Project Hail Mary

Summary

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Unspooled: "Project Hail Mary"

Hosts: Paul Scheer & Amy Nicholson
Air Date: March 23, 2026
Episode Type: Emergency episode (special new release discussion)

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Episode Overview

Paul Scheer and Amy Nicholson dive into the hype around Project Hail Mary, the much-anticipated sci-fi epic directed by Phil Lord and Chris Miller and starring Ryan Gosling. Breaking from their regular schedule, the hosts discuss why this film has captured the cultural zeitgeist, its unique blend of optimism, humanity, comedy, and science fiction, and its position as a much-needed "everything movie" reminiscent of classic Spielberg adventures.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Scarcity of Hopeful Sci-Fi

• Amy calls Project Hail Mary "wholesome science fiction that satisfies like a jumbo serving of apple pie and milk" [02:26].
• The hosts contrast its tone with darker space fare (Alien, Interstellar, etc), highlighting its optimism and sense of global and universal teamwork.
• Quote:
  • "Where are these movies and why are we not making more of them? It's a cheat to say that this is Spielberg-esque, but that's what it made me feel like. It made me feel like the movies from my youth." — Paul [02:45]

2. Humanity, Teamwork, and Going Beyond Earth

• Both hosts emphasize that the film’s focus is not just on America or a handful of experts, but a global—and even interstellar—effort.
• Amy points out that the disaster at hand "affects lots of people across different solar systems...who are all being affected by this one plague" [04:40].
• Paul notes the grounded, realistic portrayal of worldwide cooperation, rather than defaulting to “America saves the world” stories [03:47].

3. The Character of Rocky

• Much conversation centers around Rocky, Gosling’s non-humanoid alien companion.
• Rocky is described as "a combination of boron the element and Borat the character. Because he's just like, what's happening?...He has the same loud, likable, funny personality" [06:17].
• The marketing’s initial secrecy around Rocky, and its shift, is likened to how studios might have tried to hide E.T. back in the day.
• Paul's mind is "blown" by how emotionally effective Rocky is, even "with no facial features whatsoever" [05:21].
• Quote:
  • "You don't need a face. I mean, that kind of blew my mind." — Paul [05:21]

4. Gosling’s Everyman and Vulnerability

• The reluctant hero trope is unpacked: Gosling plays a smart but not superheroic middle school teacher, not an elite astronaut [07:23].
• The film is compared and contrasted with The Martian:
  • "Matt Damon had a purpose. He had knowledge. Ryan Gosling isn't a scientist...He's a middle school teacher..." — Paul [07:23]
• Both agree Gosling's approachability and his character’s vulnerability (especially about not wanting to make sacrifices) set the film apart [08:51].
• Quote:
  • "It's the first time I've ever seen the hero of a movie emote in a way where he's like, I don't want to do this multiple times." — Paul [08:04]

5. Science Made Accessible & Character First Storytelling

• Amy observes, "he has that same sense of, well, this is my situation. I'm just gonna dig my shoulder in and figure it out," but highlights his vulnerability [08:51].
• Paul praises the filmmakers for making complex science "very palatable" and for keeping characters at the film's heart rather than using them just to drive plot forward [12:27].
• The movie is described as "2001 meets Planes, Trains and Automobiles...a buddy comedy about trying to get somewhere and do something well" [12:27–13:56].
• Favorite human moments: shopping for candy at a hardware store, sneaking Skittles, karaoke scenes, and improvised interactions with Rocky bring warmth and realism [13:56–14:28].
• Paul highlights the editing process, mentioning how cutting a romantic subplot made the main character more compelling and focused [18:17–20:10].

6. Performance Praise: Gosling, Sandra Hüller, and Puppetry

• Sandra Hüller's supporting role receives special mention for her dry humor and chemistry with Gosling [14:58, 20:33].
• Rocky, voiced and puppeteered in real time, brings an organic sense of camaraderie to the film, making improvisation possible and scenes feel alive [14:58–16:36].
• Both hosts appreciate that the film lets the audience "be smart" and doesn't dumb down either the science or character motivations [20:33–21:01].

7. Visuals, Practical Effects, and Comparisons

• Paul recommends seeing the movie in IMAX for its practical effects, highlighting the lack of traditional green screen work and calling the visuals "engaging and exciting and beautiful," nodding to 2001: A Space Odyssey [23:43].
• Amy underscores how Project Hail Mary differs from 2001: it focuses on "all the ranges of what Ryan Gosling can do," especially his physical comedy capability [24:41].

8. Marketing and Cultural Impact

• Unusually positive buzz noted, with Gosling’s media presence and inventive marketing (Rocky puppets, sketches) spotlighted as genuine and effective [26:23–28:46].
• Paul speculates on the movie’s box office success and future influence, wishing it becomes a new touchstone for the next generation, like E.T. for earlier audiences [31:01].

9. Closing Thoughts

• The film is classified as an "everything movie": hopeful yet emotional, comedic yet deeply human, big-budget blockbuster yet intimate and heartfelt [30:13].
• Quote:
  • "This movie should be everything and big blockbusters should be everything. … This is a spectacle, but it also is an emotional spectacle." — Paul [30:17]
• Both hosts hope it paves the way for more movies that trust in optimism, the intelligence of their audience, and the importance of heart [30:57-32:39].

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• "Wholesome science fiction that satisfies like a jumbo serving of apple pie and milk."
  — Amy [02:26]

• "It is, at its root, a buddy comedy about trying to get somewhere and do something well."
  — Paul [12:27]

• "He has a personality. I mean, I think I wrote that he's basically a combination of boron the element and Borat the character."
  — Amy [06:17]

• "I cried five times… I have never felt the length of it, even when it was longer."
  — Paul (on seeing it with his kids) [17:56]

• "That moment is so beautiful because I think it is exactly what this film is about, that all lives have an importance… and that if we just pay attention even to a little bit of them, like, we can care about them individual and en masse, without even having to know them."
  — Amy (on the eulogy scene) [29:25]

• "Blockbusters are spectacles. This is a spectacle, but it also is an emotional spectacle."
  — Paul [30:17]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:00] — Episode intro and anticipation for Project Hail Mary
• [02:45–04:40] — Tone shift: hopeful, global, Spielbergian sci-fi
• [05:07–07:23] — Discussion of Rocky, the alien character
• [07:23–08:51] — Gosling’s reluctant hero: Vulnerability and relatability
• [12:27–14:28] — Science made palatable, character-driven storytelling
• [18:17–20:10] — Editing and narrative choices: impact of cutting the romantic subplot
• [23:43–24:41] — IMAX and practical effects: visual inspiration from 2001
• [26:23–28:46] — Marketing, cultural penetration, and Gosling’s promotional efforts
• [29:25–30:57] — Eulogy scene, emotional point of the film, hope for film’s impact

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Final Thoughts

Project Hail Mary is championed by Paul and Amy as a rare, modern blockbuster that celebrates optimism, intelligence, character, and invention in equal measure. Its universal themes, emotional nuance, and compelling performances make it more than just a sci-fi adventure—it’s a "comfort movie," a new classic that both hosts hope will influence generations to come.

"Movies can be—and used to be—all of these things." — Paul Scheer [30:17]

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Transcript

[Paul Scheer]

Hey everybody. One of my favorite podcasts, Talking Pictures, is back for another season. You know this. It's from TCM and HBO Max. It's a podcast all about movies and memories hosted by Ben Mankiewicz, and he gets to sit down with some of Hollywood's most influential actors and filmmakers to discuss the movies that inspired them. I've been on the show. It was the most fun. And this season he is talking to people like Edgar Wright about pacing and montages in film and Rosie Perez about her acting career and how it kind of just began on accident. He's also talking to Patton Oswald, Susan Sarandon, Hiro Murai, who is a director who did a lot of Atlanta and the great new show Widow's Bay, Sally Field, Tony Goldwyn, and so much more. This season, Ben and his guests are on camera. So you can also watch Talking Pictures on HBO Max and Spotify, or listen wherever you get your podcast.

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[Paul Scheer]

Hello everyone and welcome to unspooled emergency episode. That's right. Every now and then we get a chance to talk about a movie that just came out because we feel like it's in the zeitgeist. Everyone is talking about it and everyone's seeing it. And Amy, that movie is Project Hail Mary.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah, let's get into it. Man. I saw this movie a month ago and I've been so stoked to be able to talk about it with people because I just, I don't know my intro of my review, I said that this is wholesome science fiction that satisfies like a jumbo serving of apple pie and milk and I thousand percent stand by that. I just needed this as a big, big Snack.

[Paul Scheer]

I love that you said that. And it really encapsulated something that I felt which was, where are these movies and why are we not making more of them? It's a cheat to say that this is Spielberg esque, but that's what it made me feel like. It made me feel like the movies from my youth. It's funny, it's dramatic, it's beautifully shot, it's adventure, it has this charismatic lead. Everything about it really works. It just feels like it. It's not doing anything different. It's just doing everything that we love all together in one film. Right.

[Amy Nicholson]

It really got me thinking about how most of our movies about space and sci fi are pretty depressing. And I love them. Like I love Alien, but Alien is all about we go off into space and we take our problems with us because we are a plague. And this is like, you know what, what if we just went up to space and really did our best and made it work out?

[Paul Scheer]

Now, we will be talking a little bit of spoilers here, but just we'll

[Amy Nicholson]

try not to actually.

[Paul Scheer]

Right. We'll just kind of talk about things that people are talking about. But if you want to bookmark this and come back to it after you've watched it, you might enjoy it more. I found it really interesting that this is the first movie in recent memory that I can think of where we are trying to solve a problem and the entire world is chipping in. Right. It's not just America and solving this issue. It is I think in many respects like the most realistic version of a disaster film. Right. How would we approach this as a world? And I think that's really part of the important message here. Right. It's about saving the world, but the entire world is taking part in it.

[Amy Nicholson]

Well, yeah, I mean, the entire universe. Because this is affecting lots of people across different solar systems, different spots in the galaxy who are all being affected by this one plague. These astrophages that are gobbling the energy of all of the suns except one, which is where he goes. But he goes there and he realizes it's not just an Earth wide crusade. There's other people who are also trying to solve it, who are all confronted at a specific moment in their evolution.

[Paul Scheer]

And let me tell you, Amy, I know that you're probably talking around it, but now I think it is very much a part of all the marketing. You're talking about Rocky, Rocky, Rocky.

[Amy Nicholson]

Okay. Rocky was only because to me, when I saw the movie, I was like, I, I agree.

[Paul Scheer]

And I just watched an Interview with Ryan Gosling the other day where he said, for the first wave of press, we were told we couldn't talk about Rocky. Then we realized that would be like talking about ET and saying it's about divorced parents. Right. And I'm glad they're talking about Rocky. At the premiere, they had, like, a 3D hologram of Rocky. We have Ryan Gosling posing with Rocky in a La La Land pose. Rocky has been out and about. They're selling Shoulder Rockies at Regal Cinemas. Like, Rocky is here to stay. And let's just say two things about Rocky. He is an alien and he has no facial features whatsoever. He is a mound of rocks. And it is a character that is so fully formed, so emotional, that you don't need a face. I mean, that kind of blew my mind.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah. That he has. Well, he has a personality. I mean, I think I wrote that he's basically a combination of boron the element and Borat the character. Because he's just like, what's happening? Blah, blah, blah. Tell me about this. He's rampaging through the world. I mean, he has just the same loud, likable, funny. Which. You get to know him. Personality as Ryan Gosling's character in this movie. But he. I don't know. There's something about the likability of this movie where in other iterations, other moods, I might have said, okay, okay, I get it. We're cheerful, we're happy, blah, blah, blah. What I think is so special about this film is that it isn't just Armageddon style. We've got to save the world. Because I love my daughter, we gotta save the world for this reason. It's like we should just save the world because the people, the creatures who make up these worlds that we all live in are all important, even if they look like rocks. Like there's this humanistic. I guess not beyond humanistic. I'm using, like, my human words because that's all I've got. But there's a. A love of life in its society. In society. Yeah. That's bigger than my daughter. My sister, whatever.

[Paul Scheer]

What I really love about this film is, yes, it's a movie about teamwork, but it's also a movie with a reluctant hero. And that's part of the mystery of the film. Why is Ryan Gosling's character there? Because he's not Matt Damon in the Martian. This movie is very different than the Martian. Yes, it has some similarities. Written by Drew Goddard, who wrote the Martian, which was based off an Andy Weir book. This has the same lineage. But this movie, I think, is different in the sense that Matt Damon had a purpose. He had knowledge. Ryan Gosling isn't a scientist. He's a middle school teacher who is.

[Amy Nicholson]

He's very smart.

[Paul Scheer]

Very smart. Very smart. Yes. But he's approaching things in a very different way. Right. And what we find out in the opening scene of the film is that his crew is dead. Like the. The. The experienced experts are dead. And he is left there to figure out why is he there and how can he get home. And that, to me, is really interesting. I think it gives the movie another level of humanity because he's not a superhero. He's not having these moments of sacrifice. As a matter of fact, when there is this moment where he has to confront a potential sacrifice. It's the first time I've ever seen the hero of a movie emote in a way where he's like, I don't want to do this multiple times.

[Amy Nicholson]

He's incredibly vulnerable. Like, really vulnerable in a way where you warm to him instead of being like, I look up to you just cause you're strong and you're gonna save me. It's like, I understand where you're at. I mean, I disagree with you a little bit. I think he's very Matt Damony. He's smart. He would make a great TV host. He can explain things to the camera. His little diaries about like, here's what's going on. And he has that same sense of, well, this is my situation. I'm just gonna dig my shoulder in and figure this out. And you're gonna be interested in all of the nerdy science stuff I'm doing, because I can explain it so well, and I'm so likable.

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[Paul Scheer]

I definitely think the movie makes the science very palatable. This is a movie that is a very complex, you know, problem and they serve it up so easily. I think that Ryan Gosling also plays it differently than Matt Damon. I was reading an article with Drew Goddard where he said, you know, Matt Damon would know to make logs, would know to do these certain things. Ryan Gosling is, he's very playful in this world and I gotta say, I love Lord Miller so much because they know how to make movies, and they know how to make a movie star. And whether that's an animated movie star or a real, you know, real person, they. Their characters are so front and center in a way that I think is refreshing. They're not just pushing plot forward. And I think a lot of the times you watch these movies, you're like, okay, this is the wounded person. This is what they're gonna overcome. And here we go. And this movie, yes, there are all these. The character has an arc, and it's very well defined. But I think what people forget is the personality, the humanity again. And this movie is all about humanity. I describe this movie as like 2001 meets planes, trains and Automobiles. Because it is, at its root, a buddy comedy about trying to get somewhere and do something well.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah, I think that my favorite scenes were all really small. Like, there was that moment where he's still on Earth. He's trying to figure out the science. He goes to, you know, a chain hardware store with his minder, and they buy candy and sunglasses that the government has to pay for. Cause they're just putting it on the same government.

[Paul Scheer]

Yeah. They're getting snacks.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah. And that's that little thing where you're like, aha. That is how a human would behave. Right.

[Paul Scheer]

And everyone's, like, eating the Skittles later. Everyone who's watching him do this experiment that he went to the hardware store for. Like, you could see. Everyone is just munching on those Skittles throughout the day.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah, exactly. But they understand how little bits of cheating away, getting away with tiny things, not doing everything exactly right is what makes you endear to a character. When they're not perfect, but they're not. Like, here's my one flaw. I mean, that is actually my one quibble. I have a couple quibbles with the movie, but despite loving it, one of them is what you're just alluding to. Why is he on the ship? Why him? I did. I got zero drama out of that. I was like, I'm glad he's here. He's the perfect person. Couldn't imagine anybody else.

[Paul Scheer]

I. I thought the ending of the film and the reveal of the situation that he gets in was one of the most, like, affecting moments of the movie. Like, oh, I just thought it was. Without spoiling it, I really just found myself, like, wow, what a choice that is. I mean, that scene. And I also think the scene where they're doing karaoke are really just interesting moments to me of just Two characters. Cause we didn't talk about Sandra Houler. This is not a one. Yes, it is a one person film in the sense that Ryan Gosling's our lead. He's alone in space, but he does pair up with Rocky, who is a puppet and is voiced by the puppeteer. And so Ryan and the puppeteer are doing these scenes together, and apparently there is a lot of improv and they are finding each other. And so that feels really alive. But the movie is interspersed with a time before he's on this ship. And that's where Sandra Houler is. And she is, I think, amazing. And you're watching these two people wrestle with the fate of the universe, and you find these moments of humanity and these moments of, yeah, just because it's the end of the world, we can still sing, we can still have some candy, right? These. That even in the worst moments in your life, there are these human decisions. Not always heroic, not always meant to be. More than just embracing being alive.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah, I mean, I definitely 1000% agree with that. I kind of felt like that thing we're not talking about specifically is like, nah, that's not the same guy. I don't believe that.

[Paul Scheer]

Oh, wow. I don't believe it.

[Amy Nicholson]

But maybe that's just me. Maybe that's just me.

[Paul Scheer]

Well, also, the movie does, by that point, we are watching two versions of him. Right. We are watching the one version that gets to that situation and then the version that is in that situation. So I think it is a different way of looking at the character. I saw the movie three times.

[Amy Nicholson]

Wow.

[Paul Scheer]

And I've seen it. It is. And by the way it moves by quick, the best compliment I can give, and I may say this in an upcoming episode as well, because we didn't know we were gonna record this is I went into the film and I was like, oh, I gotta pee. And Phil and Chris were like, just so you know, the movie is about three hours. And I was like, oh, what should I do? The movie started. I never thought about peeing the entire time. I watched a longer cut of the film and. And was completely hooked. So that's the best compliment I can give. I brought my kids to it. They did not complain about the time at all. My. My youngest son looked at me and said, it's the funniest movie ever. I cried five times. Um, and I don't know, there's just something that, like, really just pulled me forward. I have never felt the length of it, even when it was longer.

[Amy Nicholson]

I mean, I think you should just take my job and be a film critic. And your reviews will just be how much you did or did not have to be.

[Paul Scheer]

I mean, look, that's a lot of the time is where, you know, I have to applaud myself. Three hours without peeing is pretty impressive. Um, but I did get to see an early cut of the film and it was really interesting.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah. What changed?

[Paul Scheer]

Not much, but a lot. And where. I guess the 20 minutes that I saw more of the film. But it's really just more moments. And what Lord Miller did. And I hope I'm not talking outta school here. I don't think I am. Is. I think they're always testing the film. Where does it work? Where do you lose people? And what do we need to see? What do we not need to see? And it just got cleaner and sharper. So that's just from looking at it from a creative point of view, somebody who writes and directs. It's like, oh, wow, they weren't just throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Like, there is something really good here, but it just needs to be this. One of the. The. The things I can speak about that was an element of one of the cuts I saw was it was established that Ryan had a girlfriend and he was going through a breakup and that was part of it. And there was something about that. And I remember. And I was like, oh, I just don't know if you need that, because we don't need. Like, that was. Again, I don't think that my opinion swayed anything. I'm just saying that, like, it was something that gave him another connection to earth. But I also think it complicated some of the other relationships. Cause I think you would think of him as maybe a worse guy to leave people behind. I don't know. There was something about him being alone, a loner, and being a little bit more isolated. I think made the character better, but that's like the. The only thing. And it was really a sliver in the very opening that you saw. You didn't have much explanation to it, but it was established that he was with this person very quickly. And the scene is still there, but that character is not.

[Amy Nicholson]

You know, I'm glad, actually. Apologies to the actress, but that must be a bummer to be cut out of this movie. But yeah, I liked just the platonic nature of this movie.

[Paul Scheer]

Yes.

[Amy Nicholson]

I mean, I was almost wondering if they cut out some sort of romantic subplot between him and Sandra Hueller, which would be kind of weird and totally unnecessary, but they just Keep giving each other these looks. I was like, that's a really intense look. What is a really intense look?

[Paul Scheer]

I love the two of them. She obviously. Anatomy of a Fall. I was like, who is this person? She's amazing. And she's so funny in this. And she's so dry. And you need that kind of like, ying to his yang. And they. Again, it's another buddy. Like, you have two buddy comedy movies going on simultaneously. She's the straight man and he is this gregarious, sweet guy who is very smart. Right. And I love the way they play off each other and the way that they do rub off each other. And I think that, like, there are some moments where they're not even on screen together again. I'm thinking back to the ending in the future, not the ending of the past where she's on the ship and it's just a moment of them talking, but they're not actually talking. Like, she's getting a message from him. And there's so much there. And it's amazing to be able to have a really beautiful closure to that relationship that I think feels satisfying without having them standing next to each other saying it. Like, the movie does so much of letting the audience be smart. And I think that we talked about the Martian too. It's like, no, no, the audience is smart. We'll just treat them as smart. We don't have to dumb it down. To me, it has all the elements of a comfort movie. It's like Sinners. It's like one battle in the sense it's a movie and a film. And I think it's not like F1 in the sense that this is more than the popcorn movie, but, you know, kind of falls in between.

[Amy Nicholson]

You have the understanding of the science in particular. No, you just feel the science.

[Paul Scheer]

And they don't over. They don't burden you with it. Right. They don't over. They don't over explain it. Like, you don't have to know every little detail. And I think that we get so caught up in that. Like, well, what's really happening? Tell us more, tell us more. And I have to say, without talking about the real end, what a crazy, wonderful ending that I was like, holy shit, I cannot believe they did that. Like, that seems like the most anti Hollywood ending I've ever seen. But yet also, like, perfectly fulfilling.

[Amy Nicholson]

Well, yeah, I mean, I think that they also find really smart ways to make points that are, you know, elbowy points. Elbowy points. Like, you know, the project Hail Mary, it's named in that way, in part, there's like a intelligence aboard the ship, kind of an AI whose name is Mary. And I love that the AI is pretty stupid, that the AI is not like, I've got this or let me help. Here's some advice on how to do this. The AI is like, record a diary. Hey, hey, you should record a diary. And it's otherwise just nagging you and pretty useless. And he just ignores it at a certain point. I like that version of like, AI is not gonna jump in in any sort of a way. It's just gonna tell us what we already know for the most part.

[Paul Scheer]

Yeah, I didn't think about that. And I love that idea where it does also feel like at the end of the day, this is a movie where you have to reach out, you have to trust, you have to work

[Amy Nicholson]

together, you have to brainstorm with people who are people. Like, to be a creative thinker, you can' programmed creative thinker. Right. When you need a creative solution to something.

[Paul Scheer]

I mean, overall, what we've seen with this film is very much, in my opinion, what we saw with Sinners, a movie that comes out in March, where the directors are very forward facing in the sense of we shot it like this. We want you to see it in these formats. I would say definitely see it in IMAX if you can, because the special effects in this movie are amazing. I know they got a little bit of attention when they said they used no green screen. They were able to tell you exactly what that meant, which was they didn't use the traditional green screen. They did a lot of special effects on this film, but even the guy from Mythbusters, Adam Savage, showed you how they actually did the outside, the spaceship stuff. And it looks amazing. Like, that stuff made me think about 2001. It's like, how do we show space in a way that's engaging and exciting and beautiful? To your point, we haven't seen that. We haven't embraced, like the fantasy of sci fi in such a long time.

[Amy Nicholson]

Like, yeah, with the pink glitter stars, it's beautiful. But also like, you know, 2001, it puts these humans up into space. And I think the deliberate joke of that movie is that the humans are as robotic as hal. Maybe even more robotic, because HAL is like, I'm sad, I don't want to die. We play chess and the humans are like, whatever. Here I am going through the drones of just existing on this spaceship. And so this movie is like that, but with such a humanistic element. And I like that they figure out ways to show all of the ranges of what Ryan Gosling can do. Because the one thing he does have on Matt Damon is I think he's a much better physical comedian. I mean he's a dancer. Like he came out of being like a comic dancer when he was a little boy so he can do the wriggling out of a cocoon moon walking nonsense of this. And he is perfect. Like he is an excellent physical mover.

[Paul Scheer]

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[Amy Nicholson]

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[Amy Nicholson]

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[Paul Scheer]

I'm spoiled. You know, it was so smart to also ground him with a physical companion too. Cause Rocky is puppet and you know, elements are cgi. And when I saw the first cut, I think there were wires still in certain scenes, but. And there was no music and the special effects weren't done. But the movie held together with all of that because they're really interacting. Right? And that's so like, I think he really is somebody who plays so well off of other people and he's just got a unique charm that even with all the press and I was talking about this to a friend, this movie has been out there in such a major way for the last three weeks that you feel like, how have I not seen it yet? It's just came out right. It had the largest opening of the year on its preview night. It has a Rotten Tomatoes score that I think is like 96 or 97%. And it just feels like this big movie that could make like $60 million. We don't, we're recording this before we know what the actual totals are. Some say low 60s, some say mid-60s. That's huge. But all the advertising for it, all the work around it, because he is so likable, it doesn't feel like you're feeling like bombarded by bad ads. He's so interesting. It's like, he's doing all these different sketches. He's performing with an Alexa. He's with Rocky. He's tossing footballs and soccer balls. There's something like, you can't beat that. Like, it does. It feels like he loves the movie, and there's a real genuineness to how it's being marketed. And I think that that flavor of him marketing it is the best advertisement for the film. Like, go see it. Go. Go in there.

[Amy Nicholson]

Well, yeah. I mean, this is why I want to still even. Even have kids in the popular. No, no, no, no, no, no. Why I want to do slightly even more unpopular thing. It just, like, say, I hate that everybody's mad at Timothee Chalamet for going on such a marketing thing for Marty supreme. Because, honestly, especially, like a movie of hit of that scale, you need the actor to be willing to love their movie so much to go out and promote it.

[Paul Scheer]

Absolutely. You have to. It's the only way to break through.

[Amy Nicholson]

It's because I hate that he's like that. They're like, you promoted your movie too much. No, your job is to help promote the movie so people go see the

[Paul Scheer]

movie and find ways to get people's attention, especially his audience, who may not be going. Right. And. And I think that that's part of the deal.

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah. And I think Gosling does it really, really well, too. And so I'm just saying it now to like, protect him from any sort of just. God, we're so negative all the time as people. On that note, I'll kind of pivot and say, away from the negativity about how we handle celebrities in press cycles. I thought, my favorite moment of the movie. And remember, this is not a spoiler. We know that his colleagues are dead right when they wake up on the ship from scene one. I love when he gives them a eulogy. And he has no memories of meeting these people, but he looks through their stuff and he figures out how to honor who he thinks they were with, like, real sincerity. And he cries for strangers.

[Paul Scheer]

Yeah.

[Amy Nicholson]

That moment is so beautiful because I think it is exactly what this film is about, that all lives have an importance on our planet, on other planets, and that if we just pay attention even to a little bit of them, like, we can care about them individual and en masse, without even having to know them. And, like, that was so beautiful. And I think that Gosling is a great kind of hero for that because he can do the cool stuff. He can sing on the outside of the ship. He can do the funny stuff, but he can also nail those scenes. That's the.

[Paul Scheer]

It's a very rare leading man who can do that. And again, I think this movie takes everything that we love and creates something. Like you said, it's apple pie and a big glass of milk. And for me, lactate or almond milk

[Amy Nicholson]

in the sense that I should have thought about the lactose free community before saying that.

[Paul Scheer]

But I do think that there is something about. Yes, we can be optimistic, we can be hopeful, we can have fun and we can make you cry and we can make you laugh. This movie should be everything and big blockbusters should be everything. I think we've lost that along the way, that blockbusters are spectacles. This is a spectacle, but it also is an emotional spectacle. It feels. I know that Ryan Gosling said when he hosted snl, people are comparing it to ET and Interstellar. Yes, I think that's a fine comparison. But movies can be. And they used to be all these things, you know?

[Amy Nicholson]

Yeah, everything movies.

[Paul Scheer]

Yes.

[Amy Nicholson]

I think that's why you're comparing it to Sinners especially. It's an everything movie.

[Paul Scheer]

And it's important to. For the next generation of film lovers to see this. I hope that this movie affects people to be like, wow, I can do all of this. Right? And yes, it's ip, but it's not. I mean, yeah, I mean, whatever. It is such, I think confident directing and writing and working together on this idea. And I think when you look at Phil and Chris's track record, it's. It's obscenely, like, amazing. Like, I'm just like, wow. From lego movie to 21 Jump Street. To this, you're like, they're all over the fucking board. They nail everything they're trying to do. And I can't help but say, how did Star wars fuck up so bad? By firing them.

[Amy Nicholson]

Oh, I know, yeah, I'm glad we're getting that dig in. But at least they got to go into space on their own terms. And yeah, I really think what makes them special is I think they just like people. I think they just really like people. And it shouldn't feel as rare as it does in movies, but I think a lot of our space movies in particular, they like epic and scale and size and awe and majesty, but not necessarily the people in the middle of all of that.

[Paul Scheer]

We forget about the humanity. We're doing too much about the special effects. And anyway, I'm so happy that we just can talk about this. Maybe we will talk about this again at length where we can kind of dig in. But I, I just, I felt like it was important because it feels like one of those movies that is potentially going to be around for the next handful of months.

[Amy Nicholson]

I would like that. Well, hopefully longer because I like that your kids like it too. That is a great sign. Like the next generation needs their ETs. And so I guess I should say thank you, Paul, for telling them to cut the girlfriend, because I think that really was fun.

[Paul Scheer]

I will not take credit. All right, Amy, you can catch our regularly scheduled episode later this week. Bye for now and make sure you check out our substack each and every week to go a little bit deeper on the movies that we talk about here. It's always free, so join in the conversation. Unspooled is produced by Amy Nicholson, Paul Scheer, Molly Reynolds and Harry Nelson, sound engineered by Cory Barton, music by Devin Bryant, episode art by Kim Troxall, show art by Lee Jamison and social media production by Zoe Applebaum. This is a Realm production. See you next week. Bye for now.

[Amy Nicholson]

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