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Insights Into Entertainment: Episode 20 “Happy Anniversary Foolish Mortals”

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This week’s Disney Detective segment dives into news about Disney’s Haunted Mansion’s 50th anniversary at Disneyland. We’ll take a look at how Toy Story 4 is doing at the box office then take a brief look at some casting news regarding the forthcoming live action version of The Little Mermaid.

In Entertainment News we’ll discuss whether Bond 25 is a cursed movie, we’ll look at special casting news coming from the new Ghostbusters movie and we’ll talk some celebrity weddings and deaths before we get into our Insightful Picks of the Week. We’ll wrap up with our afterthoughts on the new Harry Potter Wizards Unite game to sum up another great podcast.

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Insights into Entertainment

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Speaker 1:
0:02
Insightful pocket by informative posts, insights into things. A podcast network:
Speaker 2:
0:28:
Speaker 3:
0:28
come to insights into entertainment, a podcast series, taking a deeper look into entertainment and media. Your hosts, Joseph and Michelle Waylon, a husband and wife, team of pop culture, phonetics are exploring all things from music and movies to television and fans.:
Speaker 2:
0:51
Speaker 4:
0:52
welcome to insights into entertainment episode 20 happy anniversary, foolish mortals.:
Speaker 5:
1:05
Uh,:
Speaker 4:
1:05
I’m your host, Joseph Wayland and my lovely and well groomed, well dressed cohost Michelle Waylon. Hello dear. How are you today? Hello, love. I’m good. How are you? I am doing awesome. So judging from our dramatic intro and a, your over dressed wardrobe today. Really, uh, and the title, I think we have some haunted mansion news, don’t we? I don’t know. Maybe just a little bit. I don’t walk around the house like this all the time. Not Know. You have several of those dress shoes you wear. That is true. I do have a few. So we have a very packed, uh, podcast this week and our Disney detective, we have some haunted mansion news does all come out. Obviously we have some Tori story news to talk about. Then we have some inside information on who might be playing Ursula in the live action version of the Little Mermaid [inaudible]. Then we’ll move on to our entertainment news with some information on the latest James Bond Film. Then some Ghostbusters news to talk about. And then we have some wedding news. And if we have time, we have a brief in Memoriam section at the end of the show. We’ll then finish up with our insightful picks of the week. And a, I don’t think we have any afterthoughts this week though. Not that I know of. So, uh, we ready to get into it? Sure. Let’s do it. Oh, Rye.:
Speaker 5:
2:48
Oh,:
Speaker 4:
2:52
go for Disney detective. So as we opened up with, uh, the haunted mansion, we’ll be celebrating, it’s for 50th anniversary:
Speaker 6:
3:00
this year and a nice little added attraction, uh, that, um, I had read about earlier in the week and then seems that it actually opened yesterday was a 50th anniversary exhibit, which they opened in Disneyland in the Disney gallery. Um, so the Disney gallery always had, um, momentos of different, um, attractions. You know, uh, artwork and things like that, but they had actually set up a special area for just haunted mansion stuff. So, um, one of the Facebook groups that I follow actually had posted pictures of it yesterday. Um, so it actually opened up, uh, yesterday, so it looked really, really interesting to see, um, original artwork, original mcats from different characters throughout the haunted mansion. So look like a really cool little added thing if you happen to be out in California and can, you know, go and see it. Um, for those that don’t know, um, Disney is doing a special, a 50th anniversary, uh, separate ticketed after hours event.:
Speaker 6:
4:15
Um, it was, it, I would have loved to have gone to it, but for $300 for a four hour party plus needing airfare and a hotel room, I kind of opted out of it. Um, but it does look like that’s going to be really cool. Advent Disney’s doing two different nights in August, um, for this after hours party. Um, various artwork is, is being produced. There’s a couple of different Disney artists that I follow on Facebook and they were both very excited to be commissioning pieces for the show. Um, there’s a lot of different merchandise that’s coming out, so I’m hoping, um, that some of it is leftover from the event and other people, uh, can get it. I know they were doing, um, Kinda like an auction, not an auction, like a lottery system. So if you weren’t going to the event, you could actually get into the lottery system to possibly buy something from the event.:
Speaker 6:
5:15
I’m just gonna kind of sit it out and see, but it would, would have been really cool to be out there for us for the exhibit itself. Is this merchandise that can be purchased? No, it’s not merchandise, right. It’s just for display to look and see. And we have a couple of pictures that, um, you know, we can go through, uh, you know, for our, our viewers to, to see, um, from it. So just, you know, some really cool things, you know, if, if you happen to be a, a huge fan or a fan, not a huge thing. You don’t have to be a huge fan. A fan of the haunted mansion. The size of the fan does not matter unless it’s really hot out. And then you want a big fan, but that’s a whole other. So did you want to walk us through and I’ll step through the slide show.:
Speaker 6:
6:03
You can walk us through and just give us who we’re looking at. I sure we could. Um, again, these are just various different characters. Not a lot of characters in the haunted mansion. Have specific names. These were shot from, uh, an attendee. Yes. This was, uh, these aren’t official designed, these aren’t official Disney photos. These are from, um, it’s actually the, the Facebook group. It, they actually have produced a, um, haunted mansion, um, documentary on fans of the haunted mansion. So they are always posting different things. So like some of the artwork, um, were artists renderings of, you know, before the ride was even created, how, you know, they wanted it to look. And at different, these are all different artists, different artists are, these are these well known Disney artists. Yeah. They’re, they’re all, you know, Disney artists that, um, you know, some of their artwork looks very, you know, familiar for people that are familiar with, uh, Disney parks and, and things. And, and some of these ideas actually went into, you know, the haunted mansion. Some of them, you know, were concept art that, you know, they never move forward with. So just kind of interesting to show is this concept art that was developed before the Huntington open it. So this isn’t just contemporary. Right. Oh, that’s very cool. Yeah.:
Speaker 6:
7:38
Yeah. Some of it’s pretty abstract stuff that they have. Yeah. It’s funny if you actually look at the history of the haunted mansion, um, they actually wanted it to be kind of more of like a bazaar type thing. Um, so it was actually kind of Kinda creepy if you, if you look at, you know, what they were thinking about doing it originally and what it, you know, what it finally became. Um, yeah, it was definitely cause it was like the 1950s, 1960s Horry type feel to it at first and hammer films monsters. Yeah. Yeah. And they kind of, you know, changed it, you know, it was actually supposed to be a walkthrough, it wasn’t gonna be a ride. Um, and then they thought, you know, it would be better to, to have it as a ride because you could regulate how quickly people could move through as opposed to people you know, running and getting scared and you know, different things.:
Speaker 6:
8:38
So it’s, it’s, it’s kind of interesting or just close your eyes. So, so yeah, it was, it would be nice to, to, you know, to go and see it, but it was nice that you know somebody and I’m sure there’ll be more photos. How long is this going to be on display? No, I didn’t, I didn’t see anything. I’m guessing probably, I would say probably, you know, maybe for the duration of the year since it’s, you know, the 50th anniversary. Now we haven’t gone through this whole gallery yet. Is there anything in here surrounding the tradition, the Halloween tradition with decorating it as, I didn’t go through the whole gallery either. So does that is one thing to note, right. One thing to note, if you do happen to go out to Disney around Halloween time, it actually they start prepping it usually during the summer and it usually goes until the new, the beginning of the new year.:
Speaker 6:
9:36
Um, they change over the haunted mansion to nightmare before Christmas theme. So Jack and Sally and other characters from a nightmare before Christmas take over the haunted mansion. So, um, when we were there a couple of years ago, it happened to be during Halloween and that’s how we got to see it. I was kind of excited to see it like that cause I had always heard about it but I was kinda disappointed for you guys because you guys didn’t get to see original, the original audit mansion. So, but that’s a ton of pictures in this gallery will actually have the link to the Facebook gallery in the show notes itself. Uh, I don’t think we have time to go through the whole thing here though, but, uh, folks are welcome to take a look at it. Absolutely. So if you’re a fan, enjoy. Awesome.:
Speaker 7:
10:24
Okay.:
Speaker 6:
10:24
What else do we have? Deer? So toy story four opened last weekend, um, and I’m sure it’s gonna do fantastic again this weekend. Um, but as of last weekend they had made $118 million during opening weekend. Um, it was actually thought the production predict pla, let’s try this again. Projections were actually, they were hoping for 145, 140 million, so 118 really nothing to be upset about. Oh, I’m sure if they don’t like the numbers they can rerelease it. Right, right. Um, but it, the, you know, they were hoping to be up there with um, Incredibles too. That actually had opened with 182 million:
Speaker 7:
11:15
and in:
Speaker 6:
11:15
greedy about Disney, Huh? No, and just isn’t enough, but it still stands as the third highest opening weekend for 2019 so far. Obviously with Captain Marvel and Avengers and game, you know, being ahead of it. So got the top three slots. Yeah, no, not really surprising. Right. And then overseas woody and his pals added 120 million from 37 markets and you know, and another 15 million from the U K so overall a global opening of 238 million for a bunch of toys. So not so bad. Um, so now combined Aladdin, Disney now holds the four highest openings of the year. So not too, not too bad of a year for Disney. And we kind of knew going into it that, you know, every month there was going to be something, you know.:
Speaker 4:
12:08
Yeah. I mean, Disney’s certainly planned out the year very well dominate the entire year.:
Speaker 6:
12:14
Um, universals us still standing as the highest non Disney opening with 71 million. Um, whereas, you know, everything else seems to be Disney. Um, so the opening of toy story also stands as the fourth highest, uh, opening ever for an animated sitting just behind 121 million, um, from one track, the third opened. And also when toy story three opened. So, you know, doing, doing pretty well for just opening weekend. Um, so while the longevity of toy story for might be challenged, uh, next week when Spiderman opens, uh, it’s still, you know, is probably going to be pretty strong, you know, for the rest of the summer because it’s, you know, more of the kids movie versus Spiderman, you know, being, uh, you know, a little bit more, uh, for the, the mid level kids, you know. Um, so, and it had a, a good score on rotten tomatoes. Um, you know, so it’s, it’s doing well.:
Speaker 4:
13:20
So you went to see it without any sports. I didn’t get to go see it because I was so you went to go see it without any spoilers. How was the movie? It was really good. It was sad. It was definitely,:
Speaker 6:
13:33
um, sad and it was kind of funny because our daughter, she’s 12, um, and she’s never really been one to cry or get upset at movies or, you know, usually if we, if we’re at a movie and I’m the one crying, she’ll always look over at me. Like kinda freak her around a little bit. Right. Well when this was over, she had actually, she was crying, she was in, you know, this was like, you know, the first movie ever that I can remember her getting upset by and, and we talked about it. But the one thing that I will say is while it is kind of sad, um, it kind of still leaves the door open. Like it really wasn’t that much of a finale. Like it wasn’t like, all right, this is where things go. This is where they’re going. They could really, if they wanted to, they could do another one. They could do when, you know, and I don’t know if that was the way that they, they did it if they meant it to be like, you know, write your own ending or write your next adventure, you know?:
Speaker 4:
14:39
Well when you can crank them out every couple of years and make $140 million out of them, Disney would be stupid to, they closed the door on I or I could see them doing like the, like the little holiday specials that they did. Like the Halloween, you know,:
Speaker 6:
14:52
they don’t bring in hundreds of money. Right. They don’t. But you could definitely see, you know, this isn’t the last you know of, of woody or buzz or, or any of the other characters. So I thought it was, it was good. I felt kind of bad for some of the older characters because they didn’t seem to bring them out as much. It was more a focus of some of the newer characters. But they did bring some characters back. Right? Oh, they did. Like all the characters were there. And what w w and what was really nice was Mr potato head, who is voiced by Don Rickles, who actually had passed away two years ago. He was still predominant in, you know, he didn’t have a lot of speaking parts. So they filled his part before he passed. Well we used, would they actually reuse stuff because when they had, actually the story that I had had heard or had read was that the family, Don Rickles family actually went to Pixar and said, hey, we heard you’re doing a movie. Please. If there’s any way you can include him, do what you can. And they went back through 25 years of outtakes and things to find what they could use and kind of wrote, you know, made sure that he was part of it. So that was, that was very touching and actually they did have a, uh, a post credit, uh, you know, dedication to him. That was, that was really sweet. So, yeah, if you’re a fan, go and see it, you know, and, and, and, and you’ll enjoy and bring some tissues to.:
Speaker 6:
16:32
We have one more Disney story today. One More Disney story. This one actually popped up yesterday. So sources tell variety that while the deal is not complete, it looks like Melissa McCartney, uh, is in the early talks to play Ursula the sea witch in the live action adaptation of the Little Mermaid. So, obviously there’s a lot of buzz as to, um, who will be in, in the cast. Um, it, it’s, you know, they, they’re, they’re looking for various, uh, people, uh, to, to recreate this, um, the director of Mary Poppins returns. Rob Marshall is actually going to be directing, um, this version of the film. Uh, they want to incorporate songs from the original 1989 movie, um, as well as new tunes for the movie. Um, that’s when that came out in 1989 was the original little mermaid.:
Speaker 6:
17:37
Yeah. Tell me about it. Um, so Alan Mankin is going to be teaming up with Lynn men, well, a Miranda to uh, right. Some of the, the new songs, obviously Alan Mankin, um, was the original, uh, writer, um, along with, I can’t think of his name, it’s not in, in the article. Um, shoot. We’ll find it and we’ll put it in the notes. I’ll, I’ll eventually remember it. Um, so obviously they’re going to do the, you know, the songs part of your world, kiss a kiss the girl and obviously McCartney, uh, McCarthy, uh, poor unfortunate souls. So this’ll be interesting cause I don’t think she’s ever actually sung, you know, in any of her, her movies. Um, so they’re obviously:
Speaker 4:
18:23
there sending sound engineers can even make me sound good.:
Speaker 6:
18:27
So obviously, you know, with the, the success of Aladdin, which we just talked about, um, which has now grossed 820 million worldwide, which we still unfortunately haven’t had a chance to go say. Um, but it is a release and then lion king is getting a lot of hype and that opens, you know, next month. So, you know, it’s funny when Disney started remaking these live actions, it was Kinda like, oh, why are you doing it? But obviously people are enjoying it. Yeah.:
Speaker 4:
19:00
I still get a laugh out of the fact that they’re remaking lion king into a live action movie. Right. Which isn’t a live action movie because all the animals are computer generated. Right. Well it was the same thing with, with jungle book she had, yeah. You had the kid there.:
Speaker 6:
19:15
Yeah. So with lying about, you know, hey, whatever. Um, so this will actually mark the first family friendly role for her because she’s kind of been the, you know, adult comedy,:
Speaker 4:
19:27
which, you know, kind of makes me question whether or not Disney’s making the right move, bringing somebody with that kind of image into their, she might actually do. Okay. We’ll see. Disney has a tendency of taking fewer people and them turning into these inappropriate adults.:
Speaker 6:
19:46
So maybe, maybe it’ll be be a switch. Um, so she was actually just had a, uh, Best Oscar, uh, nominee, uh, for a role. Um, uh, can you, uh, ever forgive me? So, you know, this’ll be, you know, another change work cause she’s, you know, started to do a little bit more dramatic and now onto Disney. So:
Speaker 4:
20:09
for her, good for her and it should make for an interesting role in the movie. Absolutely. And that’s all we had for Disney detective today. All right, let’s move on to our entertainment news of the week.:
Speaker 5:
20:25
Uh,:
Speaker 4:
20:27
so first up this week is a story about bond James Bond.:
Speaker 6:
20:33
We had talked about it a couple of months ago actually, that they were making a new James Bond movie. Um, nothing was really brought about or talked about. They were just basically talking it bond 20, well we had talked about, uh, Robbie Malik, right. Cast is one of the villains know about him being, uh, in, uh, one of the villains. Um, but now [inaudible] saying is it cursed? Um, so it seems they’ve had a couple of different mishaps throughout, uh, the, um, filming and post production or preproduction. Um, so the first thing was that, uh, Daniel Craig actually injured his ankle during shooting. Um, and he actually had to have some surgery and uh, was actually out of work or we’ll be out of work for about two weeks. Um, so production was still kind of production schedule going on. Right. So that same thing happened to Harrison Ford. Right, right, exactly. So that they dropped the door, the Millennium Falcon on D. I don’t think they did that.:
Speaker 6:
21:44
Um, so that was kind of, you know, the, the big thing. Um, but then there was also kind of something silly that it was funny cause then the news article, they were like, we don’t move around, I want to talk about it, but if we’re talking about all the things that are going bad, so it seems there was this, this person who they’re not really sure how he’s even related to the movie, but he actually put a camera in the woman’s bathroom in Pinewood studios set, which is where they’re filming, um, the movie and he was arrested, um, and facing charges, but they’re not really sure how he’s connected. Um, but basically the studio said, hey, you know, we’re taking this very seriously and we’re acting upon it and, you know, we don’t want to cause any problems. So that was kind of like an obscure thing that was happening with it.:
Speaker 6:
22:40
Um, but then obviously the, the real trouble actually started because the original director of the film, um, was Danny Boyle and he exited after disagreeing with bond execs about how the movie was, was basically, uh, being played out. Um, so he was actually cowriting the script, um, with John Hodge. And he actually also left the film as well. Um, and they left just weeks before production was set to begin, so they ended up having to, you know, hire replacements for everything. Um, and then obviously, like I said, the injury occurred. Um, and so he had to take two weeks, you know, a two week break, you know, to do Rehab and, you know, they were going to do certain scenes with Robbie Malik, um, who obviously like we said, was playing the main lead. But he said that, you know, we’re doing some scenes without him, but others, you know, we are waiting for Craig to come back, you know, cause it would just be odd to shoot half of a, a scene, um, without him. So it, it looks like, you know, things should be on the men for, for everybody, but, you know, be interesting to, to see what,:
Speaker 4:
24:02
you know, all films have these quirky little issues that they deal with. Um, I don’t think any of these is a sign that it’s, it’s cursed. I mean, you’ve had some films, uh, in the past that, you know, you’ve had mysterious deaths.:
Speaker 6:
24:18
Oh yeah. Or, or actors from the movie, you know, have passed away before the shooting has even. Right. Right, right. Yeah. I think I,:
Speaker 4:
24:29
I think they just have a run of bad luck here, but, uh, I suspect Daniel Craig is happy that this is probably going to be his last bond film.:
Speaker 6:
24:35
Right, right. Or like, you know what time to retire. So this, yeah. Yeah. So:
Speaker 4:
24:41
cool. So what else do we,:
Speaker 6:
24:43
um, so in other news that actually just came out, uh, not that long ago, was we another film that we had been talking about Ghostbusters, the newer version of it. Um, so it looks like Paul Rudd, uh, is in final negotiations to join the cast of what they’re calling Ghostbusters 20, 20, um, interesting addition. Yeah. So he’s actually going to be playing a teacher in the film. Um, so, uh, Carrie coon is also in talks for the not so secret part, uh, project along with stranger things, Star Finn Wolfhard and gifted star Mckenna grace. So it Kinda sounded like it’s going to be the story of a single mom and her kids and um, and Paul Rudd being the teacher. So not really sure who the ghostbuster you know, is going to be. Um, so, uh, Jason Reitman, uh, whose father directed the original is actually going to be directing this one, which we hit already, uh, known about.:
Speaker 6:
25:51
Um, Sony hasn’t commented on the plot details, but again, it’s an extension of the original Ghostbusters. Um, again, like I said, with a focus on her single mom, a single mom and her family, um, and not really sure how it’s playing in, but it does look like Sir Gorney weaver is rumored to return as her original character. Uh, Dana Barrett. Um, so we’ll, we’ll see where that goes. So, uh, Paul Rudd had posted a little teaser video about, you know, getting slimed, you know, yesterday. So that was kind of like the, Hey, I’m in the movie too. So it should be, it should be interesting to see. So,:
Speaker 4:
26:33
very cool. And the last entertainment news week.:
Speaker 6:
26:38
Yeah, the last little entertainment wedding news I saw was Katharine McPhee. And David Foster actually got married yesterday, uh, in London. Uh, their wedding was a little small one, uh, by celebrity standards I guess, uh, had approximately a hundred guests. Um, and the American idol alum who is 35 and the music producers, 69, uh, who was 69, sparked a romance rumors back in May of 2017 when they were spotted together. Um, and then not that long after, um, they announced their engagement and finally tied the knot. Um, they basically were waiting for a, she had been on Broadway, um, in the waitress and then actually was in London performing as well and was basically waiting, uh, to finish her run, um, with the show before actually tying the knots. So. Cool. Yeah. So it was kind of sweet. So this is actually her second time down the aisle and this is his fifth time.:
Speaker 4:
27:46
Wow. But maybe after too, why bother, you know, hey, good for them, good for them. Um,:
Speaker 6:
27:57
so we’re doing good on time, so I think we would probably pay a little respect to those. Sure, sure. So, you know, some little sad news that that popped up. Um, during the week, uh, there were two, two, uh, uh, deaths that, that occurred. Uh, the first was Max, right, um, who died at age 75. And while the name might not be familiar, if you saw him, you would definitely know. And if you were a child of the 80s and watched out off, you would know him as the dad. Um, from, from the show. Um, he, um, passed away on Wednesday, um, and he had been actually suffering cancer, uh, for a while. He was actually diagnosed with lymphoma in 1995 but he was in remission. Um, and unfortunately, uh, the last couple of years, uh, weren’t doing, he wasn’t doing as well. Um, but his career took off in the 70s and early eighties.:
Speaker 6:
29:01
Uh, various different, you know, roles in movies. Um, he was in all that Jazz, uh, Warren Beatty’s movie, reds. He was in stink too, touch and go soul man, uh, the shadow, um, a midsummer night’s dream and a snow falling on Cedars, um, and was in various different, you know, television shows as well. But again, most people do, you know, remember him from, from mouth. Um, and, uh, Seth Macfarlane even tweeted sad news to hear of his passing who will now keep alf in check. So I thought that was, that was kind of kind of sweet. Yeah. Um, and then another new, uh, uh, memorium news, uh, Billy, uh, dragon [inaudible], um, who was actually in, uh, various films, uh, the untouchables Pale rider. He died, um, on Monday from complications from a stroke and he was 73. Um, he was very much a character actor. If you saw, you know, again, you see his face, you, oh, I remember him from, from various things, but might not be one of those names that, that rings a bell. Right. Um, he was in, um, like I said, the untouchables, he was in charmed. Uh, he was on the x files. He’ll sheep blues, moonlighting, you know, basically all the shows from, you know, the late seventies, early eighties. Trapper John MD, he, you know, was on. Um, so, um,:
Speaker 4:
30:34
yeah,:
Speaker 6:
30:34
he was even in Michael Jackson’s music video, uh, Rock Rock, you rock my world in 2000. Um, so again, sad news, uh, in the world of entertainment.:
Speaker 4:
30:48
Alrighty. Well thank you for that. We, uh, we’ll miss them and, uh, I think we’re ready for our insightful picks. I think we are all right.:
Speaker 5:
30:59
Uh,:
Speaker 4:
31:01
as always, my dear, the floor is yours.:
Speaker 6:
31:03
Why thank you. So I’m very excited with my insightful pick because it actually comes back next week and that is stranger things. Um, it is a, an American science fiction horror web series created and written by the duffer brothers, which is released on Netflix, not to be confused with Amazon prime. Um, so it’s a, it’s a nice little horror show with a lot of homage to the 1980s. So if you’re a fan, you know, if you were a kid in the 80s or a fan of that kind of genre, this is definitely a, the show, you know, if you haven’t watched it, you know, you have plenty of time to, um, before the, the premiere of the newest season. Um, so it’s set in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana in the 80s. Uh, the first season is set in November, 1983 so it’s, um, it’s right kind of, it actually starts off, it’s like Halloween time frame.:
Speaker 6:
32:10
Um, and it basically focuses on the investigation and the disappearance of a young boy and the super natural events that kind of occur in the town after it. Um, including the appearance of a girl who has psycho kinetic abilities and kind of helps ends up helping the missing boys friends search the town for, um, for this kid in the second season, which they titled the Stranger Things Too. Uh, it’s that basically, yeah, it’s basically set one year later in October and deals with the attempts of the characters to kind of return to a normal life. Um, that lingered from the first season. And then the third season, which is going to be a premiering a next week is titled Stranger Things Three, and it’s basically set in mid 1985. So every season kind of jumps, um, a year. Um, so they basically develop the show kind of paying, like I said, homage to the 1980s, the pop culture of the time.:
Speaker 6:
33:12
But also a lot of, um, uh, homage to like Steven Spielberg and John Carpenter and Stephen King, you know, and video games of that time. Um, you know, cause it, it just looks like it was made in the 1980s. It’s, it’s not one of those, Oh, they’re trying to be cheesy with it. No, it really, it really has that, that feel to it like just the soundtrack and, and, uh, there was a story a couple of weeks ago about how Coca-Cola was bringing back new coke because that was the timeframe that it happened. Uh, it’s funny, the other markets that the show itself is driving at the right time, that being one of them. And there was another article, uh, about, uh, display it madam too, so, right. So, yeah, it’s just, it’s funny seeing the kind of influenced that the show itself has on other things. Oh, absolutely. Um, so the first season was only eight episodes.:
Speaker 6:
34:14
Um, so again, real quick binge-watching if you need to. Um, the second season was nine episodes and then this one, um, so in December of 2017, they ordered a third season, which actually started production in April of 2018 and it is eight episodes, so not a very long season. Um, we were kind of joking about it is like, all right, well, who’s going to binge watch it? And it’s like, well, you have to wait like two years for it to come out. Do you really want to watch it all in one shot? But then you don’t want to not watch it all because then everybody’s going to be tough.:
Speaker 6:
34:51
But you figure if it’s only eight episodes over a holiday weekend, you know, you should have plenty of time, uh, to, um, to, to watch it. Um, but the duffer brothers did actually say that they’re most likely gonna end after a fourth or fifth season. Um, that, you know, by then the stories, you know, go so far. Right. And they pretty much knew from the get go where they wanted it to begin and where they wanted it to end. But you know what, they had, um, received 31 Emmy nominations. So, you know, obviously it’s a, it’s a big hit and like you said, with all the, the following of all these, you know, various things, if you go to a toy store, they have, you know, stranger things, toys and, and:
Speaker 4:
35:38
you know, so it definitely does have a following. So I’m excited to, uh, to see it next week. Cool. Very good. Thank you.:
Speaker 5:
35:49
Uh,:
Speaker 4:
35:51
all right, so I’m going to go out on a limb on my pick this week and pick a documentary. I’m so shocked. Yeah, this one, this is a little different though. This one is actually on Netflix. I don’t pick shows very often. A, this one is not a sciencey type documentary. Like I usually pick. This actually is kind of in line with our jeans bond theme this week and it’s a show called inside the facade. Um, the facade itself, you know, is:
Speaker 4:
36:26
intelligence, the CIA equivalent of the Israeli government. Um, so for years the Massaad Israelis, legendary foreign intelligence agency has been sealed off to the media. Now for the first time since its founding a dozen have facades, former spies gives a firsthand recount into their inner work and their moral dilemmas. Viewers are drawn into a personal account of the top secret operations that have shaped Israel’s past and may yet shape its future. Uh, it’s done in a very, I want to say subliminal way. The, the, the camera angles that they do, the cinematography, even the sound track that they do is all very carefully chosen and it presents things in a very sublime way. Um, they talk about, you know, I, I think three episodes, four episodes into their, uh, is an eight episode season. Um, but they talk about how they recruit, they talk about how they run their operatives and then now they’re getting into details about certain operations.:
Speaker 4:
37:48
One being tracking down the unique terrorists that that killed the Israeli athletes. One was tracking down, uh, at UF Eichmann when he fled to Brazil. Another one that I just watched was, um, when Ethiopia, when you know, devolved into a civil war and the, I think the fifties, uh, there was a large segment of, uh, Jewish Ethiopians that they work to get out of the country through Sudan using, um, a scuba diving company that was set up as a front to handle it all and it’s just, it’s brilliantly done. Um, the thing that’s really interesting is that the people that are, that are interviewing, I’m sure they can speak English, but they don’t in the interview. So the interviewer and the interviewee are speaking Hebrew, um, or in some cases Arabic depending on who the operative is. And, and they’re voiced over by the translators and the translators aren’t just saying the words, the translators are actually almost role playing.:
Speaker 4:
39:11
Hi, this is right. Oh, with the dramatic over time, it’s a dramatic retelling and you can, you can hear the inflection in the translator as you hear the inflection in the actual interview so that they’re voicing over, they’re not cutting out the foreign language and it steep because they laughed. The translators laugh when the other person laugh. So it’s almost like they’re your, you’re getting that firsthand account because it’s done so well. Um, and they talk about things like the interviewer asks tough questions like questions that these folks don’t want to answer. Okay. Um, and it’s funny at some times you’re sitting across the table from someone who was a field operative who killed people and who was very capable of killing people and the interviewers leaning into them basically trying to get information out. And you could kind of see where the guys starting to get a little angry there.:
Speaker 4:
40:15
And it’s like, oh, I give the interviewer credit for pushing the issue, but you might wind up dead. Um, but they go into some of the grueling detail. In fact, the one operation in Sudan where there had the, the um, scuba diving, they were, they couldn’t get people out of Ethiopia directly, so they were smuggling them into Sudan and then flying them out with the rally Israeli special forces. So they set up this scuba diving. There was a scuba diving business that was there already that was British. So they took that over and basically bought it and ran it like a business. But that was the cover story for all the agents. So they recounted one story where this one guy came, he was an eastern European, a customer asked for a private dive and figured out based on hand signals, cause I guess the way they’d tell it is the army does hand signals a certain way in scuba and the navy does it a different way.:
Speaker 4:
41:13
And the guy figured out that he was former military and started asking questions than he asked a question in Hebrew and the guy responded. So he knew the agent at that point knew he had been burned. So he tells his controller so that troller pays a visit that a guy and basically calls the guy out and he says, yeah, you asked the dire for another private visit. We’re going to take you to this section of a reef where the shared, there’s a special shark and that shark likes kosher meat. Oh snap. So it was like, like the guy wasn’t holding back. So right. It’s a, it’s a really well done down and dirty, really honest look. And th clearly they don’t reveal anything that’s classified or sensitive. Right? It’s all stuffed. It’s 40, 50 years old. Um, but it’s just the interviews cause it’s really, it’s just, it’s an interview driven thing where they do some dramatic shots of the description of what they’re doing. And it’s one of the better documentaries that I’ve seen when it comes to doing these types of interviews. It’s, it’s extremely well done. So that is inside the massaged season one is available on Netflix now. Very, very cool. Uh, no afterthoughts today actually did have one that kind of popped up. Okay. I’ll turn it over to you.:
Speaker 6:
42:29
Okay. So this is actually a interactive game. Okay. That we actually both started playing. We did, we did, I think, you know, two, it’s called Harry Potter Wizards Unite. Um, and for those that have played, uh, Pokemon go, it’s basically the same type of game system as that, but it’s the world of Harry Potter. Um, so the idea is to get you out and about, um, with family because we went out, the two of us went out yesterday on a date night and we ran into a mother and son who were, were playing as well. Um, and while we never played Pokemon go, we always ran into a lot of people, uh, playing, uh, playing that actually the one time we went to a local national park and we’re like, why is all these people here? I didn’t think, uh, and then when we found out that there was a Pokemon event and that’s where, you know, hundreds of people, uh, actually were, um, so again, we, we never played the Pokemon version of it, but we did start playing the, the Harry Potter version.:
Speaker 6:
43:46
And, uh, so far we’re, we’re definitely hooked. Um, it’s a shame though because our daughter actually despises all things Harry Potter. Um, so she’s not one to join us. Um, but it’s, it’s nice. It definitely gets, gets you out and about. Um, and you know, driving around your, your local town to see where there are different things to, to pick up. So there are different things to fight, different things to collect different potions to make. It’s really very easy to, to navigate. Um, you know, it, it’s very user friendly. Um, but if you do have issues, you know, you can go online and find it. Uh, it’s available for download on the apple. Um,:
Speaker 4:
44:32
and also Google play has it, uh, the galaxy store has it. So, uh, it, it’s on all platforms. Cool. There we go. I did want to offer one quick shout out to a friend, a colleague of my boss, uh, to Carm to Leo. Uh, he was listening to the podcast and uh, he is a bit of a sound engineer himself was in the music business and he gave me a few pointers on how to improve our sound engineering on this side here. So the last two or three episodes of the podcast have been, uh, under his tutelage and I think most folks will agree that the sound quality has improved significantly, both on the video side and the audio side. So a big thank you to Karma for his to ledge on that. Very cool. I think that’s it. Check out the website for show notes, uh, and transcripts and all of our contact information, and we’ll be back next week with another great podcast. All right. Alrighty. Talk to everyone later. Have a good one.:

Show Notes

  • ‘Toy Story 4’ Gets Box Office Moving Again With $118 Million Opening
  • https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/toy-story-4-gets-box-office-moving-again-with-dollar118-million-opening/ar-AADiSJt
    • Disney continued to tighten its grip on the box office with the release of Pixar’s “Toy Story 4,” which opened last weekend to an estimated $118 million from 4,575 theaters.
    • Though pre-weekend projections were expecting a larger opening — Disney projected $140 million while analysts thought it could challenge the animation opening record of $182 million held by “Incredibles 2” — it still stands as the third highest opening weekend of 2019 so far behind only “Captain Marvel” and “Avengers: Endgame.” Overseas, Woody and pals added $120 million from 37 markets, including an animation record $15 million opening in the United Kingdom. That comes together for a global opening of $238 million.
    • Combined with “Aladdin,” Disney now holds the four highest openings of the year
    • Universal’s “Us” still standing as the highest non-Disney opening with $71 million. 
    • The opening of “Toy Story 4” also stands as the fourth highest opening ever for an animated film, sitting just behind the $121 million start for 2007’s “Shrek the Third” and ahead of the $110 million opening earned by “Toy Story 3” in 2010.
    • While the longevity of “Toy Story 4” will be challenged in July by “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” critical and audience reception has been characteristically strong for Pixar’s latest offering. The film matched the Rotten Tomatoes and CinemaScore results of “Toy Story 3” with 98% and an A respectively.
  • Melissa McCarthy in Talks to Play Ursula in Live-Action ‘Little Mermaid’ (EXCLUSIVE)
  • https://variety.com/2019/film/news/melissa-mccarthy-little-mermaid-ursula-1203217481/
    • Sources tell Variety that while the deal is not yet completed, McCarthy is in early talks to play the sea witch Ursula in the live-action adaptation of “The Little Mermaid.”
    • As Disney preps its live-action version of the undersea tale, there’s a lot of buzz about the cast. Disney and the production team behind it are looking to make contemporary and compelling casting choices, while still paying homage to the beloved animated original.
    • “Mary Poppins Returns” director Rob Marshall is helming. The film will incorporate the original songs from the 1989 animated hit as well as new tunes from Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Miranda is also producing the film along with Marshall, Marc Platt and John DeLuca. David Magee wrote the script.
    • The original version followed a mermaid princess who sought to meet a human prince on land. Menken wrote the music, including the Oscar-winning “Under the Sea,” “Part of Your World” and “Kiss the Girl.” As for McCarthy, the multi-talented actress will get her chance at singing “Poor Unfortunate Souls,” one of the classic villain songs in the Disney archive.
    • Adapting classic animated pics into live-action features is a strategy that has been going strong for the studio, most recently with its live-action remake of “Aladdin,” which has grossed $820 million worldwide. The highly anticipated remake of “The Lion King” opens next month.
    • This will mark one of the first family-friendly roles for McCarthy, who has built her career on adult comedies including “Spy,” “The Heat” and “Bridesmaids,” which earned her an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress. She was most recently seen in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?,” a dramatic turn that also earned her an Oscar nomination, this time for best actress.

Entertainment News

  • Is Bond 25 Truly Cursed?
  • https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/06/james-bond-25-cursed-reports?utm_source=nl&utm_brand=vf&utm_mailing=VF_CH_062519&utm_medium=email&bxid=5bd67c753f92a41245df6626&cndid=48160286&hasha=37d3a5fa6d0fe7358a2895e86d3fb167&hashb=d29f1778b42e3a3e4d3af3a2f98085e4893d30a4&hashc=88ab1f31117a7fab91502de756c3fd838f5dbe60a714c6c800108904c9bbf4bf&esrc=AUTO_PRINT&utm_campaign=VF_CH_062519&utm_term=VYF_Cocktail_Hour
    • A disturbing new report is just the latest troublesome incident from the beleaguered Daniel Craig film.
    • Something is going on with Bond 25. Over the past few weeks, a slew of troubling reports have slipped out from the film’s set, ranging from lead Daniel Craig’s ankle injury and subsequent surgery, to a very silly rumor involving PlayStation. (Really, it’s so silly that we probably shouldn’t bother linking to it.) But the latest report from the blockbuster set is downright disturbing: According to TMZ, a man—Peter Hartley, 49—has been arrested for allegedly putting a camera in the women’s bathroom on the Pinewood Studios set of the next Bond film.
    • Hartley was arrested last week by the Thames Valley Police in England, and is facing voyeurism charges. It is unclear how, or even if, he is connected to the studio or the film. Pinewood quickly released a statement in response to the incident, saying, “We take this issue very seriously…. We reported the incident to the police and are supporting them with their investigation,” per TMZ.
    • The trouble began when original director Danny Boyle exited Bond 25 after reportedly disagreeing with Bond execs about the film’s narrative direction. (He was co-writing the script with John Hodge, who also left the film.) Boyle left just weeks before production was set to begin, leaving producers to quickly find a replacement; they ended up tapping True Detective helmer Cary Fukunaga. 
    • Then Craig injured his ankle. Bond brass officially confirmed the news with a statement via the 007 Twitter account, writing that Craig would undergo surgery and then take a two-week break for rehabilitation. Production, meanwhile, would continue without him. Initially, there were reports that Rami Malek, who is playing the film’s lead villain, would have to shoot key scenes without Craig—but he quickly dashed those rumors. “The key scenes is something that was fabricated,” he told Digital Spy. “But the thing is, Daniel was injured, so they are shooting what they can. I talked to Cary yesterday, and the schedule has been altered. I know that. But with a franchise like this, I think they have it together. They have it figured out by now.”
    • As Malek notes, Bond 25 is a big movie with lots of moving pieces, and it’s being scrutinized by the world on a daily basis. Bond execs seem keen to remind the public that the film is more than a series of mishaps, releasing a new clip on Tuesday of Craig returning to the film’s Jamaica set and getting back into character. Look! He’s back, he’s fine! A curse? Don’t be silly.
  • Paul Rudd Joins ‘Ghostbusters 2020’ (EXCLUSIVE)
  • https://variety.com/2019/film/news/paul-rudd-jason-reitmans-ghostbusters-1203236578/
    • Paul Rudd is in final negotiations to join Sony’s latest installment of “Ghostbusters.”
    • Sources tell Variety Rudd will play a teacher in the film.
    • Carrie Coon is also in talks for the not-so-secret project along with “Stranger Things” star Finn Wolfhard and “Gifted” star Mckenna Grace.
    • Jason Reitman, whose father Ivan Reitman directed the original “Ghostbusters,” will step into the director’s chair. He co-wrote the screenplay with Gil Kenan and plans to shoot the film later this summer. “Ghostbusters 2020” is expected to hit theaters in summer of next year. 
    • Sony wouldn’t comment on plot details, but insiders tell Variety the story will be an extension of the original “Ghostbusters” and focus on a single mom and her family, with Coon playing the mom and Wolfhard playing her son. It’s unknown how exactly it connects to the original Ghostbusters series. Sigourney Weaver is also rumored to return as Dana Barrett.
    • The “Ghostbusters” sequel will produced by Ivan Reitman.
    • The sci-fi comedy has been a huge priority for the studio, where it’s been secretly developed using the codename “Rust City.” When Reitman was announced as director in January, a teaser trailer and release date were ready the next day.
    • Rudd, who’s repped by UTA and Lighthouse Management and Media, is coming off a Marvel-ous stretch with “Avengers: Endgame.” He is also on board to star in the Netflix series “Living With Yourself,” which bows this fall.
  • Katharine McPhee and David Foster Marry in London: Details!
  • https://www.msn.com/en-us/entertainment/celebrity/katharine-mcphee-and-david-foster-marry-in-london-details/ar-AADzBdO
    • Katharine McPhee and David Foster married on Friday, June 28, Us Weekly confirms.
    • The couple exchanged vows at a church in London in front of approximately 100 guests, including the groom’s daughters Sara and Erin Foster as well as Dr. Phil McGraw. The bride wore a custom gown by Zac Posen, a source tells Us exclusively.
    • The American Idol alum, 35, and the music producer, 69, sparked romance rumors in May 2017 after they were spotted getting cozy while having dinner at Nobu in Malibu. That October, a source confirmed to Us exclusively that the couple were casually dating, adding, “They have such a great chemistry and really connect organically on so many levels.”
    • McPhee played coy in November 2017 when asked about her relationship with Foster, who is 34 years her senior. “We’re very close friends, and we’ve been friends for a long time,” she told Health magazine. “I’m really, really fond of him, and I think he’s an incredible person. I’ve known him since I was 21 years old, you know? He produced my first single. So he’s been really good to me. People can say whatever they want.”
    • Less than a month later, however, the pair were spotted kissing outside an Italian restaurant in Beverly Hills. They started to go more public with their romance in the months that followed, spending the holiday season together in Paris and holding hands on the red carpet at the 2018 Met Gala in New York City.
    • The 16-time Grammy winner proposed to the Smash alum in July 2018 at the top of a mountain in Anacapri, Italy. “Katharine is telling close friends she doesn’t want to have a long engagement,” a source told Us at the time. “They are very much in love.”
    • More recently, in January, another insider revealed that McPhee and Foster were considering having “a very small wedding in London.” However, they wanted to wait until she finished starring in Waitress on London’s West End. “My fiancé, who I’m about to marry, he’s endured enough separation,” the singer joked on stage on June 15 during curtain call at her final show, calling FaceTime their “best friend.”
    • This is McPhee’s second time walking down the aisle. She was previously married to Nick Cokas from 2008 to 2016, and Foster played piano at their wedding. The songwriter, for his part, has four ex-wives, B.J. Cook, Rebecca Dyer, Linda Thompson and Yolanda Hadid, and five daughters, Allison, Amy, Sara, Erin and Jordan.
  • RIP
    • Max Wright, ‘Alf’ Star and Veteran Actor, Dead at 75
    • https://www.rollingstone.com/tv/tv-news/max-wright-alf-star-actor-dead-at-75-852869/
      • Max Wright, the actor who portrayed the father on the Eighties sitcom Alf, has died. He was 75. On Wednesday, Wright’s son Ben confirmed his death to the Hollywood Reporter. TMZ first reported the death, adding that Wright died at his home in Hermosa Beach, California following a long battle with cancer. He was diagnosed with Lymphoma in 1995, but was reportedly in remission for several years.
      • As the news broke of Wright’s death, those in the industry paid tribute to the veteran star on social media. “RIP Max Wright – A hilarious and talented actor,” Seth McFarlane tweeted. “Sad news to hear of his passing. Who will keep ALF in check now?”
      • Wright, born in Detroit on August 2nd, 1943, racked up numerous credits for film, TV and theater. He made his Broadway debut in the original 1968 production of The Great White Hope and appeared in a number of stage production across the country. His 1998 portrayal of Pavel Lebedev in Ivanov earned a Tony nomination for Best Actor in a Play.
      • Wright’s career took off in the late 1970s and early Eighties with a run of roles on both the big and small screens. His eclectic film credits include the 1979 musical drama All That Jazz, the 1980 Alan Arkin comedy Simon, Warren Beatty’s 1981 historical drama Reds, 1983 comedy The Sting II, 1986 dramedy Touch and Go, 1986 comedy Soul Man, 1994 action-adventure The Shadow (1994), a 1999 adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the Oscar-nominated 1999 mystery Snow Falling on Cedars.
    • Billy Drago, ‘Untouchables’ Star, Dies at 73
    • https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/billy-drago-untouchables-star-dies-233622605.html
      • Billy Drago, who often played harming but chilling gangster roles and appeared in Brian De Palma’s “The Untouchables” and Clint Eastwood’s “Pale Rider,” died Monday in Los Angeles of complications from a stroke. He was 73.
      • The character actor played Al Capone’s henchman Frank Nitti in 1987’s “The Untouchables.”
      • On TV series “Charmed,” he put his reptilian stare to good use as the demon Barbas in several episodes over five seasons.
      • Born William Eugene Burrows in Hugoton, Kan., his actor-director father was said to be of Native American origin. His mother’s family was of Romany extraction; he took their name Drago as his stage name. Starting out as a stuntman, he moved to New York and beginning his acting career.
      • Drago started acting in the late 1970s, appearing in films including “Cutter’s Way,” “No Other Love” and “Windwalker.” On television, he had guest roles in “Hill Street Blues,” “Moonlighting,” “Walker Texas Ranger,” “Trapper John, M.D.” and “The X-Files.”
      • Appearing in more than 100 films, he had roles in three Chuck Norris films including “Invasion U.S.A.,” “Hero and the Terror” and “Delta Force 2: The Colombian Connection” as drug lord Ramon Cota.
      • Drago also appeared in Michael Jackson’s “You Rock My World” music video in 2001 and as the mysterious stranger in Mike and the Mechanics’ “Silent Running (on Dangerous Ground).”
      • His later film roles included Gregg Araki’s “Mysterious Skin,” “The Hills Have Eyes” remake and “Children of the Corn: Genesis.”
      • Drago’s son Darren E. Burrows, who survives him, has appeared on TV shows including “Northern Exposure.”
  • Insightful Picks
    • Michelle
      • Stranger Things is an American science fiction horror web television series created, written, and directed by the Duffer Brothers and released on Netflix. 
      • Set in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, in the 1980s, the first season, set in November 1983, focuses on the investigation into the disappearance of a young boy amid supernatural events occurring around the town, including the appearance of a girl with psychokinetic abilities who helps the missing boy’s friends in their own search. The second season, titled Stranger Things 2, is set one year later in October 1984, and deals with attempts of the characters to return to normality and consequences that linger from the first season. The third season, titled Stranger Things 3, is set in mid-1985.
      • The Duffer Brothers developed the series as a mix of investigative drama alongside supernatural elements portrayed with childlike sensibilities. They established its time frame in the 1980s and created a homage to the pop culture of that decade. Several themes and directorial aspects were inspired and aesthetically informed by the works of Steven Spielberg, John Carpenter, and Stephen King, among others, including several films, anime, and video games.
      • The first season of eight episodes premiered on Netflix on July 15, 2016. It received critical acclaim for its characterization, pacing, atmosphere, acting, soundtrack, directing, writing, and homages to 1980s genre films. 
      • The second season, consisting of nine episodes, was released on October 27, 2017. In December 2017, Netflix ordered a third season, which began production in April 2018 and will consist of eight episodes, and is set to be released on July 4, 2019. 
      • The Duffer Brothers have said that Stranger Things is likely to end after its fourth or fifth season. The series has received 31 Emmy Award nominations, including for Outstanding Drama Series, four Golden Globe Award nominations, and won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2016.
  • Joe
    • Inside the Mossad1 season on NetflixIn this documentary, dozens of former agents from the Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, reveal their top-secret operations.For years the Mossad, Israel’s legendary foreign intelligence agency, has been sealed off to the media. Now, for the first time since its founding, a dozen of Mossad’s former spies give us a first-hand recount into their inner work and their moral dilemmas. Viewers are drawn into a personal account of the top-secret operations that have shaped Israel’s past and may yet shape its future.
  • After thoughts