What if Godzilla was recast in 2007?
Set your nostalgia beams to 1998 because we're about to take you on a rollercoaster ride back to the year of Roland Emmerich's 'Godzilla,' the infamous film that stomped its way into our hearts— or did it trample our expectations? Nick, joined by Aly and Ash, crack open the time capsule of cinematic history and reimagine the much maligned monster movie in the landscape of 2007. We'll unravel the enigmatic legacy of the original, from its marketing frenzy to the subsequent cultural waves it created—and yes, we'll even address the not-so-glowing review by Roger Ebert who found himself in the middle of a meta-fictional jab.
Remember when movies came with their own cereal? 'Godzilla' did, and we're spilling all the surprisingly delightful and cringe-inducing details. With Aly and Ash's fresh takes, we venture into an alternate universe where 'Godzilla' gets a 2007 makeover. What if the film shared the marquee with the likes of "There Will Be Blood" and "No Country for Old Men"? We'll sift through the talent pool of 2007 to find the perfect ensemble. It's a mix of wit and wisdom as we evaluate the impact of the film on its original actors and ponder who could have brought new life to the iconic roles.
So, whether you're a fan of the film or just here for the laughs, prepare yourself for a podcast that's as entertaining as it is enlightening. Get ready to see 'Godzilla' in a whole new light—or should we say, in the glow of another decade?
(00:01:00)Intro
(00:02:37)About the Movie
(00:10:51)Useless Critic Stats
(00:19:40)Ebert's Corner
(00:22:11)2007 Box Office
(00:24:42)Oscars
(00:27:04)Other Notable Films
(00:30:20)What Changes About the Film
(00:35:50)Rules
(00:37:58)30 Seconds or Less Casting
(00:46:23)Roache - Jean Reno
(00:52:26)Animal - Hank Azaira
(01:01:35)Audrey - Maria Pitillo
(01:08:02)Nick - Matthew Broderick
(01:17:02)Final Cast
Thanks for listening; If you feel like supporting us, this is where you do that!
BuyMeACoffee
Check out or other content/socials here.
Linktree
Hosts:
Cory Williams (@thelionfire)
Nick Growall (@nickgrowall)
Co-Hosts (Season 5):
Aly Dale (@alydale55)
Ash Hurry (@filmexplorationah)
Cass Elliott (@take5cass)
Voice of the Time Machine:
Kristi Rothrock (@letzshake)
Editing by:
Nick Growall
Featured Music:
"Quantum Recast Theme" - Cory Williams
"Charmer" - Coat
"Revival" - Daniele Musto
"Pukka" - Bellodrone
"Kings and Queens" - Wicked Cinema
"Kiss the Cat" - Al Town
"Birdcage" - Al Town
"Passenger" - Abloom
*Music and licenses through Soundstripe
What if Godzilla was recast in 2007?
Set your nostalgia beams to 1998 because we're about to take you on a rollercoaster ride back to the year of Roland Emmerich's 'Godzilla,' the infamous film that stomped its way into our hearts— or did it trample our expectations? Nick, joined by Aly and Ash, crack open the time capsule of cinematic history and reimagine the much maligned monster movie in the landscape of 2007. We'll unravel the enigmatic legacy of the original, from its marketing frenzy to the subsequent cultural waves it created—and yes, we'll even address the not-so-glowing review by Roger Ebert who found himself in the middle of a meta-fictional jab.
Remember when movies came with their own cereal? 'Godzilla' did, and we're spilling all the surprisingly delightful and cringe-inducing details. With Aly and Ash's fresh takes, we venture into an alternate universe where 'Godzilla' gets a 2007 makeover. What if the film shared the marquee with the likes of "There Will Be Blood" and "No Country for Old Men"? We'll sift through the talent pool of 2007 to find the perfect ensemble. It's a mix of wit and wisdom as we evaluate the impact of the film on its original actors and ponder who could have brought new life to the iconic roles.
So, whether you're a fan of the film or just here for the laughs, prepare yourself for a podcast that's as entertaining as it is enlightening. Get ready to see 'Godzilla' in a whole new light—or should we say, in the glow of another decade?
(00:01:00)Intro
(00:02:37)About the Movie
(00:10:51)Useless Critic Stats
(00:19:40)Ebert's Corner
(00:22:11)2007 Box Office
(00:24:42)Oscars
(00:27:04)Other Notable Films
(00:30:20)What Changes About the Film
(00:35:50)Rules
(00:37:58)30 Seconds or Less Casting
(00:46:23)Roache - Jean Reno
(00:52:26)Animal - Hank Azaira
(01:01:35)Audrey - Maria Pitillo
(01:08:02)Nick - Matthew Broderick
(01:17:02)Final Cast
Thanks for listening; If you feel like supporting us, this is where you do that!
BuyMeACoffee
Check out or other content/socials here.
Linktree
Hosts:
Cory Williams (@thelionfire)
Nick Growall (@nickgrowall)
Co-Hosts (Season 5):
Aly Dale (@alydale55)
Ash Hurry (@filmexplorationah)
Cass Elliott (@take5cass)
Voice of the Time Machine:
Kristi Rothrock (@letzshake)
Editing by:
Nick Growall
Featured Music:
"Quantum Recast Theme" - Cory Williams
"Charmer" - Coat
"Revival" - Daniele Musto
"Pukka" - Bellodrone
"Kings and Queens" - Wicked Cinema
"Kiss the Cat" - Al Town
"Birdcage" - Al Town
"Passenger" - Abloom
*Music and licenses through Soundstripe
1998. Yeah, Every man I kill the farther away from home.
Speaker 2:I feel you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth, you understand. Remember when Bobby Boucher showed up at halftime and the mud dogs were in the brave and bold, do you? We're live inside Madison Square Garden.
Speaker 1:Dr Nico Tatopoulos.
Speaker 2:A new species will emerge, one that could replace us as the dominant species of this planet.
Speaker 3:But did you see old man?
Speaker 1:Kuchira, kuchira. Welcome to Quantum Recast. I'm your host for the day, nick, and I'm joined this time by Allie Dale.
Speaker 3:Hello, hello, how are you today? Doing good? Doing well, doing well.
Speaker 1:Good, good, good. And from across the pond, our friend from his own podcast show, Film Exploration, Ash Hurley. How are you, sir?
Speaker 2:I'm very well. How are you guys?
Speaker 1:Very good. Now Ash has stayed up late for this very special episode. I say special because it's near and dear to Ash's heart here in today's episode If you have clicked on this episode, you're not confused there's a number by the name Godzilla 2007. That's not the year the movie came out, but that's the year we're taking it to, because that's what we do on this podcast, is we take favorite movies, or popular movies, or sometimes infamous movies, you might say and we take them to a different year and we give them a brand new cast and just kind of discuss what it would be like to have that movie in that time and era. Um, if you're new to the show, be sure to follow us on all of the social medias. At quantum recast, we're on instagram, facebook, twitter, x whatever it's called in the latter dying days and we're on tiktok as long as it's still uh, legal to be so, but uh, maybe we'll ash run it from the there we go Once it's banned here.
Speaker 2:Once it's banned here, don't trust me with that, honestly.
Speaker 1:But yes, today we are discussing Roland Emmerich's 1998 blockbuster Godzilla. Now, for those of you that are familiar with the movie I'm assuming those are the ones that are listening and those of you that are not familiar with it, it is a 98 blockbuster that has not the best reputation amongst filmgoers, especially amongst Godzilla fans. But today we're going to discuss it a little bit and then we'll jump to the year 2007 and figure out a cast for this movie.
Speaker 2:Sounds good, you guys ready to go? Yeah, I think so. Yeah, let's do it Cool, cool.
Speaker 1:So before we get into too much of it, I want to do a quick, deep dive into what this movie is. So this week's movie, godzilla it was released may 20th 1998. Um, the name godzilla is a roman romanization of the original japanese name gojira, which is a combination of two japanese words gorya, which is gorilla, and kujira, which is whale. So the word alludes to the size, power and aquatic origin of godzilla that's cool, the more you know that yeah whales ali do that's cool, the more you know that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, whales, that's cool. Gorilla as well.
Speaker 1:With the king kong reference there which kind of makes sense, like when you think of the traditional godzilla. He's more upright and he and he's.
Speaker 1:He has a more, his arms and stuff a little more animated and such yeah yeah um, but yeah um, it was, you know, created by toho studios, which was founded in 1932. It it is the largest of Japan's big four film studios. It is known for films such as Seven, samurai and Godzilla, both released in 1954. Talk about a banger year for a studio. They're also known for helping distribute such films that people may be familiar with the anime's, akira and the studio Ghibli films like Howl's Moving Castle and Princess Mononoke. So, yes, this particular version is the American version. It was directed by Roland Emmerich, who you might have seen his movies such as Universal, soldier, stargate, independence Day, the Patriot, and written by and produced by Dean Devlin, who also wrote for Independence Day, and the Geostorm that came out a few years back, that gives you classic Geostorm.
Speaker 1:But yes, it was a know toho studios. It's pretty much you could argue that godzilla is the house that, or the is the house that godzilla built and toho studios.
Speaker 1:Uh, there's over 38, I believe, movies of godzilla now and it has been listed in the guinness world book of records as being the longest running film franchise in history. So I guess which which I don't know. I don't know how that works with, I guess because the mummy and dracula they don't really have like proper sequel. They they did, but it wasn't like there was this constant continuation. Maybe there was always, like now we're doing our version of dracula, now we're doing our version of like universal, didn't keep the thing going.
Speaker 1:I guess so I don't know what. What constitutes like? Yes, this has to equal being in the world record for longest running franchise. Yeah, um, for those of you that aren't familiar with the Godzilla franchise, yeah, started in the 50s. It had a this movie that came out and was very more serious. It's more of a commentary on, you know, the nuclear fallout from World War II. Um, it's about, and Godzilla kind of represents, you know, the kind of the sins of the father kind of thing. This is the best I can describe it where it's the actions that the Japanese did to the world is coming back to haunt them, basically, and in the form of Godzilla. But from there it gets goofy In the 60s and 70s he's sliding on his tail, he's fighting King Kong and Ghidorah.
Speaker 2:It gets wild.
Speaker 1:Yeah. And then in the 80s he gets a little gritty. It gets back serious again. And then in the 90s they decided, you know, we should probably try to wrap this up.
Speaker 1:They felt like they had done everything they could with Godzilla and so that's where this American film producer, henry G Saperstein, came in and he was got permission from Toho to pitch to Hollywood for a movie. It took him 10 years to get Toho to agree to it and finally they did. And they finally got a TriStar announced their acquisition to the rights of Godzilla from Toho for a trilogy of Godzilla films.
Speaker 1:Oh, interesting so they were all set ready to go. Now this is where things get. So, yeah, it sounds like a bankable time because the 90s, as you guys know, like it's a big time for like big blockbuster movies, disaster movies. I mean 98 alone has two end of the world scenarios with armageddon and deep impact. So like we're right in the perfect, you'd sit there and kind of go, yeah, this is pretty pretty good spot for it you're in a spot?
Speaker 2:yeah, definitely. It's like it's the y2k, because everyone thought the world was going to end in 2000.
Speaker 1:So there's like the end of the world end of the world.
Speaker 2:Films are like the thing listen.
Speaker 1:People still think the world's going to end at different points in time. 2012 2020.
Speaker 2:You know, yep, yep, yep, um. So they signed on 2012, 2020.
Speaker 1:Yup, yup, yup, yup, yup. So they signed on, actually originally Ted Elliott and Terry Rocio you might know them for writing Shrek and also the original pirates movies. Oh, okay, and then from there, basically they wanted to, they want to avoid the comic like approach, they want a legitimate science fiction story, that kind of evoked feelings of mystified or scared, all inspired for audiences, want to stay very true to the original intent of godzilla.
Speaker 1:And then emmerich and devlin came in and uh, you know they they had been, it had been pitched to them. They turned it down and devlin stated both of us thought it was a dopey idea. The first time we talked, when chris came back to us, we still thought it was a dopey idea, not a good start for your, for your thing.
Speaker 2:Then Devlin said yeah, he said.
Speaker 1:I told Sony that they would do the movie, but on their own terms, with Godzilla as a fast moving animal out of nature rather than some kind of strange creature. Strike number two maybe coming down the lane there for Godzilla fans Very bold. And then, despite praising Elliot and Rosso's script, Emmerich discarded it, saying it has some cool things in it, but it's something that I wouldn't have done. The last half was two creatures going at it. I simply don't like that Pardon, which, if you've ever seen any other Godzilla movie generally, other than like the first one and minus one that came out recently, that's pretty much all Godzilla is.
Speaker 3:That's the best part, it's just these gigantic mutant monsters just going at it with each other.
Speaker 2:That's one of my favorite things. Do you know what I? I'm going to back him up here because godzilla minus one absolutely love it. But there is no other monster in that movie. It's just a fight against the humans. I prefer those.
Speaker 1:I prefer those fights rather than the cgi, king kong and godzilla, because it's more grounded, I think well, I think, and that's really the balance between the godzilla franchises you have minus one 1954 is godzilla and they kind of keep going back and forth where it's like we want to tell this very honest story and use it as this, uh, as this metaphor for nuclear war or whatever environmentalism and stuff, and then you kind of go to the other end of it where it's just like I just want to see bros punching dudes man I just want to, just want to see some stuff break which ali and I.
Speaker 1:I got to go watch Godzilla Kong, the New Empire last night. Ali was delighted.
Speaker 2:I loved it.
Speaker 1:Did you enjoy it? Because I'm seeing it tomorrow. It's a lot of fun. Now again, it's the other side of the spectrum, so you have to know that walking in, as I've said, it is the most expensive Saturday morning cartoon and if you can walk in with that mentality, you're going to have a good time.
Speaker 3:Yes, it is full cheese. They I mean they leaned full on into the cheese. And so, if you can, once you understand the tone and you're like, okay, this is mindless, brainless fun, you're going to have a good time. I had a, I was, it was great, it was a great time, but then that's all you want.
Speaker 2:You go into the cinema to have an experience critical experience, if you're watching an oscar performance or a blockbuster. I mean, you had that on a saturday morning and you enjoyed yourself. So you knew what you're going into.
Speaker 1:So I think that's a successful movie in your eyes and anyone's eyes who enjoyed it for sure, and it is cool that we got both sides of that godzilla coin within, like what, three or four months of each other, with minus one, and then, uh, the new empire what a film yeah, that was great.
Speaker 2:It was. So like I didn't know they could do a film like that because you said there was like 38 different variations of Godzilla but minus one was like with the kamikaze storyline and it just the way it came together at the end and I wasn't sure where they were going. And I love the fact that there was less Godzilla screen time. I love that. I mean there's a guilty pleasure you want to see. It's kind of like George.
Speaker 1:You don't really see it, but when you do, it's incredible and, yeah, unbelievable film. I loved it for sure, for sure. Now we're going to talk about continuing to talk about godzilla 98. So we're now. We have the perspective, the past, the present and the future. We're going to rewind a little bit about 20 years or so. The budget of godzilla 98 was 130 to 150. $379 million worldwide is what it got.
Speaker 2:It made its money back.
Speaker 1:The weird conundrum of it is that it was successful, but for some reason it left a bad taste in people's mouths as being big, dumb blockbuster.
Speaker 3:Exactly, and then?
Speaker 1:the other side being oh, this isn't Godzilla. It's very strange because Emerit, he later regrets the film's production. He felt it was rushed for memorial day weekend, um, but he defends it, saying he thinks it's better than critics gave it for which, which I agree with. I think the biggest sin of this movie and we can talk about this here in a second is, I feel like that it and this is what the toho uh, studios, people, the actors and stuff kind of said was like it's not godzilla, it doesn't have its spirit. There's the quotes are you know it? It seems like that they're afraid that it took the god out of Godzilla. Basically it made him, made him just another animal, yeah to instead.
Speaker 1:Um, from here I want to just dive into useless critic stats so we can come back to a lot of the comments and stuff of the aftermath of the of the movie itself. So for Godzilla, 98, imdb gave it a 5.4 out of 10. You know, kind of middle of the road there for them, rotten Tomatoes, the critics gave it 20 out of 100. The audience was not as much kinder either, with a 28. So very, very low rankings there. That's wild Metacritic. A 32. So actually better than Rotten Tomatoes Strange and a 5.0 for the audience score out of 10. I hate that they do that. I'm going to comment on it every time. I guess Letterboxd, letterboxd the people what do the people say the millennials? That is Letterboxd and they gave it a 2.2. Yeah.
Speaker 1:So not favorable, not very favorable, on alley a three out of five. Yep ash, what, what? You don't have letterbox yet. I haven't convinced you to sign up yet, but what would you give? What would you give godzilla out of five?
Speaker 2:oh, don't judge me, but I don't care. I love this film. I probably would have given it a four out of five.
Speaker 3:I'm not nothing wrong with that now.
Speaker 1:But you have some nostalgia with this too. A little it's. It tugs on the heartstrings it's, it's just like.
Speaker 2:Well, I was eight. Well, it came out in 1998. I was nine years old and you know dvds were becoming a big thing at the time and I I didn't have any like knowledge or lens of all these other godzilla movies I've heard of it. King kong hadn't even come out yet. Peter jackson's movie came out and I hadn't seen the 33 version. I didn't watch black and white films when I was nine, ten years old and this film was just everything the 90s represented.
Speaker 2:It came with an album it came with, you know, it came with action sequences. It came with that, that y2k, and it was surrounded by films that were favorable. You know the mummy, the year after independence day, the year before you know, it was just filled with blockbusters, kind of like your experience with, you know, godzilla versus kong. You went to the cinema knowing what you're going in for. I watched this film and I did not know what to expect. When I watched it on tv the first time, I didn't go to the cinema and watch it. I wish I did. I was only nine years old, but right, I think it's just getting a lot of I just, I don't, I just don't. I get it and I don't get it, you know, I think it's just convenient to hate it, you know yeah, I think it's, it's another one of those that has it's it.
Speaker 1:The cinema sins of the internet was kind of like here's everything wrong with this movie. You have the toho purists that are like this is just not what godzilla is, yeah, but at the same time, as americans, you know, and it seems like even on in the uk you don't really have that knowledge of the toho movies.
Speaker 2:So if you're aware of them, like you're like yeah, that that exists over there.
Speaker 1:But if anything, I feel like this was a gateway drug to the Godzilla franchise for Americans. You know, we're also in the time where anime is being introduced to Americans and the rest of the world through Toonami on Cartoon Network, and you're getting Dragon Ball Z and Pokemon and stuff is blowing up, so I feel like it's right in there with it, you know. And then we started to learn about Godzilla and over the next 20 years, see where legendary studios finally takes a crack at it, finally figures out.
Speaker 2:Oh, this is what godzilla is all about, and finds that balance a little bit.
Speaker 2:No, but yeah, I kind of agree with that. Yeah, I think with with 1998, it was such a peculiar year as well because you didn't really know what you were going in for, because there was some really like dark movies and then there was just the complete opposite kind of the, the popcornbuster movies. So you didn't really know what side of the fence or what tone Roland Emmerich was going to go for as well, because they assumed, you know, because of Independence Day, how popular and successful that film was, that they just assumed Godzilla, you know, do what you want, roland Emmerich, because Independence Day was just a massive hit and that was another end of the world film and you know, and like you said, it made money. And like you said it made money, um, it made his money back and everyone calls it a flop.
Speaker 2:So I think you just get influenced by other people and then you kind of you believe it, you kind of believe it, and then it's like a cultural thing where you people start saying I hate this person as, oh, yeah, me too, but you don't know why. And then when you look into it you're like, well, why do I hate that person, or why do I hate this movie?
Speaker 1:because I enjoyed it when I first saw it, so it's interesting, and sometimes there's those roasted glasses, whereas a movie from your childhood you're very much like oh, I love that and you watch it go, oh it's. It's not as good, it didn't hold up as well and I felt like re-watching this time. I was like it's. It's not a perfect movie by any means, but I still entertained by it yeah, sure, yeah when did you watch it, ali, though for the first time?
Speaker 3:so in 98 I was six, um, and of course, as you guys know, jurassic park is my favorite movie. So anything with giant lizards or giant reptiles I'm all in. Like that, I'm all in. So I remember. First off, I remember the marketing for it, because the trailer took place before Titanic. And I remember seeing Titanic at the drive-in with my family and I vividly remember that, that shot of the fishermen running down the pier as.
Speaker 3:Godzilla is like breaking it apart and I'd like. That's ingrained in my brain. So I remember watching it, it, but I was a very sensitive child and I'm a sensitive adult, but, um, but the ending broke my heart and so I didn't watch it, for, oh, I cried when spoilers I cried when you found out that, for one, she laid a bunch of eggs that they ended up destroying, and two, like the heartbeat slowing down destroyed me as a child.
Speaker 2:So I did not watch it too often 100%. No, that is a tearjerker, definitely.
Speaker 3:It did, it got me, I mean, even just rewatching it. It brought me back to my childhood and I was like oh man, I forgot. I forgot all about how this made me feel.
Speaker 1:Now have you seen the teaser for this ever before? It came out with Men in Black, and it opens in a museum and it's a t-rex skeleton.
Speaker 3:yeah, and godzilla's foot stomps on the t-rex, pretty much just this big statement of like you thought that was big. Where do you see this? Oh, take this.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm gonna have to look at that I'm gonna have to look that up after this. Definitely go look that up on youtube, because it's nick what.
Speaker 2:That is a really good mention of the film as well, because you know back then in the 90s that and that that teaser, they spent millions on that 30 second advert millions they don't do that anymore and they just wasn't even part of, like their main production.
Speaker 1:Like they just shot that before they started shooting really yeah, didn't appear in the movie they got.
Speaker 2:I think it was a natural history museum and it was like a statement to the jurassic park movie, because it just came out off before the lost world, the second movie, okay, and they got just the foot to stamp on it and that was it and they spent so much money on it and it came out a year before the movie came out, which is ridiculous. But it's very 90s, like teasing up all the way for a year yeah, you don't see that very often
Speaker 3:you, you mentioning the lost world, that this came out right before that made that jarred something. Maybe I do remember seeing that, because that that did that does sound kind of familiar to me it's possible yeah I don't maybe I just anything the lost world.
Speaker 2:I just I immediately try and discard, I've got a soft spot for the lost world. I don't know why.
Speaker 3:I just love that movie hey, there's nothing wrong with it's just I'm weird about it the lost world was the first stress spark.
Speaker 1:I actually watched all the way through and was allowed to watch and got on vhs and godzilla was another one of the first I would call it one of the first like adult movies that I got to watch like a pg-13 and up. Um, but yeah, I remember watching it with with my, with my siblings and family and it was kind of around the same era as, like batman and robin and independence day I was finally allowed to watch those movies and I'd watched india, jones and and star wars original trilogy before that, so it was kind of in that same vein.
Speaker 1:I felt like there was there was the action, the adventure, the sense of whimsy with the characters and stuff. So it felt right in line with all of that I felt like, yeah, plus the the box art was just amazing yes, you're like this is.
Speaker 3:It was cool, the font and everything I remember thinking was really cool.
Speaker 1:So so 2000s like or like turn of the turn of the millennium so good tv grime-ish color so, speaking of so, before I get into what em or emmerich said, ebert said about the movie marketing wise.
Speaker 1:They, emmerich, insisted not to use full uh images of godzilla during marketing. He had that jaws mentality. Like you mentioned before ash, 300 companies sign an agreement not to show the full image of godzilla before the movie's release. Whoa, 300, damn, yes, yeah, yeah. And taco bell contributed like 20 million in media support and that, if you remember then it was the taco bill chihuahua and he was like her commercials of him attempting to trap the monster in a box or riding the monster's tail and making an order for two, like they went all in on the marketing, but which also ash points out, like it's a very 90s thing. We still see it a lot, but not on the level. I think a lot of people point to the godzilla movie as like this is marketing, like 100 of the 90s example that's how you market like you don't have, like you know you don't have.
Speaker 2:They had godzilla figurines in cereal boxes and you know people, you know you don't get that anymore. You had like planes flying out with a tagline in the sky. I mean that level of like rustic um advertising just doesn't exist anymore.
Speaker 3:I kind of miss it, yeah well, and even in other movies too, and I don't know if these are correlated, but I did recently uh re-watch armageddon because that is one of my favorite movies, and godzilla shows up.
Speaker 2:There's like a godzilla toy in the very beginning when the when the asteroids first start going down yeah, and so I'm wondering if maybe there was something, maybe I don't know, maybe some sort of or michael bay kind of, I don't know but yeah, michael bay, I think in the audio commentary, said that he's referencing his competition because they came out a month apart, so he gave a tribute to the Godzilla movie, shots fired.
Speaker 3:I need to listen to the commentary.
Speaker 2:Oh, they're so interesting, ben Affleck is hilarious on that commentary.
Speaker 1:I've heard it's just Ben Affleck asking a lot of questions and Michael Bay finally which are solid questions and Michael Bay's just like shut up and watch the movie. Yeah, pretty much. Before we jump into 2007, the year we're taking this movie to, let's hear what ebert had to say. So, ebert, he gave it any guesses real quick before we, before I drop, this is there half a star on this.
Speaker 2:I'm assuming it's pretty low, it's?
Speaker 1:a 1.5 star ash, so better than expected it's still not great he says apparently in his article, going to see godzilla at the peleus of the canes film festival. I don't know how to say that properly. Ash, do you, if you can help me there?
Speaker 2:um, it's like attending a piece anyway, he said.
Speaker 1:Going to the canes film festival to watch it it's like attending a satanic ritual in saint peter's, belize, belize how do you say that? Basilica, thank you. Satanic ritual in saint peter's basilica, 50 years old. Godzilla's big ugly, ungainly device, give teenagers the impression they are seeing a movie. So it's going great so far. One must carefully repress intelligent thought while watching such a film. The movie makes no sense at all, except a careless pistache of its betters. You have to absorb such a film, not consider it. My brain rebelled and insisted on applying logic where it was not welcome. What a cold-hearted, mechanistic vision, so star for emotion or wit. The primaryits for godzilla's children and teenagers and the filmmakers have given them a sterile exercise when they hunger for dreams.
Speaker 2:Sometimes I feel like he just waxes poetic just for the sake of it.
Speaker 1:But he wasn't a thesaurus and he also had to sit there and say, oh, I went to the kane's film festival you went to watch godzilla the kane's film. No wonder you had a bad time. Nobody wanted, nobody went. There was going to enjoy it.
Speaker 2:I'm glad that they named a mayor after him, because that is an awful review.
Speaker 1:That's what I was going to bring up was that apparently Emmerich had beef with Ebert and his partner, siskel, when they were reviewing movies back in the day, so he made the mayor of the movie and his partner based off of them, and which Ebert and Siskel played it off. They're like well, I was the mayor.
Speaker 3:That was kind of cool, like why didn't he just murder us? Or like have us get stomped out, or something like that's true, that's fair.
Speaker 2:Maybe he just thought well, that's a little too far, but I am gonna tell you how I feel about you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I respect you, but I'm not gonna kill you off yet right, so obviously ebert's right, in line with all the other critics of the time. I don't know, I just I just think it's. It's a movie that's enjoyed it's, and I think its ultimate sin was that it was a godzilla movie.
Speaker 1:In the sense that it its biggest sin was that it had godzilla in the title had you given this any other title, people probably would have sat there and with the same kind of vibe as independence day and gone another great blockbuster, another kind of great disaster movie, sci-fi thing.
Speaker 3:Really enjoyed it yeah, that's a really good bring up. I bet you, if it was named something else, it would not have the repute, not even reputation, that's the wrong word. But the, the, the baggage yeah the baggage that that the movie has. I agree for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I agree with that, yeah so we're taking this to 2007.
Speaker 1:So, before we do all of our casting stuff, we got to break down the year we're going to. We got to get into the mo, we got to get the vibes out there, exactly what kind of mindset the world was in when this movie is going to come out. So we're going to start it off with the box office for 2007. The top 10, ladies and gentlemen, starting from the bottom of the top. At number 10, we have Gerard Butler in 300. For those of you that like some abs and some slow motion action. At number nine, we have Alvin and the Chipmunks. Who did this? Who allowed?
Speaker 1:this to get who went to watch.
Speaker 2:Ash, how many times did you watch Alvin? No comment.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right. Number eight National Treasure 2, book of Secrets the very subtle performances of Nick Cage's career as we've come to find His Disney years, as you will. Number seven we wrap up the Jason Bourne saga with the Bourne Ultimatum and I'm still confused about what exactly happened. At number six, we have I Am Legend by Will Smith and Company, which is getting a sequel based off of the alternate ending.
Speaker 2:How far are they going for sequels now Get excited for that, guys, because it's alternate history now.
Speaker 1:At number five. We got Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Speaker 3:It's the fifth one. It's my least favorite.
Speaker 1:Least favorite? Yeah, it's my least favorite out of them.
Speaker 2:You also oh wow, the book's really good though. Yes 100%.
Speaker 1:I agree with that. Maybe the HBO season will be better.
Speaker 3:I've got mixed feelings about it, man.
Speaker 2:At number four we wrap up the original Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy with at world's end.
Speaker 1:Get some sweet, sweet davy jones cgi, which has yet to be bettered. Very good at number three, we start another franchise with shia labeouf and megan fox with transformers michael bay that was a big movie film, yeah went off the rails after that, but hey, we all got to see optimus prime in his prime yeah number two uh, shrek, the third, in my opinion the lesser of the shreks I think the fourth one's way better oh interesting, emotional.
Speaker 1:The fourth one actually very yeah, for sure for sure, and at number one, of course, the other trilogy cap. We have a lot of trilogy cappers today, ladies, gentlemen, but it's spider-man 3 which is so much better than people give it credit for yes, I love spider-man.
Speaker 2:3 yes hallie thank you, I love it. Thank you for saying that out loud because I agree with you. I love the third movie, absolutely love it Well another time, maybe another podcast?
Speaker 1:Probably not.
Speaker 2:Nick's eyes are going red right now.
Speaker 1:He's like what? Pretty sequel heavy. Pretty trilogy capper heavy. Nothing surprising here, but let's move on and see what the critics actually liked this year at the 80th Academy Awards. So put on your bow ties, your bolo ties, a dress, if you prefer, allie Dale, whatever you want, you know. But this year at the 80th Academy Awards, a supporting actress was given to Tilda Swinton for her performance in Michael Clayton. Supporting actor was given to Javier Bardem for no Country for Old Men for his coin-flipping villain Sugar.
Speaker 1:Best actress went to Marion Cotillard for La Vie en Rose, a very, very artsy movie, because I haven't watched it yet. I only saw a clip at the Oscars. Have you seen it, ash? Yeah, it's quite a good film Ash is making us feel more reputable here.
Speaker 3:I just fancy her, she's a very good look, that's great.
Speaker 1:That's her, she's great yeah, uh, best actor at the oscars goes to daniel day lewis, for there will be blood against very stiff competition. George clooney, johnny depp, tommy lee jones and vigo mortensen in sweeney, todd and valley, ela, michael clayton and easter promises so that takes us, yeah, very solid cast or list of nominees there for best picture the Sweeney, todd and Valley Hila. Michael Clayton and Easter Promises Very solid list of nominees there. Best Picture the nominees there Will Be Blood. Michael Clayton, juno.
Speaker 3:Interesting. I didn't know Juno was nominated.
Speaker 1:There's always the one, the crowd pleaser. That's a great one Atonement and, of course, the winner no Country for Old Men. Do you guys agree with that? Best Picture winner? It was that whole thing.
Speaker 2:No Country for Old Men Do you guys agree with that Best Picture winner? It was that whole thing where there Will Be Blood and no Country for Old Men were shooting on the same studio, weren't they? And they were basically sharing the awards, but I think so, yeah, I think that was the best film.
Speaker 3:I think so. I will admit, no Country for Old Men was a little overhyped for me, so when I watched it it was really fantastic, don't get me wrong. And javier bardem absolutely deserved uh best actor or best supporting actor.
Speaker 1:It's the ending's unexpected.
Speaker 3:There were a couple of points where I was like I don't really understand this, but okay, but it was great, no no, I think you're right, ash, that it was definitely the year of there will be blood, no country for old men.
Speaker 1:Um, but also just kind of a dark year because, sweeney todd, you know it's a lot of revenge, plot based stuff. Eastern promises is a pretty dark movie, yes, but it's it. I always reference to cory. This is the year that jimmy kimmel at the oscars is like does hollywood need a hug?
Speaker 3:we all needed a hug, ellie dale we all did, and atonement was also pretty, pretty, pretty dark I haven't yet to watch that one that has one of the. Without trying to spoil it, it has a very shock ending yeah, okay, that's what I'll say, though I really enjoyed it yeah add it to the list.
Speaker 1:But speaking of movie notable films, there's plenty this year to pick from. I don't want to go through them all just yet, because I want to hear what you guys have would like to see, have seen that you want to note about this year. Um ash, I'll start with you. What's that? What's a notable film from 2007 that we haven't discussed yet?
Speaker 2:yeah, I mean, I was just looking through the list and I think ali said there was so many great films out that didn't really get any recognition. But I think you know, as soon you know, you let time do its thing and you look back and oh, that came out in 2007. But the one for me was, um, you know, strangely enough, a film where killian murphy is playing a scientist for a nuclear bomb, but it wasn't oppenheimer, it was sunshine and this was a sanny boyle film, um, and it was just before he won the oscar Slumdog Millionaire, and it's one of the you know what, given Ridley Scott's done so many, and all those good space movies out there.
Speaker 2:This is one of the best space movies I've ever seen and it's got. It's really good.
Speaker 3:It is a very good one.
Speaker 2:The soundtrack is immense. It's absolutely fantastic and I think every single person in this movie there's only eight characters in this movie are just on point. You get every single character and I think Cillian Murphy does such a good job there, Sort of a taster for what's to come after that, because he was also in Red Eye, I think that year as well, with the Wes Craven movie yeah Red Eye's great too. Yeah, Sunshine for me just because of the soundtrack and the movie was just very arty in space. I kind of like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that one's great and it's a great Mark Strong performance.
Speaker 2:Chris Evans, yeah.
Speaker 3:Oh that's right, I forgot Chris Evans was in it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I'll, I'll, I'll toss it over to you now. What, what movie would you like to note?
Speaker 3:So I was really excited Cause I've actually seen like half of the movies that are on this list. Um, uh, one though that I I've never seen, but I remember in high school it was really popular. One of my best friends is a huge, or one of my high school best friends is a huge Beatles fan. So, um, across the universe is one where I remember because YouTube that's really when YouTube started ramping up and I remember her showing me a couple of the scenes from the movie, like the hey Jude part and a couple of the others, and um, so, yeah, that's, that's what I would like to see. I've never seen it, it's just one that you know I think would be, would be fun to watch.
Speaker 3:But, yeah, there's a lot of really great movies this year that came out this year, except for the mist that one can go away forever you don't like the mist alley listen, I had a three hour like mental breakdown, I feel like we need to talk about it after the podcast yeah, we'll have a debriefing yeah, we'll have a therapy moment afterward yeah, we'll talk about the ending so, uh, with you know, yeah, like you said, ash, uh, there's tons of movies this year that have come out.
Speaker 1:I mean, just to name a few ratatouille if you're a kid's pixar fan, uh, you know. You've got the simpsons as well. Came out their movie, but knocked up live free or die hard. American gangster, uh, disturbia, no country for a man. We've talked about 1408s, a lesser known kind of horror psychological john cusack movie uh 310 to y, which we just came out with.
Speaker 1:Go listen to that episode as well. But we also have. I'm going to bring up one of my favorites always and it's not shoot them up, but Smokin' Aces. Both are great, but Smokin' Aces in particular, it's just all the assassins coming in to kill this one guy, this magician. It's a fun time. I'd always recommend watching it.
Speaker 3:So I'll have to add that to my list, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, Ryan Reynolds, Is it like there's a ton of people in it Like I came in, like I think not Chris, Chris Pines in it.
Speaker 3:One of the Chris's yeah.
Speaker 1:One of the Chris's is in it, like it's. It's a long list of people, but it's a lot of fun, it's so good. All right, so we have an idea of the year we're going to. We talked about the movie, so before we get to casting real quick I just want to ask the final question we always do how does this movie change from 1998 to now being in 2007? Ash, I'll throw it to you first. What do you think about changes that?
Speaker 2:are made. I mean, it's not that far away, but at the same time, a lot has changed. I mean a lot has changed. Um, yes, I mean 2007 kind of doesn't know what it is yet, but it knows, it's trying to. You know, it's trying to have fun. The franchises are in full swing, as we've heard from the top 10. Um, I feel like the noughties exist as a decade, not a singular year, whereas 1998, 1999, each year has its own characteristic, whereas I don't think you know that there is a year in the noughties that has that. I think it just exists as a decade as a whole, whereas 1998 is a year, and we know why. In 1999 is a year 1994, lion king speed. Because you could, you could argue.
Speaker 1:You could argue almost like there's three different eras. In the 90s there's the early 90s. It's kind of like we talked about on our episode, our mini. So for ready to rumble, there's the early 90s were crunching everything. So the forefront, the mid 90s, and they had the late 90s which are like, yeah, it's, it's a duality, because it's like one minute we've got austin powers, at the other minute we've got fight club, over here we've got american beauty, and then over there is, uh, godzilla 98 you know, so yeah it's a very strange.
Speaker 1:There's a lot of experimentation going on, but yeah the 2000s it's. It's after the bubblegum pop scene, but there's remnants of that, but it's its own singular kind of idea. It's also from an American point of view. It's the latter years of the Bush era. We're post 9-11. We're kind of right into the Iraq war. So there's a lot of like those politics and themes and stuff going into movies and stuff.
Speaker 1:So you're getting a lot. I think that's why you're getting a lot of those serious kind of movies like there will be blood, like um 310 to yuma and stuff. They're touching on a lot of darker stuff as well. So I don't know if godzilla necessarily completely reflects that. We are also at a time where batman begins casino royale. All the big brands are also getting their gritty, realistic kind of feel.
Speaker 1:Yes, but as we saw in the top 10. You're getting a lot of still the end of a lot of franchises that came through the 2000s, with your spider-man, which also went dark. Uh, pirates of the caribbean also went dark.
Speaker 3:Harry potter also went dark yeah, yeah, that one's, yeah, that one's, a dark one which is just also kind of a trend of franchises.
Speaker 1:it's like you, always there always seems to be like this slow move into dark a little bit, uh, with the characters and the heightening of of storylines and stuff. But I think godzilla just maybe I don't know if it finds like its niche in like reflecting on things like the war in the Middle East or anything of that nature, like it did in 54 with the original Godzilla nuclear fallout. So I don't know, I think it'll be interesting if there is any of that kind of commentary that would be brought forward with that kind of movie, or if they would just kind of go the route of Transformers and stuff and go this is just big dumb fun, you know, yeah that's fair.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I could see it going either way. Honestly, I would hope that they would want to do big dumb fun, but you never know, because transformers I'm trying to think of what other movies came out that time that were big blockbusters like that.
Speaker 3:That were just big dumb fun in 98 or 2007, I'm trying to think, but I can't really think of any, because transformers, I feel kind of introduced like a whole kind of different way of I don't know, just introduced a different sort of filmmaking. I guess is what I'm trying to think of I agree with that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think transformers had that sort of second wind of the 90s because it had it was lincoln park soundtrack, it was a new cast, it was you know it was. It was people our age at the time. That was the main characters and that was something that was really random, because charlotte buff was our age and megan fox was our age. Yeah, in the 90, they were always about double our age. So I think we'd caught up to the main characters and the antagonists of the main film. So I think that's what Bay was trying to do and I don't think I honestly think that was sort of the last proper blockbuster we've had before the superhero era, to be honest, the Transformers than like your your fantasy series, like harry potter would still wrap up a few years later after this.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're getting. The year after this is dark knight and then an iron man, so you're jumping.
Speaker 2:This is really the last time you see comic books take over.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, the comic books do take over for sure that's interesting.
Speaker 3:I'll have to think on that because I I never that, never even crossed my mind, but that's a really valid without transformers alley, you don't get your godzilla kong hey man, oh bless michael bay, armageddon and transformers.
Speaker 2:Let's go michael bay is. You know, I think he's going for a third wind, honestly, because the 90s he just took charge of and transformers after the first one, it was just sort of like I don't know what he's doing. Kind of well, I think it's so hard to get like it. Kind of denis villeneuve is kind of doing it with dune because he's such a good director and I feel like he's now caught up with dune. He has to finish it. So it's taken him away from what he could do. Yeah.
Speaker 2:I think, I think, like Armageddon and the rock, like they're my favorite films of his Um.
Speaker 1:I always say that Bay Bay is at his best when he's not tied to an IP and he's allowed to just do whatever he wants.
Speaker 3:He can just be Michael Bay and include as many explosions as he wants no-transcript to start some casting.
Speaker 1:Are you guys ready?
Speaker 3:I believe. So yeah, all right, we'll see ready or not ready, or?
Speaker 1:not Ready or not, here we go, 2007. Don't come and marry me. I'm going to ask MJ to marry me. It's very deep, it's very deep Jesus Christ.
Speaker 2:It's Jason Bourne. My name is Optimus Prime. I will know what we can do.
Speaker 3:This is Sparta.
Speaker 2:Sparta, you have arrived.
Speaker 1:Now, before we start casting, there are rules. We don't just go through this thing willy-nilly. We've got some things in line to make sure you two just don't pull anybody out of anything. So the rules are number one whoever you cast must be alive. They cannot be dead. They must be living at this time in 2007. Number two anyone you cast must be free. They cannot be dead. They must be living at this time in 2007. Number two anyone you cast must be free to do so. They cannot be in prison a prisoner of war, I guess in this case they'd be in the Middle East or anything of that nature. They have to be able to show up on set.
Speaker 1:Basically, pregnancy it's a touchy subject, we're not sure yet. Number three anyone you cast must have an acting credit this year, at least one credit in this year or prior to. We usually use IMDB. We do not count television or voiceover work. We acknowledge that those are things and they're real and they're important, but for the sake of our sanity and the show, we just count movie credits. We are flexible on casting teenagers and kids, so you can cast a teen kid. Luckily this doesn't matter in this episode, but usually we have a buffer of about three years or so. And finally, the most important rule number four anyone you cast in this movie will lose all major acting credits from this year we've traveled to. So if you're like a Nicolas Cage and you like to do like seven movies in one year, sorry about you. You're going to lose those movies if somebody casts you. So, depending on who the director is, you've got to pick your people wisely. So, speaking of the director, you two are casting Ali and Ash, that is, and I will be the director this time. I don't know how I got put in this spot, but here I am. You two will present me with two distinct cast lists that I will choose between to create the ultimate new cast list for Godzilla.
Speaker 1:I have two power-ups, just to instill some order in the chaos. The first one, the switcheroo. At any point I can retroactively change or any two actors that have been placed on the board in their respective roles. They can move these. I can move these two actors at any time. So, basically, at any point in the thing I go. You know what I like that person here and I'm gonna move that person in their spot, and we don't do it very often, but it's a fun thing to throw out there here and there.
Speaker 1:The second and most important power up the override is if the director doesn't like either of the choices, they have the option to insert their own pick into the role. But it can only be done once per episode and must be done during the casting of the character in question. Cannot be done retroactively, must happen on spot. So basically, if I don't like either of your choices, I get to go. You know what? Here's my guy, here's my girl. We're gonna go with this way and there's nothing you can do about it.
Speaker 1:Oh so, before we get into our main cast, we do have our 30 seconds or less round. Now, the 30 seconds or less round, this is what we would refer to as below the line cast, or just our supporting cast, and these are characters we love and we think they're great, but they just either the screen time it's too small or we just have to be respectful of our time here, for you listeners and our own time. So this is kind of a speed cast. We're just going to name a role and each of you will give your picks as I choose them in rapid fire. You, you're not bound to the rules here. We just treat this as a cameo. Basically rule like we do up top. Our goal is to try and work through these roles in 30 seconds or less. Are you guys ready?
Speaker 3:I believe so. We'll see, we shall see. That seems to be the theme of the day.
Speaker 1:It's like we'll see how this goes. It's all going to be so fun so from the bottom to the top, we have Sergeant O'Neill played by Doug Savant. It appears that people know him from Desperate Housewives and Teen Wolf. Dr Elise Chapman, played by Vicki Lewis. Finding Nemo and Pushing Tin are her credentials. Mayor Ebert, I guess I don't. Is his name actually Ebert in the cast listing?
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's Mayor Ebert.
Speaker 2:They did Ebert in the cast listing, yeah, so they did not hide this at all.
Speaker 3:No, and it's yeah, yeah, it's very pointed. Take this Ebert Ratchet.
Speaker 1:So Mayor Ebert will be played by Michael Lerner. You may know him from movies like Elf or Barton Fink for you Coen Brothers fans. Harry Shearer is played by Charles Kamen. He is the TV host, news reporter, anchor guy. He's been in the Simpsons as a voice actor, he's in Spinal Tap and the Truman Show. So he's just kind of the sleazy TV reporter guy that our main lead actress is trying to get not with but get to hire her as a more permanent member of the show. Lucy Paloliti is played by Arabella Field. You might know her from appearances in Seinfeld and American Horror Story. A lot of the character actors are just TV type actors. They don't have very large, prominent roles, but you recognize them. There's those faces. And then, to round it out, we have Colonel Hicks played by Kevin Dunn. You probably know him as the dad in Transformers or you may have seen him in things like Warrior or Chain Reaction.
Speaker 1:So yeah, he's the colonel, that's just busting. Matthew Broderick's balls his entire life.
Speaker 3:That's about as good as I could put it so you guys ready?
Speaker 1:Yep, let's go. Okay, bottom to top. I will flip the imaginary coin Allie's going to go first and I will say a name and you give me your name, and then Ash will follow suit right after that. Okay, all right, and here we go in three. Two one, ali, sergeant o'neill, josh hartnett, josh hartnett, very interesting, okay, I like that.
Speaker 2:So far, okay ash, alexander scars good oh, that's a good one.
Speaker 1:Late era of teen teen heartthrob time. Josh hartnett, after lucky number seven or early alexander scars guard. It's a smaller role. Let's give skarsgård a jump start to his hollywood career. Here I'm going, skarsgård. All right, dr elise chapman alley, who you got? Allison hannigan ah, love me. Somehow I met your mother. That's a good one playing on the heartstrings ash, I've gone for american beauty's thorbert focus.
Speaker 3:Oh I just watched that for the first time did you like? It?
Speaker 1:yeah, it was, it was weird it's a weird movie, especially especially now. Yeah, that's why anyway, sorry anyway, uh, yeah, thorbert, she's great. Um, you know, I think alison hannigan, just for the comedic chops and stuff, she's gonna have a lot of fun, uh, cutting it up with all the scientists and stuff. I like that pic a lot. Yeah, all right for mayor ebert now. Uh, ali, who do you have to play? A critic, I guess, or just a mayor of new york?
Speaker 1:wayne knight wayne, that's okay. Yeah, that's that. Him and michael leonard could just be brothers, basically.
Speaker 2:So I can see that casting that makes a lot of sense to me.
Speaker 1:Uh, ash, who do you got?
Speaker 2:I had wayne knight, but I changed it. I've gone for a different part. I'm like who else gonna be? I've gone for alan ruck, who you might know from speed twister. Yes, or?
Speaker 1:succession or from ferris bueller yeah I like you know what I think. I think that's fun, like it is fun to lean into the michael lerner role a bit, but I like the idea of alan ruck being the the trying to piece everything together while his city's falling apart like anxiety induced person.
Speaker 2:So I'm gonna go with alan ruck here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay very cool, very cool. Alright, his, the TV counterpart. The other antagonist, antagonist of the show, harry Shearer, ali, who do you got?
Speaker 3:Timothy Oliphant is that how you say his last name? I think, right, oliphant. Yeah, alright, that would be fun.
Speaker 1:A little more heartthrobby this way yeah, he's kind of a he's a good looking guy. He's more than that, but Santa.
Speaker 3:Clarita Diet.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 3:So, he's.
Speaker 1:This is right before Justified, I believe so he'll be. Yeah, I could see him. He's good at playing a jerk too, so like you can easily see it being like.
Speaker 3:He's also funny too, because, like Ash said, santa Clarita Diet, he's really funny in that, so funny, alright, who who you have to challenge that ash?
Speaker 2:I, I love timothy. That's such a good pick and I just want to tell you he was the studio's choice for iron man. By the way, at this time, really, yeah and uh, john fabbro was the one that persuaded them to go for robert downey jr, but the studio wanted timothy.
Speaker 1:But anyway, studio doesn't know everything all the time, guys, that's true, there you go um.
Speaker 2:I've gone for christopher mcdonald, who you might know from happy Gilmore. Oh that's a really good one, that cheesy smile.
Speaker 3:That's fun I like that a lot. That's a good one. Dang, that could be a lot of fun.
Speaker 1:I think we're going to go Timmy Oliphant though.
Speaker 2:I feel like he's going to fit the cast just a little bit better.
Speaker 1:In my opinion, christopher's fun, though we don't get to see him a lot on the show.
Speaker 3:So I, in my opinion, christopher's- fun, though we don't get to see him a lot on this show, so I'm glad he got brought up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's a good one. Okay, lucy, who do you have for Animal's wife?
Speaker 3:Julie Bowen from the Middle.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, and also Modern Family right Modern Family.
Speaker 3:That's what I meant, not the Middle.
Speaker 2:My bad, the main wife of the show. Yes for an early Kerry Washington actually.
Speaker 3:Oh, I like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm going, kerry.
Speaker 3:Washington. No, no, no that's a good one. That's the right choice.
Speaker 1:Alright, let's round this 30 seconds or less up. Colonel Hicks, Ali, who do? You got Ron Perlman. Ron Perlman Okay very intimidating Hellboy himself. Okay, I can see that. I can see that.
Speaker 2:Ash, who do you have? Yeah, I've gone for the sort of same kind of person. I've gone for David Morse from the Rock Green Mile.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes yes, he's going to be in a jerk? Yeah, but he comes around in Green Mile for sure, especially.
Speaker 2:He's one of the characters.
Speaker 1:Man, that's a tough one. I think I want Ron Perlman just because it'll be like oh it's Bomber, we love him hey look at him. Demos is a great choice as well, too, but I think that's going to be a great trailer. You throw him in the shot. You're like, oh, ron Perlman's in this, yeah, all right. Well, that's 30 seconds or less.
Speaker 2:I feel that's a pretty solid cast. It blends between some some dramatics and some comedy here, and you kind of need that in this movie, especially with this script for sure I'm impressed.
Speaker 1:Ali timothy is actually a good pick. I really like that one. That's a lot of fun. Yeah, it's a little different than the original charles caben role where he's a much older character, where timothy's just gonna be like this playboy of like. Yeah, I'm used to this. Everybody wants me. Why don't you want me, kind of thing. Yeah, because, I'm a journalist, damn it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, listen to me, I don't know he can command a room, I'm just saying 100%.
Speaker 1:Alright. Well, we've gone through the supporting cast and the good news is that our main cast is smaller this time around. I just felt that we wanted to spend more time focusing on the top four. That's right four this time, and I think that each of them are great and they do really interesting work. And I think that each of them are great and they do really interesting work, and I feel like it's underrated a lot of them and we'll get into each one here.
Speaker 1:But just quickly run through our top four actors for this movie. We have Philip Roach uh, the French spy, I guess, if you will, who was played by Jean Reno. Uh, most people know him from a handful of things, mainly, uh, leon the Professional, amongst other smaller films like the Peak Panther and stuff like that. Uh, then we have victor animal payalati, however you say his name. Uh, hank azira of simpsons fame. He's a great comedic actor, pops up here and there a lot of other things, but that's mainly what people seem to know him for is playing many different voices in the simpsons. And uh, after that, we have audrey timmons, played by maria patillo. Uh, this is played by yeah, I said that, right aud Timmons, played by Maria Petillo.
Speaker 1:She's our journalist and she's our love interest and I would say other protagonist of the movie and our top person that we're going to put up here is Dr Nico Talopoulos, played by Matthew Broderick. So that's our top four. We're going to go through them from the bottom to the top, same as before. So, ali, you went first in the year or less. So that means ash, you will go first here. So we're going to start with philip roach you got a problem talking.
Speaker 3:Well, I know, sir, I'm fine. All right, keep it moving. Oh, thank you very much. Elvis presley movies. What's the game?
Speaker 1:played by jean reno. Uh, this is basically like we said earlier. He's a spy at first. You don't know if he works for the government the american government, whose government and then it turns out that him and his team of Frenchmen have a particular interest in Godzilla and are trying to basically just save the world in their own way. And when we get to the end of the third, towards the end of the third or second act, you know, they bring in Nick Tatopoulos to help them out and they discover the nest and pretty much is a big role in helping make sure that the day is saved. John Reno is great in this role. I think this is my first John Reno role ever watching. Maybe mission impossible, which he's also in. Those two probably were pretty close together for me watching period, but he's great in this. I think he's a lot of fun. They it's. They play off the whole French thing pretty, pretty pretty often throughout the movie. Um, any any other thoughts about it beyond that?
Speaker 1:I think it's actually quite rare to see someone who's meant to be like you know, the tough guy, the guy that's trying to help everyone out, the Steven Seagal, the executive decision guy being also the comic relief in the film as well, which is quite funny Because, like, yeah, yeah it's, it's an inversion, because in other movies, like he would be the lead, like that, the French Secret Service men, the Patriot, trying to cover up the mess, you know, he would be the lead guy and then the scientist and the and the journalist and the camera guy would all be the supporting cast, but he's actually a little lower on the totem pole than them, so it's kind of fun to see that apparently. Uh, useful facts is that all his french agents in the film are also called jean.
Speaker 1:Oh, well jean, jean, the only french name.
Speaker 3:There is apparently apparently I guess.
Speaker 2:So Americans, you call this coffee.
Speaker 1:Now I will concede that Jean Reno is a very French man and the accent's very there. So in this version I encourage you guys to think outside the box. We didn't have to stick to the French idea. You could play from different countries and cultures and stuff, whatever you wanted, but, ash, I'm going to let you go first. So tell me who is your uh secret service guy, who's your? Who's your uh philip roach?
Speaker 2:yeah, I mean I love this character. This is like, like I said, a very comic relief. So they need to have the ability to have comedic timing, especially with their culture, and I need someone. I mean, I think john renault was maybe super globally the bigger name, but I think matthew broderick was the the american name in this movie as well yeah, for sure for sure, but yeah, giorno came in off Leon and Mission Impossible, these big movies.
Speaker 2:So I didn't go for a big name, but I did go for someone who isn't from America but not from France, because the whole thing was it's from the French Polynesian and they wanted to be a patriot. So I tried to find someone who was actually not a name but someone who's got that military confidence. So, yeah, he's only done like two american films just prior to this, but they were two big movies. That was batman begins and the last samurai, and he's slowly establishing himself in that genre and he does later do a godzilla film uh, later down the line. So I will be picking ken watabi. You might know him as the fake raz al ghul in batman begins. Um, yes, but he has and he's an inception. Chris van olen took a liking to him.
Speaker 3:Yes.
Speaker 2:Yes, he's very much established himself. It has that intellectual man from abroad who comes over to wrap things up or give some wisdom, especially.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he's also movies. Yeah, a lot of people know him also from last samurai. That's his other big movie. So fantastic, yes, fantastic, that's a really good choice, really good choice, if you haven't watched Shogun yet, guys start watching it as soon as quickly.
Speaker 3:It's like I told you there's too many things to catch up on.
Speaker 1:It's true, that's true, I agree, I agree, okay, ken Watanabe, I like that a lot.
Speaker 3:Okay, very cool, very, I'm processing it. I'm going to, I'm going to process it. I just could not find somebody.
Speaker 3:It's hard, it was tough it was really tough, so instead I decided to go with Antonio Banderas the only movies that he's in this year or he's really just voice acting this year, because he is in Shrek the Third, of course, as Puss in Boots, but he's also doing Borderlands and he's also doing a couple of other things. Yeah, that's what IMDB said. I'm just doing what the people said, but yeah, I think that he would be able to command and be able to play that presence that John Reno needs.
Speaker 3:I think it could be really interesting.
Speaker 1:Both have interesting charisma. Obviously, antonio has that typical, a little more leading man charisma, and then Ken Watanabe has that very stilted but yet very mysteriousness about him. So I like those aspects for both of them a lot. It's a really tough one, um, but I like the idea. So you could go with antonio or like either he's from the spain secret service or something, or mexico, if you wanted to go that route as well. But with ken, oh wait, with ken you could go to the full japanese tie-in. You have that option. You could def oh I, oh wait, wait. Oh no.
Speaker 1:Oh, ali, I'm so sorry dang it, yeah, dang it because if now now my brain's going, yeah, because this, okay, we talked about trying to fix this movie. We haven't talked about it. But one of the things you could do is ken is from japan's country and he's like, hey, we're trying to fix this problem. We've had this happen in the past before dang it there you go, nick, there you go.
Speaker 2:Why'd you?
Speaker 1:have to think about it yeah, yeah, yeah yeah okay, yeah, yeah, I like that because, yeah, because, yeah, because, then because, and because the thing people complain about all the time is that like they're like well, he doesn't look like godzilla or anything. So it does, if anything. You can almost say like him coming to be like well, that's not godzilla. I've seen godzilla, we took it happened.
Speaker 1:We don't talk about, it's disclosed if you wanted to that's good something a little more aloof, to where people that are fans of the toho stuff could go. Oh, it's not, actually it's.
Speaker 3:It's this version like the radiation affected them there's a different one, yeah there's ways to go with that.
Speaker 1:I like that a lot yeah that's good that's smart, that's smart. Yeah, let's get ken watanabe in there, let's, let's go a little tie in some toho japanese tie in there for us, let's write him down. Yeah, love it, love it. Love it very cool, very cool and there would have been fun though benderis would have been fun.
Speaker 1:It's the same it's just, yeah, it's very same energy as jean renault, where he's like the guy that because, because nick at the top of the list, he's just, he's not an action guy, so he has to have somebody to drag him through all this mess and so either guy, especially a younger, ken matanabi, at this point, like both. Both of them will be like. I've seen this before. Come on, you know, like when they're in the arena it's like it's time to go. I suggest we run.
Speaker 3:No, ken was the better choice, for sure on that one. That was a solid pick.
Speaker 1:Very cool, all right. Moving on, next up we have Victor Animal Pagliotti, played by Hank Azira, as I've said before, of Simpsons fame. He's uh, I believe he was the original voice for Apu, or yes and then he stepped down once it became like a little less culturally. A little problematic for him play that role a little bit, but he's, I think he's great in this role.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I don't, I agree.
Speaker 1:Like I, I wish Hank Azura had a. He's also in heat. I remember him being in heat Cause he talks about the scene with Pacino talking about he's got a great ass. He's in that scene Cause they're asked, they're like very naturally, like the rest of the time, and then he just screamed it like on the god, like the 90th take. So he's just like I'm this is that's just me being terrified, but other than that I think he's very. He's a lot of fun and I wish that he had gotten to do some some more prominent roles he's super fun in mystery men that whole movie in general.
Speaker 1:Is is just a load of fun a lot of just 90s gems he was a part of. He's a good he's a good actor just around around isn't he Never the lead really?
Speaker 1:Yeah, never really got the big push, but I just wish he had a bit more of a push as the supporting character actor type. But Animal is just the typical New Yorker a cameraman. He works at the same news outlet as Audrey and he's not afraid to break the rules, Allie Meaning that he's willing to film Godzilla walking down the street and almost get stepped on. It's probably one of the more iconic scenes in the movie. It was in the trailer and I always think of. I think when people think of godzilla uh 98, they often will think of that scene where he's just like frozen and freaking out. You know azir expressed his disappointment working on the movie. He said it's failure to boost his career profile as intended, noting he fell sick several times while shooting because they were. It was raining yeah, the entire time in the movie.
Speaker 1:Uh, he went on to say that godzilla, the poster child for everything wrong with Hollywood in terms of budget and marketing, uh, which I kind of agree with. Like they obviously rushed it a bit, they just pulled in these Emmerich brought his Emmerichness to it, but you could tell that he didn't have like the original Toho spirit in mind at all. Like we said, I saw in the comments he was like yeah it's whatever I'm gonna do.
Speaker 1:What I want to do, yeah, but apparently he mimics his Simpson character in a scene when he is looking for godzilla.
Speaker 2:I don't remember that do you remember that either it's um, it's the scene where he's about to film godzilla with the camera just before he gets stomped on and he goes, oh geez, just when he's on the camera oh, I didn't even catch on to that.
Speaker 3:That's right, because he's also mo in the simpsons.
Speaker 2:I forgot about that so he's like trying to tap the video into the recorder and he's like, oh geez, then he does that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay okay, very fun, okay. So ash made it, so ash, you get to take it here. So tell me who is your uh live wire of the group. I would say in in this movie who's your animal?
Speaker 2:yeah, so again, like I said, comic relief for the last character. But I guess this guy is sort of like the. You know the sort of outsider he you know he, he's linked with audrey, he doesn't really know, uh, nick, and he doesn't really know philippe, so you, know, there, um, but he is pivotal to this movie, um, and you want someone who knows new york.
Speaker 2:You want someone you believe lives in the city, because the city itself is a character as well. So it's just in manhattan. So I want someone you know has been there their whole life. So I've gone for someone a bit different. I haven't gone, I wasn't sure where to go with this one, like a big name or a small name, or someone who looked tough, someone who didn't look tough, because Hank Azaria is quite well built, but you don't, you never really exploit that in the film. So, yeah, I've gone for someone, and it's Tyler Perry. Now, I love Tyler.
Speaker 2:Perry um, and it was a, and I had about four other options before Tyler Perry, but he just kept coming back to my mind and I could see him as the new yorker. I could see him in that panic state when the foot comes down. He can do comic really well and I think he he has a lot of scenes of audrey as well, so he has to have that chemistry of audrey, that which is beautiful for me. So, and I think tyler perry if you've seen him in gongo as well, he's starting to play kind of a serious role.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he nails.
Speaker 2:Those scenes with ben affleck absolutely nails him and he has that sort of grounded quality to him. So yeah, good for tyler perry.
Speaker 1:For animal, yeah tyler is an interesting. I mean because obviously the medea movies are the thing and he has built this whole empire. You know he has a whole studio based out in atlanta. Now it's really interesting yeah, and he, he does. He has like this interesting mixture of comedy and when he does the drama pieces, just as tyler perry, so he knows how to do both. So that's okay, that's interesting, I like. Let me. Let me think on the alley. Tell me what you've got.
Speaker 3:Oh man, I I'm going to be honest I'm not a huge fan of my pick. I really struggled with this. This was a role that I had a lot of trouble with. I'm not sure why, um, but I I just went ahead and I chose Mark Wahlberg.
Speaker 2:I don't know.
Speaker 3:There was something yeah, there was something about where able to do the comedy of everything and the other guys, yes, um, when it comes to him being serious, I, I'm not sure, I'm not sure, and that's why this, this is a weird pick for me.
Speaker 1:Um, I'm not super confident in it. Be 100 honest, okay marky mark.
Speaker 2:Marky mark okay.
Speaker 1:So yeah, these are both interesting because it's like, uh, on one hand, tyler perry is very much, I think, known for comedy and then at the same time, mark does comedy but has always tried to be more of the serious action guy. Really, you would see him normally in like a lead role type scenario, but he's shown, obviously, like his ability to be, uh, you know, comedic with with will ferrell and stuff and other guys and things like that, or ted even yeah, ted, no, that's yeah.
Speaker 3:No, he's hilarious and Ted.
Speaker 1:Tyler's interesting because, while he has the ability to do drama and comedy, it's almost like he's got like a a split personality thing going on because, like you never see, them blend together that much that's fair if that makes sense, like when he's Medea. He's Medea, yeah, he's doing his dramas. It's drama. It's almost kind of like how the medea movies are. In a nutshell, it's like because they're very tonally, they shift a lot yes but people, but it's when they're when they're doing that scene.
Speaker 1:It works like it matches. It's just hey, we're gonna have some medea fun in the middle of this uh, domestic disturbance situation going on well, but I will say no.
Speaker 3:Ash has a point, though, when it comes to gone girl, because I remember seeing tyler per being like Tyler Perry's in this. What? Is this oh, I can't take this seriously. And then he knocked it out of the park as the lawyer, so I mean, that's a, that's a solid pick for sure, right and and the thing with Mark Wahlberg as well.
Speaker 2:I'm a big fan of Mark Wahlberg and he definitely can do serious acting like the fighter. He's absolutely phenomenal that's true. I forgot about the fighter big, big part in getting that movie made, and he does. He does serious acting in all of his comedies as well, but he just has that comedic timing. I think his timing is what makes comedy, the comedy really well done. But he's such a big name as well, so yeah, it's a.
Speaker 1:It's an interesting choice for nick yeah, I, I could see both, where both picks are coming from, and and I like aspects of both, but there's something missing, I think, from both. That's, I think you guys are gonna make me force my hand here, that's's fair.
Speaker 1:Oh cause, I'm looking for what with Hank Azir. He brought sort of a kinetic energy sort of there's a level of unhingedness to it where it fits into his character of like, well, I'm just going to do what I want to do or what I think's right. You know, when it, when it comes time for him to grab the camera, graham the willingness like Mark Wahlberg and Tyler Perry, I think both would be willing to like step out, get the cam shot and stuff but I want somebody that's a little fearless, a little bit of a daredevil.
Speaker 1:Hey, that's totally so my override, boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, will be the one and only jackass himself, johnny Knoxville oh, I don't mind that. I'm not mad about it. He's at the end of that current run of the 2000s where you're getting D, dukes of hazard, yeah, the a lot of different movies where he's trying to kind of be the next big kind of comedy guy. And he does. He does decently well. I enjoy him a lot of stuff and in the in the jackass movies he's kind of the bugs bunny character he's always just destroying his friends for his own amusement.
Speaker 1:And it's always so funny, especially in Jackass Forever. He has that taser and he finds the perfect moments to like they'll be laughing, something's going. He just goes hack and then you're like oh my God. Just laughing and rolling even more. But no, yeah, he's coming. He's done two Jackass movies. At this point he's voicing the Jackass game this year, which I don't know how jackass game I don't know how that would work at all, but I don't even know there is yeah, so and he has, he tries some action stuff as well.
Speaker 1:You know he he had done uh, walking tall, I believe was the one that he was in with the rock yeah, yeah, and then right before that he's doing the ringer.
Speaker 1:So that's oh yeah, that was kind of an interesting one to talk about, but he likes to kind of play in comedy but also some drama and stuff. But yeah, I just think he's. He has some similar energy to frank azira here and I think I like that. Yeah, I like having that in the mix, the concoction of our leading cast here. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna override you guys.
Speaker 2:So sorry, but we made him do it. That's the one sorry, yeah, maybe do it early.
Speaker 1:I'm kind of worried, but I, I have a good I, I I'm having high hopes here. You guys love this movie, so I don't think you're gonna screw it up.
Speaker 3:So I do love Johnny Knoxville too. That's a, that's a, that's a good one, that's true.
Speaker 2:He does fit the bill to for some reason.
Speaker 1:I thought you were going to go Stevo at first and I was like, oh my god, nick, he just rolls down the tubes. Godzilla, eat me, come on.
Speaker 2:I don't know how a.
Speaker 1:Stevo impression really works. Alright, we got him write it down up. Next we're up to the top two. First we're going to do Audrey Timmons, regardless of what happens to us, the most important thing is that this building be destroyed immediately before they can escape out into the city.
Speaker 2:Reporting live from madison square garden. This is audrey timmons for widf news played by maria patillo.
Speaker 1:She is the former love interest of our main character, nick. She moved to new york, become a a respected reporter at that and she's she's just too nice at heart. She's one of those types, you know, she, she just is so earnest, she wants to do the right thing, but she's not going to go cut any corners and that's why she doesn't sleep with Harry in the early parts. So she's trying like get the story across that gets stolen from her.
Speaker 1:So she learns her lesson, though, and she aims to do, to do him right and get the info out there to warn everybody. So she's just struggling with this chaotic nature of the city on top of a giant monster trying to throw everything into it. So I took that one. Ali, did you make the one before that?
Speaker 3:No, that was Ash.
Speaker 1:So, ash, it's back to to you. So who? Do you have Ash or Audrey.
Speaker 2:Yes, so, audrey, I actually adore the character. I don't think. I've seen the actress In much besides maybe a guest episode of Friends.
Speaker 1:She got hated on in this movie and I don't get it. I don't get it because, like she got a Razzie Award for worst supporting actress. She nails this character? I don't know. I think she just suffered. Sometimes actors get tied to a quote, unquote, bad movie, yeah, and they're just the one that receives the most of the blame. Yeah, like that girl and you're like no, she did. She was perfect in the role.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I have no criticism of her.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, I mean, did exactly what she needed to for the role and I believed her and, like we, we know how to describe it because she did her job. So, yeah, I think people just hate on people for the sake of it. I don't. And it still happens today and it's like, well, you know, if you hate an actress, why you don't know them like you know you can have, you can have your opinion, which is great, but to not watch anything else that they've done is just and sometimes I don't mind it, because you want the chance for them to prove you, you know, prove you wrong yeah, I just you know, for me.
Speaker 2:I mean I loved her in this role and I'd love to have seen her in something else to see what she could have done. But I mean I haven't seen her in any like mainstream or commercial films. But yeah, it's sad that people just grab onto this like she.
Speaker 1:She suffered kind of the same fate as the lead actress from the super mario brothers movie from 93 who played the princess. Like they're kind of both kind of similar paths there. You know, like blizzard people in new york city yeah, I mean it's, it's hollywood, isn't it?
Speaker 2:I mean it's kind of like what happened to ashley judd as well. So it's just like yeah, people, you know, public opinion is like scripture at the moment. So for sure, for sure anyway, this, uh yeah.
Speaker 2:so I've gone for someone it's actually quite sad talking about this because she's no longer with us, um, but she's a fantastic actress and, um, I love her to bits and she has that, that charisma. And I've seen her in a film with sandra oh um, which was hilarious and it's just about them two fighting um. But I've gone for anhec um, who unfortunately passed away in the last two, three years, um, but if you've seen volcano with tommy jones, with that that charisma, that charisma that she has, she's so confident. She always is very dominant and I know this goes against type for this role, but I feel like I want a stronger, more dominant female character in this role to sort of and I think she is. She is more dominant than I think, nick in this role, but I want Anne Hecht to take it to another level.
Speaker 1:More headstrong, for sure, yeah.
Speaker 2:She is very headstrong, for sure. Yeah, she is very, very strong. You can tell from her authority, her presence, that she's always like trying to be one up on someone and she does it so easily as well. So, yeah, I've gone for anhec, okay okay, yeah, she's.
Speaker 1:She's known for a lot of more. I wouldn't say artsy movies, just a lot of drama, 90s and stuff. Like you said volcano she was in. I know what she did last summer six days, seven nights. Uh, she's also in the psycho remake from uh oh, that's right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 1:So not not mad about pulling her out of that, potentially, because why would you make a beat for beat? Remake of it was unnecessary um, but yeah, she's made a lot of tv. She was in john q. That's a underrated denzel washington movie as well that's a very sad movie.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's good, that's really good okay, I see, I see what you're going for there a little a more strong will. But she could definitely play like I'm just trying to do the right thing. I want to be a reporter. This is what my dream goal has been A little fish out of water. I could see that a little bit with her. She has a little more edge to her for sure, but I feel like she has the acting chops to pull back on it a little bit. Allie, who do you have to combat?
Speaker 3:So so I decided to go. Uh, mine's also blonde as well. I decided to go with amy smart, who is free this year. She's in just friends and the butterfly effect. She also was in varsity blues I think she has. Oh, I've never seen crank, but yeah, she's in that too, um, I guess.
Speaker 3:And so I think my my mindset with her is that she kind of has this like innocent look to her she's always had a very innocent kind of doe-like look to her, but I could also see her because, I mean, there is that one scene where she ends up um, what is it she?
Speaker 1:she takes the, the confidential tape away from nick in order to you know, and so I think she's I think she has the capability to be able to, um to you know, act really innocent and or be really innocent, but also be able to take those chances kind of be tempted by like oh well, I've seen how, how I'm not, you know, with the harry character it's shown like a lot of people cut corners to get ahead and she's seeing like maybe I have to play this game a little bit.
Speaker 1:Yes, exactly you know she dips her hand in, she opens, you know the the box, takes that, takes it out and realizes that there's ramifications for your actions yes so yeah, but no, amy smart's great, yeah, she's you know van, I believe she's the one in van wilder.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I think she's in Van.
Speaker 1:Wilder. And then Rat Race she's fun in that Starship Troopers. But yeah, Crank's the Jason Statham movie where he's got that thing on his heart and he has to keep moving or he dies.
Speaker 2:I've never seen it. That's a pretty good accent.
Speaker 1:Oh, thank you Halfway through that.
Speaker 2:I was like.
Speaker 1:I don't know if Ash is friends. Then I was like, hey man, well, there you go, there you go, confidence boosted.
Speaker 2:Well after that compliment ash, I apologize, but I think I'm gonna go with amy smart. No, I like amy. Smart is actually quite a good, it's a smart choice. Excuse the time, but no, I like it. I really do like that.
Speaker 1:No, I think I think the the the for lack of better phrasing bright-eyed and bushy-tailed aspect of amy smart she does look like the girl from a smaller town that's coming to town and then, with Anne, I think she just has a little bit more world-weariness about her. She's going to have to pull back more and where Amy has that kind of natural charisma that we're looking for about her.
Speaker 2:But yeah, I think I'm going to go with Amy here.
Speaker 1:Shout out to Maria Patilla I wish you were in more movies in the 90s and such, definitely, definitely. All right, rounding it out, we are at the top, top of the list, top of the cast, number one on the cast sheet. He is formerly known as Ferris Bueller, but in this movie he is Dr Nick Papopoulos, it's the top of us, played by Matthew Broderick, that's right. You know him very well from war games and things of that nature from the from the 80s and 90s, uh. But in this movie he's a scientist, he's the worm guy, as you might hear him be called time and time again. They don't seem to get his name right a lot. But uh, he's a scientist, a loner, still in love with audrey. He had proposed, and she said no ally, dill, can you imagine no, I can't and so now he's back in town.
Speaker 1:The government's called him in because the radiated nuclear radiated worms he's been studying give him direct ties to the radiated giant lizard that they're trying to track down in New York city. Who else are you going to call in this situation?
Speaker 1:But the worm guy but yeah, he tries to. He's trying to help the government and then he's trying to help Audrey at the same time and unknowingly, Audrey steals the tape and so they blame him for it, kick him out. And that's when Philip shows up to help him and the French team go in, take out the eggs and get out of there before they can blow up Godzilla.
Speaker 1:So, you need somebody who's a little quirky, kind of nerdy, but also has kind of leading man looks. It's a hard gamble here. It was something I thought about as well, because with most of these big blockbuster movies you want a leading man, you want a name here, but I don't really know if that's necessary. With a Godzilla movie, if you're trying to stay generally true to Godzilla, it's more about. There is the Godzilla part of it, the big giant pieces, the set pieces and stuff. But there's also the human aspect and oftentimes or not we've joked about this multiple times I'm like just I don't need the people. You could give me a 90-minute movie of Kong and Godzilla just fighting and I would watch it, but as.
Speaker 1:Minus One has shown us in 54 before it when you nail the characters and you make you care about the characters, that's when it's important and I do think in the 98 version I like all these characters.
Speaker 3:I like all of them. I'm rooting for them.
Speaker 1:They're likable apparently For maybe the lack, the not-so-well-aged graphics of Godzilla and stuff. Still, the characters are fun and engaging and you care about them and you don't feel like, oh, they're acting here or they're being terrible. I feel like Matthew was a really good combination for this role. He does have leading man looks, but he knows how to be quirky and fun, like he is in the producers and stuff. Yeah for sure? So anyway, uh, ali, you made that last one, so I guess we're.
Speaker 1:We don't keep points here, but here's the tiebreaker but, ali, who do you, who do you have in mind for uh?
Speaker 3:nick tatopoulos so this one was a tough one for me because as a kid I had a really weird crush on matthew broderick so this was a tough one, him and this and do not judge me, we're having honesty hour here, folks him and in this, an inspector gadget for some reason I had the biggest crush on him at this time biggest crush anyways. So this was a bit of a tough one for me, um, but I, I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna give you somebody that that maybe you wouldn't initially think of.
Speaker 3:But I think, he could do it he's proven himself by by this point, in my opinion, I'm going to give you Heath Ledger because by this point he's in multiple different roles. We've seen him as the bad boy in 10 Things I Hate About you but we also have just seen him in Brokeback Mountain. That came out in 2005 or 2006. So we can see that he can do serious roles. He's an attractive man, but I also think that he could nail it.
Speaker 1:Obviously yes, leading man. We're a year out from the dark night and his, his passing rest in peace, yeah but he, he is a. He's a leading man looks and he always went out of his way to try to be more than that. He always wanted to try and challenge himself. That's why he did more, broke back mountains, and this year it's I'm not there the Bob. Dylan movie, where he plays one of the versions of Bob.
Speaker 2:Dylan.
Speaker 3:One of like eight roles.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't know why you need eight versions of Bob Dylan.
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's wild.
Speaker 1:I guess I need to rewatch it.
Speaker 2:Yeah it's a good film.
Speaker 1:I can see a Dave Bowie eight versions, but I need to re-up on my Bob Dylan-ness here. History, history, I guess. But uh, it makes me think of brothers. Grim, yeah, because in that one he, him and matt damon are playing the brothers that write all the horror stories and stuff or the fairy tales. I'm sorry, they're more horror back in the day yes, yeah but he's more the quiet, mousy, uh very, keeps to himself loner yeah, so it's. So he has the ability for sure he's got the range for sure.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I could, I could see that yeah, especially off of the run.
Speaker 1:He's coming off of where it's it is. It's just kind of all over the place. It's not like. It's like well, he just did this movie because, like I mean, the last time the Patriot and a Knight's Tale were 2000, 2001 or feathers, like at this point he's just kind of all over the place experimenting and stuff. So I see, I see what you're going with there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I could see that for sure. You throw some glasses on him. You don't even need them per se, but I could see that working for sure. Yeah, okay, let me sift on that while uh, ash, give me who you've got for our Nick.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Um, I mean yeah, he pledges amazing and monsters ball, If you haven't seen that he's in it very scene, but he's good at it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely known for another scene, halle Berry, anyway. So right, nick DeTopolis, this is a hard one because it's not your typical protagonist or main star. Oh yeah, I was trying to reign in the name for this one because I actually agree that Godzilla should be the main character. It's followed swiftly by the city of New York, because I actually agree that Godzilla should be the main character. It's followed swiftly by the city of New York. And then you have like four people as an ensemble. So I kind of want them to all compliment each other.
Speaker 2:Now I'm giving this guy a bit of a revival. He's had a bit of a stint in this decade and he had a good period in the 95 to the 2002, 2003. And he definitely can do quirky, if anything. The word quirky, I think I can relate to him. Okay, um, but I want him to take it up a notch. And he was very good in a film with dealing with another monster and I kind of want that to be a running thing. So I am giving you david archette and I'm telling you why I'm giving you david archette because in eight-legged freaks he nailed the tough guy role.
Speaker 2:However, you look at his previous films. Even in screamer dewey he can nail the dweeb, the dork. Yeah, he has that in the bag, so he can play both characters at the same time quite well.
Speaker 2:And I kind of like his way of acting. I kind of want to give him that revival because because after eight-legged freaks for five years he's just doing a few film. Well, there's another big film that comes out, but it's. I just want, I want that guy to come back to Hollywood in a big way and not just in the screen franchise and I know someone's a big fan of Ready to Rumble as well. So I mean, obviously I mean I want to You're trying to play on my heartstrings here, sir.
Speaker 1:Yeah, a little bit. I was just thinking that I was like hmm, that episode that just dropped.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm playing a little dirty, but I do see him in this role because I think he can do both of the geeky and the leading man quality.
Speaker 1:Arquette's an interesting beast because he started up as this up-and-coming Hollywood actor. He was in a photo of all the serious actors, if you will quote-unquote, like the DiCaprios or the Bales of the world, and then he got stuck in Scream and it's almost like he went the route of a Sean William Scott. He's a goofball, he's the cutout.
Speaker 1:He's the typecast and it fits his character, like who he is as a human being. Like if you watch Rated to Rumble, that's very much what he is. And then you see like the documentary about him trying to redeem himself for the world of wrestling. It's very much like that.
Speaker 1:Don't know about david arquette, but then you kind of get to know, like that he has some more range than you think and so it's you, you want to root for the guy and you kind of wish he hadn't got pigeonholed into that role of the goofball or like the other steve stifler, you know, yeah, of that, of that period of time, oh, that tough. You both kind of played it by heartstrings, I think you're, I think you're both trying to cheat. That's the rule here. Love, love Heath Ledger. Wish we had gotten some more stuff out of him. There's plenty of roles that you can now look at in the past, like time since he's been gone and go. He could have been great in that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:And Arquette. Arquette's just that underdog you want to root for. Though I really want to put Heath Ledger here because part of my brain goes like, oh, you kind of need a leading man big name in this movie. And then part of me is also like, well, does David Arquette fit the character better? Yeah, I think we're going to give David Arquette the shot.
Speaker 3:That's totally fair. I think we're going to give it to him. That's a good one.
Speaker 1:I don't know if Corey's screaming while listening to this in the distance or not.
Speaker 2:He's probably jumping off a bridge right now.
Speaker 1:Probably. But I think he would understand at least hopefully, because Arquette is kind of the goofball In other roles. He can dial it back and you get to see what I guess the rest of Hollywood saw initially in the mid-90s and stuff Like oh, this guy has some stuff going on, he can kind of do both. So it he could, he can kind of do both so it's kind of the thing like you tell a joke and everybody suddenly goes oh, it's the comedian and then you're like no, no, no, I can do more, it's like no, no, no, make us laugh, come on, yeah, yeah, so exactly okay, yeah, we're gonna go david arquette, I think that's.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I feel okay about that yeah, I like that.
Speaker 2:So, man, you did not have an easy job, do it.
Speaker 1:I did not have an easy job, not I blame all of you for this.
Speaker 3:So You're welcome.
Speaker 1:Hey team, hey team, let's wrap this up. I'm going to give you the final cast of Godzilla in 2007. Starting from the bottom to the top, including our 30-year-old-est cast Sergeant O'Neill will be played by an up-and-coming Alexander Skarsgård. Dr Elise Chapman will cut jokes by Allison Hannigan of how we Met your Mother. Fame Mayor Ebert will be played by Alan Ruck of Spin City and Ferris Bueller's fame.
Speaker 1:Harry Shearer, the TV anchor, will get punched in the face by somebody, hopefully, and it's Timothy Oliphant. He's gonna woo a lot of women, I think. Apparently from Allie Dell's reactions here. Lucy Paolotti will be played by Kerry Washington. Colonel Hicks will be played by Ron Perlman. That'll be fun. He's just going to be cranky the whole time. We'll love it. Phillip Roach we'll change the name there a little bit. More Japanese, appropriate name here for Ken Wontanabe. Victor Animal Paolotti will be played by Johnny Naxville. Lots of hijinks and probably pain for Johnny in the future. Here. Audrey Timmons will we play by Amy smart and to wrap it up, dr Nico Talopoulos will be played by I can't believe I'm saying this, but David Arquette. That's a very 2007 cast. That's a fun.
Speaker 2:cast that rise, the line of, nailed that for the era it came out in.
Speaker 1:You two are the you two are the I love this. I enjoy this movie a lot, but you two seem to love it on just that. Next, just the step up above me, where I'm like, yeah, I love this. This was that 90s movie that I really liked it. But you guys really seem to be like no, this is great, I love this.
Speaker 2:Like yeah, you guys are pleased, I think we're.
Speaker 1:We've done our job here, so nobody's. Nobody's putting guns happy I don't hear a car screeching up to the parking lot outside, so I guess cory's okay with that I thought I heard a faint scream but now wait a minute something. But yeah, I think that's good. I think it's a good one. Yeah, the only other question I have left is what band do you want to play on the soundtrack? Because the soundtrack was a big part of this marketing deal.
Speaker 3:We can't include the one that was there Redacted is no longer part of this conversation.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and we can't want to release it. That's where dead movies go to die. This has to be a summer release.
Speaker 2:I mean, who was big in 2007? I'm trying to think.
Speaker 3:Well, there's also the emo that was kind of still going on during that time Some my Chemical Romance, maybe Some Fall Out Boy.
Speaker 1:I could see a Fall Out Boy song playing on this the Sane Ascene. It's an R first album had come out by that time.
Speaker 2:I'm just kidding, that would not work at all at all.
Speaker 1:Well well, I think we'll have plenty of time to think about that. Tell us what you think about this cast. Did you love it? Did you hate it? Do you love Godzilla? Do you hate Godzilla? We want to know what you think, so throw it into comments, shoot us a DM if you will on any of the social. Thank you so much for joining us for this episode. Ali, thanks for being on again. Ash, thank you for staying up late again with us to talk about one of your favorite movies from your childhood. I assume no problem. Pleasure to be here, awesome, awesome. Well, we hope to have both of you back here soon, but we will catch you all next time. Uh, ash, say goodnight Ash, goodnight Ash.