idea. I don't pay attention because I think most movies absolutely stink. Almost all of them absolutely stink. Now, he said something, though.

[Clay Travis]

Here's the quote. Here's the James Gunn quote. So this is where it all started on in Variety magazine, which is like a Hollywood celebrity magazine, shared a story and said, james Gunn says Superman is about an immigrant that came from other places. How we've lost the value of basic human kindness. Yes. It's about politics. That was James Gunn's take. He is the director of the new Superman movie that is opening. I think it may be already out or opening today or what. I tweeted three days ago and this is true. I'm gonna skip seeing Superman. The director is a moron to say this publicly the week before release. America's desperate for apolitical entertainment. Hollywood's unable to deliver it. And then I continued. I said, I made a fun movie I hope everyone of all backgrounds enjoys. Is it that hard to say this when you've been given hundreds of millions of dollars of studio money to make a summer blockbuster? It feels like Tom Cruise is the only Hollywood superstar who still gets this. That's what. I don't even think of all my takes. Like, I think that is like one of the most tepid, non hot take, non crazy takes. It has evidently gone mega viral and the Superman community of fans is furious at me. And this buck just in the last, I don't know, little bit on social media, I got the following messages sent to me on Instagram from Superman fans. These are people that are furious at me. This is a representative sample. I am deluged in angry Superman fan messages. Here is one. Hey. Word that you can't say on the radio. I just want to let you know. Superman has been an immigrant since he was created. And that calling stuff woke means you can't find a good reason to complain. You're being a bitch. You're an idiot. Wrong. You're being used, you piece of blank. Go kill yourself. James Gunn isn't the moron. You are. Your family will burn for this.

[Buck Sexton]

Whoa.

[Clay Travis]

Your family will burn for the. For my Superman movie take of. Okay, it's not a good idea to go mega political. This is crazy town.

[Buck Sexton]

Can I give you. I'm going to give you a few things here. First of all, Superman is not an immigrant. If we're going to play this conversation out a little bit, let's do it. Ok. Superman is an alien. He is not a human being who is subject to another jurisdiction on this planet and has citizenship elsewhere. He is from another planet. Now that to me is actually a good case. Especially when your home planet has been destroyed, as Superman's has. If I remember my comic book lore, Superman, if anything, would be an asylum seeker. Oh. Unlike all of the people who are showing up in America pretending that their planet was blown up, so to speak, pretending they can't go back to their home country. They are just fraudsters. So Superman is an alien. Not an illegal alien, but an actual alien. From another planet does not have a jurisdiction on planet earth that he should be in other than America. And I think under any reasonable view of asylum law, his home planet is gone. So I don't think he can go back. So I think that you could say he's a credible asylee.

[Clay Travis]

Okay, you, that is amazing. You are going to be nerding out because my wife is a superhero movie junkie super nerd. All the boys go to all the movies and everything else. She actually was upset that all the super Superman people are mad at me and she sent me this because you're going to build on this. Buck. She's also a lawyer. She said they're totally wrong and she said what you just said. Buck. Superman is actually a true asylum seeker. His planet was destroyed. All his culture and people are destroyed. His first landing is on American soil in Kansas. This is Laura Travis, lawyer. He's orphaned as his parents die, so he's legally adopted by the Kents who are American citizens, thus giving him American citizenship. Even if not for one and two, he has unique talents of great use to the U.S. that would be impossible to find after a thorough search for other candidates, thus qualifying him for EB1, a controversially visa and legal channel to full citizenship. On top of all this, he ends up being one of the most productive and useful members of society, choosing to hold two full time jobs as both a journalist and a crime fighting superhero.

[Buck Sexton]

Now this is all absolutely, absolutely spot on. I didn't know that that was. I didn't know that Laura had written any of that is absolutely correct. So the people that are the director of this movie saying he's just like an immigrant. No jackass. That's not even, that's not even vaguely correct.

[Clay Travis]

And this also builds on something that I, that I was getting at when this went mega viral. I would believe if you gave me. Buck, if you, if you and I, if I left this, this show and I suddenly became a Hollywood movie director, if you gave me hundreds of millions of dollars to make a movie, it might well end in utter disaster. Remember, Fox had to sell off the lot at the Pico and motor part of it. The Westfield Mall is now for those of you out in la because they lost so much money on Cleopatra with Elizabeth Taylor back in the day for the movie nerds. Um, so it may well end in unmitigated disaster and the company might lose tons of money, but it wouldn't be because I said to half the country, hey, I'm trying to make an intensely political movie. I would go full Michael Jordan. Republicans buy sneakers too. I don't think it would have been smart of game James Gunn to say, hey, I think it's super timely that Superman would come out right now. But because Donald Trump is a super president and he's super man, like in the way that he responded to the assassination attempt. And I think that if you hate Trump, you shouldn't come see this movie. Well, that wouldn't be smart, right? I actually would agree with that take, but it wouldn't be smart if you're trying to appeal to the whole swath of America. And I mean, look, we got a lot of people who listen in la and we've talked about this before. When is Hollywood going to recognize that the reason why Tom Cruise is the last superstar is because he just wants to make apolitical popcorn movies that everybody can sit and watch that aren't trying to indoctrinate. Indoctrinate you in any way and are just about entertaining you for a great summer movie. Right. I just, I don't understand why these people can't get it through their heads that apolitical entertainment that everybody can watch. It should be the goal.

[Buck Sexton]

No, because they're the goal. These are communists. Their goal is the indoctrination. They view that they've reached a point like, James Gunn is already very rich, already has all the connections he needs. He. It is more important to him to make a movie that he can virtue signal to his library friends in Hollywood about than to make a movie that makes a ton of money at this point. Like if he has to choose between those two things. Otherwise, how do you explain things like Snow White, which was an absolute disaster, hundreds of millions lost, and we knew it was going to lose money the whole time. We're not making that movie. But it's because they're so ideologically committed that it is not profit motive first. That's what they used to say, I might add. They used to say, oh, we're just doing what makes money. That's not true. They care more about the mission of indoctrination than they do making money with these films. And you see it over and over again because every time we say, this is going to be a disaster, this is going to be a bomb, it pretty much is. The only exception to that is the Barbie movie, which was so bad.

[Clay Travis]

Was so bad, I still never seen it.

[Buck Sexton]

Oh, I watched. I couldn't get through it. I tried. I watched some of it. I'm like, this is just trash. Trash.

[Clay Travis]

And is that just it was successful because they were just, they were marketing entirely to women. And it's like girl power. It was a girl power.

[Buck Sexton]

It was a whole girl power thing. Like, oh, like Barbie and the nostalgia and everything else. It is an absolutely garbage movie. Absolutely garbage movie. And I, you know, just like people, Clay, I used to say that Hamilton was garbage when people were waiting in line for like three days for tickets. Ok? I was like, guys, I just know it's garbage and it is garbage. And now more and more people agree with me because it's just what it is.

[Clay Travis]

Barbie.

[Buck Sexton]

Eventually everyone's going to realize nonsense. Don't. And don't even get me started on Avatar. Those of you who like Avatar.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, but Avatar is not to me as aggressively political. I know James Cameron, Fern Gully with.

[Buck Sexton]

Some laser guns or whatever. It's preposterous.

[Clay Travis]

But it made, it made a lot. I think that there is a lot.

[Buck Sexton]

It did make a lot of. But that was because the technology. It wasn't because of the storyline. It was because of the 3D and all that stuff.

[Clay Travis]

I, I'm just telling you, somebody out there in Hollywood is going to get smart enough to just say, I'm not hiring any of these woke BS moron people. We're just gonna like whoever Tom Cruise wants to work with. We're gonna double, triple, quadruple down with him. All he cares about is making movies that are gonna be super entertaining. And that's what we're gonna focus on. And you're gonna mint money. You are going to make money hand over fist. Because I just see stuff like this all the time and it just makes me throw my hands up because I wanted to go see Superman. I mean, I'm, I'm a, you know, middle America guy. Like, I like to go sit in the movies and have popcorn. I still like going to the movie theater. I want to go see the new Jurassic park. Even though I'm sure it's like total trash.

[Buck Sexton]

Michael Crichton is rolling over in his grave. Good heaven.

[Clay Travis]

I enjoy seeing dinosaurs on the movie screen. I like seeing fighter jets blow things up. I mean, I am the average American consumer. Why would you alienate anybody from Superman? You could easily say Superman is an aspirational goal that is about everyone fulfilling the best possible abilities of their own innate gifts. Like it's so easy to sell this movie. Just don't tell me that it's political. And about immigration, by the way, when most people are opposed right now to the immigration policies. It's not even 50, 50. We talked about this. It's like 65, 35. The guy's a moron. Anyway, I thought you guys would enjoy it. I do think it's important culturally. But there's people out there that are furious at me for saying, hey, you know, maybe Superman should just kind of appeal to everybody and not be some sort of woke version of Hollywood fantasy. And when you say that, the little fanboys come running and. And tell me my family should burn, My family should burn for my Superman take.

[Buck Sexton]

Of all things, what is the best Superman? Well, I think it's clear the best Superman of. Of all time, other than, of course, our friend Dean Cain, who's fantastic as a person. But I don't think the Superman show counts because that's a show, not a movie. We're talking movies. Just clearing the category here would be, you know, I'm talking about the guy, the Superman guy who was the Superman for years. And Christopher Reef, Christopher Reeve. Thank you. That's the best Superman. That's the best Superman, I think. No question about it. And the other.

[Clay Travis]

I'm going to go. Dean Cain. Dean Cain's probably listening right now. Maybe he wants to call in.

[Buck Sexton]

No, no, I said we love Dean. We love Dean. But that's a show. That's not a movie. We're talking movies here. We got to keep our categories.

[Clay Travis]

Oh, it's going super political here. You know, tiptoeing back. Try to have it all for everybody. Christopher Reeve was a great Superman in Would that come out? 1978, the original Superman.

[Buck Sexton]

Those movies also were just. You watch them with your whole family.

[Clay Travis]

Yes.

[Buck Sexton]

And. And it was good versus evil. And it just. They're like. It was like a fun, good experience to watch them. And they're really, in some ways almost like, you know, the modern, modern fable or modern, modern Aesop's favorite. You know, it's just. I thought it did really. You know, it was just great stuff. And they can't make a damn good super Superman movie to save their lives anymore. Even they had the super handsome guy, Henry Cavill. His Superman movies. Trash. Trash. Why is it so hard, Clay? I could write a Superman movie in a week.

[Clay Travis]

I feel like DC comics in general have really kind of bombed compared to the Marvel movies. And I got. I got still more takes, but. But just make movies everybody can love. Just make them designed for everybody. It's not hard.

[Announcer]

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[Big 3 Basketball Promoter (Alternate)]

The reviews and ratings are in and Ice Cube's Big Three is the surprise hit of the summer and to cap off the season, iHeart presents the Big 3 Basketball Championship and 8th Annual Big 3 All Star Game this coming Sunday, August 24th. Live from Orlando, the remaining two teams fight it out for the Big 3 Championship Dr. J Trophy in the most physical, fierce and competitive basketball league in the world. Don't miss the wild conclusion of Big Three's eighth and most historic season ever. This is the game no one wants to lose and there's no crying in the Big three. The action starts with the Big Three eighth Annual All Star Game. Don't miss All Stars Dwight Howard, Montrez Harrell, MVP Michael Beasley, Lance will make you Dan Stevenson, Jordan Crawford, Greg Monroe, Earl Clark, Nazir Kor and more show you why they are the best three on three basketball players in the world. Big three's exciting all star game plus the crowning of a new big three champion. The no holds part action starts Sunday at 2pm Eastern, 11 Pacific only on CBS.

[Clay Travis]

Now you can stream Fox News live on the Fox One app. Stay on top of breaking news and the biggest stories live as they happen. All from the Fox voices you trust, bringing you the coverage you won't find anywhere else.

[Buck Sexton]

Start your 7 day free trial today. Offers are subject to change. Go to Fox one for complete terms and conditions. Fox One we live for live streaming now. In business they say you can have better, cheaper or faster. But you only get to pick two. What if you could have all three at the same time? That's exactly what cohere, Thomson Reuters and Specialized Bikes have since they upgraded to the next generation of the cloud.

[Clay Travis]

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure OCI is the blazing fast platform for your infrastructure, database, application development and AI needs where you can run any workload in a high availability, consistently high performance environment and spend less than you would with other clouds.

[Buck Sexton]

How is it faster? OCI's block storage gives you more operations per second cheaper.

[Clay Travis]

OCI costs up to 50% less for computing, 70% less for storage and 80% less for networking better.

[Buck Sexton]

In test after test, OCI customers report lower latency and higher bandwidth versus other clouds. This is the cloud built for AI.

[Clay Travis]

And all your biggest workloads right now with zero commitment. Try OCI for free. Head to oracle.com clay that's oracle.com clay Grand Canyon University, a private Christian university in beautiful Phoenix, Arizona, believes we're endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. GCU believes in equal opportunity and the American Dream starts with purpose. GCU equips you to serve others in ways that promote human flourishing and create a ripple effect of transformation for generations to come. By honoring your career, calling you impact your family, your friends and your community, you can change the world for good by putting others before yourself to glorify God. Whether your pursuit involves a bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degree, GCU's online, on campus and hybrid learning environments are designed to help you achieve your unique academic, personal and professional goals. With over 340 academic programs as of September 2024, GCU meets you where you are and provides a path to help you fulfill your dreams. The pursuit to serve others is yours. Let it flourish. Find your purpose at Grand Canyon University. Private Christian affordable Visit GCU Edu Sunday.

[Buck Sexton]

Drop with Clay and Buck Joe from Mesa, Arizona. Hey Joe and Mesa. I was trying to explain to my friend just like why most of America doesn't even care about the deportations that are happening. And he flipped out on me and was saying that I needed to admit that I hate every other race other than my own anyways. So in the end they're they're just totally brainwashed and there's nothing you can do. The law either matters or it doesn't. Has nothing to do with race. Has to do with being a rule of law society.

[Clay Travis]

Clay yeah, and look, I think that a lot of people are dialed out and just randomly buy into all of the histrionics. I mean I think a perfect example of this is, you know we're going to hit right now. The stock market is up again today for Another high. It was only two months ago that they were telling you that everything was going to collapse and that you needed to make sure that you sold all your stocks and that we were headed for basically a nuclear winter. And from an economic perspective, and it just hasn't happened. And so I think the total fear there is. It works on a lot of people, and they are aware that emotionally they can play on people's failings as it pertains to that.

[Buck Sexton]

Basically, we have next up here, a lot of Lord of the Rings nerds in this audience. Oh, we didn't get. We said we were going to do the movie thing.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah, that's what I thought.

[Buck Sexton]

New York Times.

[Clay Travis]

I was doing my research here.

[Buck Sexton]

New York Times best. Now, this is a little bit of a frustration because people don't pay. It's like when you had a teacher that said, make sure you read the instructions for the exam before you take the exam. It's the best movies of the 21st century. So anybody who's jumping in with Braveheart or, you know, which I love and would be my overall choice, overall favorite movie all time, that's 1998, I think, or six or I forget when the nine. I don't know. But it was. It was definitely in the 20th. 22. 0. 20th century. 21st century. Best movies of the 21st century. This is. This is the New York Times list that came out. We got a. Wait. Producer. I got all of you to tell me your. Your picks, and I thought they were pretty solid. And when I say all of you, I mean our team in New York. New York Team. Let's start with you, Ali. Producer. Ali, what was your best movie of the 21st century? You had time to think about this. So you're on the hot seat now. If you forgot, what is it?

[Clay Travis]

Oh, no, I'm totally on the hot seat. I. I had gone with Gladiator, but.

[Announcer]

I had the years all wrong.

[Buck Sexton]

Yeah.

[Clay Travis]

Okay, hold on.

[Buck Sexton]

2000.

[Clay Travis]

Yes. It counts in the New York Times list.

[Buck Sexton]

It does, because that's. That's the 20th century.

[Clay Travis]

They have it down at 92. So they are counting anything that's 2000 and beyond.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, that's an outrage. First of all, the fact that they're counting it and they're Putting it at 92 is an outrage because, Ali, I'd be. It would be a top fiver for me. Top fiver for sure. They put parasite at number one. A foreign film as the best movie of the 21st century. Which. Which I think is mad. Producer. Producer. Mike, what Was yours. You had a good one. Dark Knight. Were you Dark Knight or was that Greg? What does producer Mike say? Producer, Dark Knight. Yeah, he was Dark Knight. Solid. I can't, I can't quibble with that. I have watched that movie probably a hundred times. I enjoy the Dark Knight. He really brought back. People think now all the Batman franchise, huge franchise that was. It was on the ropes after a couple of really bad Batman movies that bombed big time, including one with I think the girl from Clueless was in it. Alicia Silverstone. There was a George Clooney. No one even remembers George Clooney played Batman. And it was such a bad movie that people don't even remember that he was Batman. So there were. So the, The Dark Knight was. Came back from the Batman Begins and the Dark Knight, both great, great options. Remember, 21st century, we're looking at clay. What was yours?

[Clay Travis]

I broke it down. Trio. Meaning. Because to me there is, there's a difference between a kid movie. There's a difference between a comedy and there's a difference between a dramedy drama. So I went with. I agree. The whole Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy, the Dark Knight, that, that is really phenomenal. Well done Up, I think was the best of the Pixar movies up. If you up is so well done. And then I think the funniest movie of the 21st century. I think it's old school. I, I just think it is absolutely hysterical funny.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, that's not even a category now you're making up categories.

[Clay Travis]

Funniest.

[Buck Sexton]

I think Old School is the funniest movie of the 21st century.

[Clay Travis]

What would you what's bet what's funnier than old school?

[Buck Sexton]

I mean, I think 40 year old virgin's funnier than old school.

[Clay Travis]

40 year old virgin is very funny. Super Bad is very funny. Like there's a series of four or five movies. I think that you could argue. I think the combination of Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn is tough to beat. Wedding Crashers also really, really funny and well done. But I think you have to consider what, again, best doesn't mean Citizen Kane is a phenomenal movie. We talked about yesterday. Schindler's List is a phenomenal movie. It's hard to sit down and just be like, hey, let's have some popcorn and watch Schindler's List.

[Buck Sexton]

Well, this is, this is like how I feel about the Pianist. P I A N I S T. To be clear, the Pianist is a. Or the Pianist, maybe some people say it that way is I think a perfect movie. Meaning it is incredibly well done and every aspect of it, from the acting to the writing to the. To the sound, you know, to the soundtrack to the. I think it's a perfect movie, but it's intense. It's World War II.

[Clay Travis]

Yeah.

[Buck Sexton]

It's, you know, it's a Jewish guy who's trying to flee the, you know, the. Well, at one point it's his neighbors and the Nazis. The Pianist is an incredible movie, but I can't say it's my favorite movie because if the Dark Knight trilogy or the Lord of the Rings movies are on, I'm watching those instead of the Pianist. I'm just. I'm not gonna lie and be that guy. Which brings me to, I think, the private producer. Greg, what was your pick? You didn't give us. You didn't give us your. We're trying to help you, by the way, for the holiday weekend, everybody. If you haven't seen any of these, we're giving you great recommendations for. I would argue the Lives of Other is a pretty perfect movie. Although it is German language and that is 21st century. But again, it's not a. You still haven't even watched it, have you? You and Laura haven't watched the Lives of Others and you have. Ok, maybe that one because it's foreign language. I could see Laura being like, Clay, don't, don't, you know, don't torture us. You guys haven't watched Hacksaw Ridge, which is insane because that was. I gave you that assignment a long time ago, that movie. To be fair.

[Clay Travis]

To be fair to me, I barely see anything. I watch stuff with my kids, which is why I've been watching Harry Potter.

[Buck Sexton]

Watch hundreds of hours of college football. Hundreds.

[Clay Travis]

I was going to say. And I watch a lot of sports. Let me give you an underrated movie that I think seems even more contemporary than it was when it came out. Minority Report. No, I'm telling you, go back and watch it now. In an age of AI, it seems eerily prescient in terms of its foreshadowing of where we are.

[Buck Sexton]

Producer Greg is going to weigh in. He was a He. He wanted to get on this. Producer Greg, best movie of the 21st century. If you were making this New York Times list, what's number one? Dark Knight. I'm with. I'm with. Oh, you're Dark Knight guy, too? I thought, I thought we had double Dark Knight. That's a. Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker is the best bad guy performance. That, that I think you. It's. That it's the no country for Old Men with what's his name, you know, Javier Bardem.

[Clay Travis]

Javier Bardem.

[Buck Sexton]

Javier Bardem and Hans Gruber in Die Hard, which was the first time that guy was ever in a movie, which is still amazing.

[Clay Travis]

Does watching the Dark Knight, knowing that Heath Ledger was going to in some way kill himself. Like, I watch it now and you're right, the performance is incredible. But when I watch it in the back of my mind, I'm thinking, in order to become this good, he had to go to such a dark place that it felt to me like a lot of people who are actors and actresses, it's not actually that talented. You know what I mean? Like, there are lots of people who are. Whatever. Heath Ledger, that was actually an artistic performance as the Joker. But I think it led him into a world where his brain, like, almost broke.

[Buck Sexton]

You know, he went into the darkness. Went to the darkness too much that. That. That has happened with. With people that get too.

[Clay Travis]

Into a role.

[Buck Sexton]

A lot of people very high. And look, because I saw a lot of comments about this because I. I was on. I was on with Will Kane and Carol Markowitz on Will show on Fox Clay. And that's where this got some attention. A lot of people have as their top movies, I would say the ones that I saw the most for all of you, all of you out there, I'd say the one that. That I saw the most as a number one choice was either There Will Be Blood or no country for Old Men for best movie the 21st century. I view those as both excellent movies, but it also goes in that category of There Will Be Blood for me is like watching a masterclass of acting. Like, obviously Daniel Day Lewis is phenomenal and. And the performances are. But do I care about anybody in this story, really? No. Do I like anybody, really? No. And then I think that unfortunately, no country for Old Men, again, very well made. And I'm not saying it's not a good movie. I'm just saying, you know, if it's on, am I going to watch it? I don't. It's so bleak and kind of nihilistic for me. So I can't get too excited about either one of those as a top 10 of the 21st century. They're both excellent movies, to be clear, but they're not movies. I've only watched each of those maybe twice, which for me is not very many.

[Clay Travis]

I also, to me it. When it's a book being made into a movie, I think the excellence of the movie in many ways reflects the book. And Cormac McCarthy is probably the greatest author. Now I'm really going to get people fired up. Probably the greatest author of the last 30 years. And I know he died a couple of years ago, but if you look at his production in terms of his talent and you go all the way back, he moved eventually his fiction to basically the border with Texas and Mexico. But he started off as a Tennessee based writer and I think he's probably the most talented writer in America in the last 30 years. And so no country for Old Men is a novel by him. And I think it just reflects the world that he created on the screen and is actually an illustration of his excellence as a writer more than it is as a film. Does that make sense? Like if you said, hey, the Great Gatsby, which it isn't and it's been made multiple times, most recently with Leonardo DiCaprio, if you said the Great Gatsby is the best movie that's ever been made, I would be like, well, it's a phenomenal novel. And so to me, I strip out anything that isn't an original movie as a great movie. Does that make sense? Podcast a reflection of, of the of the book.

[Buck Sexton]

More than one talk back here. Before we get into more talkbacks and calls to close this out, a a podcast listener. Zeb from Texas. Play it. Clay and Buck, this is Zeb from Texas. Love your show. Listen to you every day since y' all took over for Rush. Ditto, maybe. Hey, listen, I'm so disappointed that y' all would question producer Greg after he's led you right so many times. Minas Tirith is the capital city of Gondor after Osgiliath was destroyed by the orcs in the Battle of Sauron. Trust your man.

[Clay Travis]

I just. This is the nerdiest thing that has ever been said on the show, which is.

[Buck Sexton]

I just love, I love that we have listeners who clearly, clearly have a 12 gauge across the backseat of the car, have a Stetson on and cowboy boots, and they're lecturing us about Minas Tirith as the city of Gondor, as the capital of Gondor after Osilius, of course, was destroyed by the Oryx in the Battle of Sauron. That is, that is our, that is our Texas audience rolling around in a pickup, ready for any javelinas they have to take out. But you get Lord of the Rings wrong and they're dropping knowledge on you.

[Clay Travis]

The, the, the correction yesterday that I read is the nerdiest thing that's ever been said on the show that talk back and Buck's analysis of it is the second nerdiest thing that's ever been said on the show.

[Big 3 Basketball Promoter]

I Heart presents the Big three Playoffs this Sunday. The remaining four teams battle to make the championship in the most physical, fierce and competitive basketball league in the world. The action starts with the Big three Monster Energy Celebrity game, then Dwight Howard and his Ellie Riot take on Montrez Harrell and Dr. J Chicago triplets. The finale will see popular Miami 305 with stars MVP Michael Beasley and Lance Stevenson take on Nancy Lieberman's Dallas power who will make it to the Big Three championship. The no holds barred action starts Sunday at 3pm Eastern, 12 Pacific only on.

[Announcer]

CBS this Labor Day. Say goodbye to spills, stains and overpriced furniture with washablesofas.com featuring Annabe, the only machine washable sofa inside and out where designer quality meets budget friendly pricing. Sofas start at just $6.99, making it the perfect time to upgrade your space. Anibe's pet friendly stain resistant and interchangeable slipcovers are made with high performance fabric built for real life. You'll love the cloud like comfort of hypoallergenic high resilience foam that never needs fluffing and a durable steel frame that stands the test of time with modular pieces you can rearrange anytime. It's a sofa that adapts to your life. Now through Labor Day, get up to 60 off site [e-mail] Every order comes with a 30 day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not in love, send it back for a full refund. No return shipping, no restocking fees. Every penny back. Shop [e-mail] Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

[Big 3 Basketball Promoter]

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[Clay Travis]

You want smart political talk without the meltdowns. We got you and I'm Carol Markowitz. And I'm Mary Kathryn Hampton. We've been around the block in media and we're doing things differently.

[Buck Sexton]

Normally is about real conversations, thoughtful, try to be funny, grounded and no panic.

[Clay Travis]

We'll keep you informed and entertained without ruining your day. Join us every Tuesday and Thursday Normally on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart podcast.