*PREVIEW* Un Three-in Andalou feat. Mattie Lubchansky and Hesse Deni

Summary

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Episode Overview

Title: PREVIEW Un Three-in Andalou feat. Mattie Lubchansky and Hesse Deni
Date: July 17, 2026
Podcast: TRASHFUTURE
Guests: Mattie Lubchansky, Hesse Deni

In this lively episode, the TRASHFUTURE crew—with guests Mattie Lubchansky and Hesse Deni—dives headfirst into the absurd world of a new AI-driven, conspiracy-laden, mega-production film centered around Satoshi Nakamoto. The hosts dissect the surreal premise, the questionable production choices, and the film industry’s ongoing infatuation with artificial intelligence as a cost-cutting—and increasingly soul-draining—measure. Throughout the conversation, they lampoon the promotional rhetoric, speculate hilariously on technical minutiae, and generally marvel at the state of cinema under late capitalism.

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Main Discussion Points & Insights

The Film’s Bizarre Premise and "High Stakes" Story (00:19–01:58)

• Host describes a fictional thriller where the world's most powerful tech and political figures have formed a mega-organization ("COPA") to destroy Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto, with Gal Gadot starring as a plucky journalist on a globe-trotting quest.

  • Notable quote:

    "Why have the world's powerful and wealthy people—Jack Dorsey, Mark Zuckerberg, Visa, and virtually every other major crypto organization—poured hundreds of millions into a single mega-organization called COPA with the sole purpose to destroy one man, Satoshi Nakamoto." (Host, 00:35)

• The cast of villains reads like a dystopian comic book—including names like Elon Musk, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Eric Trump, and Jeff Bezos.

• Riley and Ben instantly recognize the ridiculousness of the narrative, highlighting the AI-driven casting of real-world figures.

  • Riley:

    "Satoshi, come with me. Get into my car, please." (01:23)

The Role of AI in Film Production: "The Gray Box" (01:27–04:47)

• The filmmaking process is centered on "the gray box," a purpose-built AI/virtual production unit inspired by existing tech like Disney’s "the volume."

• The reality: actors perform in bland, featureless environments; AI later fills in sets, costumes, and even entire performances.

  • Ben sarcastically suggests he'd pay to watch a version where none of the digital effects are finished:

    "I would love to watch just Ben Affleck turning to people in a morph suit and being like Kim Jong Uncart." (01:49)

• Discussion of "the volume"—a wraparound LED stage used in Star Wars TV shows—and how the gray box is an even more unsettling evolution.

  • Riley:

    "It looks better than a green screen, but it is still noticeable. And what if it didn't have any. What if it wasn't curved? What if it was a box?" (03:42)

  • Host:

    "Casey Affleck and Pete Davidson will act and have worlds created around them." (03:49)

Economic Logic: Saving Money with AI (04:47–05:52)

• The crew picks apart the justification that AI brings costs down—from an alleged $300M to $70M—while questioning how even $70M can be spent on a production comprised almost entirely of digital artifice.
  • Riley:

    "The 200 locations, which, by the way, which sounds like there's a… they go to a new place every 45 seconds." (05:07)

• They point out that inflating the number of locations likely stems from AI’s inability to render lengthy scenes or consistent settings.

The Futility and Absurdity of AI-Focused Production (05:52–09:04)

• The team mocks the logic of bringing in actors or crew at all—if everything is AI, why not go all the way?

  • Host:

    "The actors are going to be… changed and uplifted and tweaked and their facial expressions might be… perfected…" (07:32)

  • Riley:

    "Why not wear one costume which is like watermelon sized slices of each individual costume going down it… and then you can use the AI to expand each costume slice." (09:04)

• Jokes abound about the painful minimalism of the "gray box," with Riley likening it to a bare bachelor pad or even as a nickname for the Queen.

• The crew lampoons the idea of the "panel boy"—the single crew member left just holding a bounce board for lighting.

Existential Despair and Punishment Cinema (09:41–09:42)

• A guest erupts in mock frustration, having watched the entire (real) film for the show and feeling tormented that the rest of the panel is busy riffing and procrastinating.
  • Guest:

    "I watched it yesterday. I was going to kill myself, Riley… Hussein got to watch a fun movie with Vinnie Jones and he's not getting punished at all. And I had to pay four of my own dollars to watch this fucking movie. And you're not even asking me my thoughts about it." (09:41)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Ben:

  "I would love to watch just Ben Affleck turning to people in a morph suit and being like Kim Jong Uncart." (01:49)

• Host (on AI production logic):

  "Instead of having to have people who are, you know, making things or—why do that?" (08:43)

• Riley (on AI costumes):

  "Why not wear one costume which is like watermelon sized slices of each individual costume going down it..." (09:04)

• Guest (on millennial living spaces):

  "I've been in a lot of guys' apartments that you could probably describe as the gray box period." (06:29)

• Ben:

  "What's your job on set? Oh, I'm panel boy." (08:34)

• Guest (on the pain of assignment cinema):

  "I watched it yesterday. I was going to kill myself, Riley... And you're not even asking me my thoughts about it." (09:41)

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Key Segment Timestamps

• 00:19–01:00: Film premise, introduction of conspiracy and Satoshi Nakamoto
• 01:27–04:47: Technical explanations—the "gray box," the reality of AI in film
• 04:47–05:52: The economic "justification" for AI, cost breakdown
• 05:52–09:04: Crew minimalism, AI costumes, and final logical conclusions
• 09:41–09:42: Guest's meltdown about having to watch the movie

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Tone & Style

• The episode sharply skewers both the absurdity of modern tech-driven filmmaking and the capitalist logic behind it, blending technical insight with relentless, irreverent humor.
• Panelists vacillate between exasperation and bemusement, frequently undercutting grand claims with low-key, biting one-liners and inside jokes about their own generational experience.

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Transcript

[Host]

The Oscar winning actor called the process of acting in the film incredible. Comparing it to doing a play, to the synopsis is his fault.

[Ben]

Arrogant. Sorry. Wait.

[Riley]

Yeah, that's very scary.

[Ben]

Is a lot like acting in a play, but only in this one instance, not before the world.

[Riley]

The world is a stage, after all.

[Ben]

And all of his actors.

[Host]

Yeah, sure, I said that. Ben Affleck. So is a high stakes conspiracy the reason it feels like acting in a play? I'll tell you in a second. Because there's a reason he said that. But it is a high stakes conspiracy thriller that asks the question no one in power wants answered. Why have the world's powerful and wealthy people, Jack Dorsey, Mark Zuckerberg, Visa, and virtually every other major crypto organization.

[Riley]

Who the fuck is Visa?

[Host]

Poured hundreds of millions of dollars into a single mega organization called COPA with the sole purpose to destroy one man, Satoshi Nakamoto. Oh, my God.

[Riley]

So this is a fiction. This is a fictional.

[Host]

Yes, it's supposed to be like a movie about the gal. Gadot stars as a. As an ingenue journalist who's trying to figure out the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto so she can save him from the one world government that's ruled by Jack Dorsey, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, and Eric Trump and Jeff Bezos.

[Ben]

Come with me.

[Riley]

Satoshi, come with me. Get into my car, please.

[Host]

Yeah. And the great thing is, right with AI, they're able to have actor. Actors no longer have to play Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, or Eric Trump. You can just have a guy in a morph suit walk around and then there they go. You can just have the guy. You don't have to play Mark Zuckerberg at all. You can just be him.

[Ben]

I'm raising my hand.

[Host]

Yes, ma'.

[Ben]

Am. I would love to. I would watch the fuck out of the movie. Where they haven't put anything on the people painted over the morph suits yet. I would love to watch just Ben Affleck turning to people in a morph suit and being like Kim Jong Uncart.

[Riley]

There's a Ryan Trekarten movie that's like that, I think.

[Guest]

Oh, yeah.

[Ben]

Okay.

[Guest]

That sounds like.

[Ben]

That legitimately. Sounds good to me.

[Riley]

Yeah, no, it's. It's really good.

[Host]

So we understand, Bezos.

[Riley]

Is that why it's like acting in a play? Are they all on a stage and then, like, people are describing them into. No.

[Host]

So I'll tell you why. I'll tell you why?

[Guest]

That's impossible.

[Host]

So producer Ryan Cavanaugh told the Wrap that the script has about 200 distinct locations from Antarctica to Antigua to Vegas, which is obviously unproducible. We realized we could bring down the cost by utilizing AI. So basically, the whole movie is shot in what they call the gray box. And what they want is for all.

[Ben]

Even worse than the volume. It's even stupider.

[Host]

Yeah, yeah, it's exactly at the. So can we explain what the volume is?

[Ben]

Yeah, it is. Is it in Unreal Engine or something? But they basically. Disney uses it a lot for all their Star wars shows and stuff. But it is like a big curved screen that they can film in front of, and they put very realistic environments behind people. But it also.

[Riley]

That's in Brooklyn. I. My friend works in the building. That. That's it.

[Ben]

Yeah, I think. I mean, I think there's a couple now. But, like, the. Yeah, but like, the revolutionary thing about it is that it would do environmental lighting as part of the projected backdrop. That could change along with what? Like, they could program in camera movements and stuff. And it would just, like, it would make a 3D environment that also lit in big quotes correctly what was going on on screen? Everybody still does look a little backlit, but it is like when you are watching the Mandalorian and it looks like dog shit. It's because they filmed it in the volume.

[Riley]

It looks furious.

[Ben]

It looks better than a green screen, but it is still noticeable. And what if it didn't have any. What if it wasn't curved? What if it was a box?

[Host]

Yeah, what if instead of what if it was the gray box where Casey Affleck and Pete Davidson will act and have worlds created around them.

[Guest]

So I'm getting chills because it sounds so good. What.

[Host]

What if.

[Ben]

What if.

[Host]

What if the everything created by the volume was actually faker as opposed to slightly more. Slightly more real? What if you were nostalgic for the volume?

[Riley]

It would be funny if. If you got, like, Casey Affleck to put on, like, a green morph suit and stand in front of the volume, and then you made, like, a. You. An AI video of, like, seven Casey Afflecks having gay sex with each other. Start playing behind him. And action.

[Guest]

That sounds great.

[Host]

Look, look, you want your AI company to be considered valuable, right? Casey Affleck, you have to act in this strange art house movie, Ocean on Dalou 3. 7 Casey Affleck's. So according to filmmakers UN3 and Andalu.

[Ben]

There it is.

[Host]

There it is. All right, all right. Episode title. Episode title. According to the filmmakers, opting to go with AI knock production costs down from 300 million to around 70 million.

[Riley]

How is it 70 million?

[Host]

How is it going to cost 300 million?

[Riley]

The 200 locations, which, by the way, which sounds like there's a. They go to a new place every 45 seconds. That sounds like.

[Guest]

I don't know if I. If you were like.

[Ben]

You, like, put a gun to my head and said, Maddie, name 200 places.

[Guest]

I don't know if I could.

[Host]

They're doing the scene from Wayne's World where they're like, we can go anywhere in the world. We're in Delaware. They're making that into a $70 million movie. Even then, 70. Because most of the people who have, like, AI production companies are also doing this as investment because it increases the value of their AI production company. Because they can say, look, it participated in the creation of this blockbuster Doug Lyman film from the creator, Locked Down.

[Riley]

Also. Also, I think probably the reason why there are 200 locations is because you can't have an AI scene for very long. Like, it. It always ends very quickly, if you've ever seen one. So it's probably.

[Ben]

I was gonna say it's got, like, morph into the next thing. Right. Like, in an uncanny, horrible way. Or else you start looking at it too long. You're absolutely right.

[Riley]

Yeah. It has diminishing returns for how long? It can make something look watchable. Like.

[Host]

So I'm going to. I want to show some pictures of the gray box.

[Riley]

It's the box from that viral video from the beginning of COVID where that lady was in the box and saying the Roddy Rich song.

[Ben]

Yeah, I was gonna say that I've been. I've been in a lot of, like, when I was, like, in my 20s and a lot of guys. Apartments that you could probably describe as the gray box period.

[Host]

All right, I'm putting it. I'm putting the link in the chat.

[Riley]

That was my nickname for the Queen, also, the gray box.

[Host]

So look. So everybody look at. Look at that. The rap article. Just scroll down and you can see.

[Riley]

Oh.

[Ben]

Oh, that is just straight. Okay, so that's a green screen, but it is gray instead of green.

[Riley]

Yeah, it's. It's. It's the room. It's the room from the Dark Knight that the Batmobile is in. And that's, like, where they are.

[Ben]

It's the room from the Dark Knight where the Batmobile is. If it had its own back rooms, like, it is fully.

[Additional Guest]

What I will say is that it's also like a very classic. I look at this and I'm just like, this is a very classic, like perfect male, like ideal male living space.

[Riley]

Yeah, yeah.

[Guest]

But it's got Ben Affleck sitting at a piano in the middle of it. I don't know. Yeah.

[Riley]

And then why do they need crew for this at all? I mean, if they're doing AI, it's so like.

[Host]

Well, it's like they're going to shoot the actors performances, but then the actors are going to be like changed and uplifted and tweaked and their facial expressions might be. Might be made, might be like perfected or if they wanted to have like a celebrity instead of having to play someone, you can just be like, no, we're just going to have Vladimir Putin in the movie on the basis of putting someone in a morph suit. So it's like they have the minimum number of crew they think they can get away with, basically. And that number is going to only go down and the quality of the output is going to go way down.

[Ben]

Do you think he said that it's a lot like acting in a play because there's electrical tape on the floor?

[Host]

That's exactly. Actually why I think he thought that is because he's actually just acting on a stage where there's moving props around him that are like. They have a generic staircase, for example, that's just used for anything that has to be kind of inclined. They just slap a bunch of AI onto it.

[Riley]

You know, he deserves to have to sit there and be like, I love this. This is so much funner than doing a normal movie.

[Ben]

I like the one guy on the crew that's just holding a white panel.

[Riley]

Oh, period.

[Host]

Yeah.

[Guest]

What's your.

[Ben]

What's your job on set? Oh, I'm panel boy.

[Riley]

Call that. In the business we call that a bounce board, darling.

[Host]

I'm the. I'm the second panel standby. And so like, instead of having like a full, full teams that are like doing costume or whatever, you'd have someone come in, wear all the costumes, get photographed from every angle and then that's the only amount of costume that they need. Right. Instead of having to have people who are, you know, making things or why do that?

[Riley]

Why not wear one costume which is like watermelon sized slices of each individual costume going down it. Like they're all stitched together.

[Ben]

Yeah.

[Riley]

And then you can use the AI to expand each costume slice.

[Ben]

Why not do it like the puppet show Wienerville, where it's just someone's head through, like a sheet with the costume painted on it and the AI can do the rest.

[Riley]

Oh, that's a good idea.

[Ben]

I think it's a really good idea.

[Riley]

Riley, why don't you do that?

[Ben]

Hey, Riley, why don't you. Riley, do it right now.

[Host]

Ok.

[Riley]

Right now.

[Ben]

Go.

[Riley]

Well, look, you made us watch this fucking movie for nothing, didn't we?

[Guest]

Oh, no, we're getting.

[Additional Guest]

We're talking now.

[Guest]

Fucking talk about.

[Ben]

It's been 40 minutes.

[Guest]

We haven't even fucking talked about the movie. I watched it yesterday. I was going to kill myself. Riley. I was texting you like I'm on the edge of my building about to jump, and you were out at dinner or something, not responding to me. And I'm going to. I died. I died. Hussein got to watch a fun movie with Vinnie Jones and he's not getting punished at all. And I had to pay four of my own dollars to watch this fucking movie. And you're not even asking me my thoughts about it.