FH Mini 125 - Cinematic Mechanics

Elliott Kalan

[0:00] Welcome, one and all, to another episode of the Flophouse.

[0:08] Specifically, this week, it's a Flophouse Mini.

[0:11] What is a Flophouse Mini?

[0:13] Well, I'm so glad you asked.

[0:14] A Flophouse Maxi, you might say, is when we watch a bad movie and then we talk about it.

[0:19] A Flophouse Maxi pad is, you know, just for that time in life.

[0:22] Okay.

Dan McCoy

[0:22] And Flophouse Minis.

[0:23] I didn't need to do that.

Elliott Kalan

[0:25] Certainly not so early in the episode.

[0:26] And Flophouse Minis are when we take a little time to talk about-

[0:30] Click, drag, and drop, delete.

[0:32] When we take some time to do whatever we want.

[0:34] So we didn't watch a specific movie for this episode, but we're going to have a specific talk about a specific thing.

[0:39] And today, it's another episode of everyone's favorite Flophouse Mini that is being introduced this time.

[0:45] It's another episode of Cinematic Mechanic.

[0:48] That's right.

[0:49] Cinematic Mechanic, the Flophouse Mini, where we take a movie that maybe has machines in it

[0:53] and we get under the hood of this lemon and tinker with it to make it into a movie that maybe, just maybe, would work.

[0:59] Today, we're in the middle of an unofficial theme stretch.

[1:03] Obviously, our MaxFunDrive ended.

[1:04] Thank you so much, everybody, for the pledges you made during MaxFunDrive.

[1:08] We really appreciate it.

[1:09] It's going to keep the podcast going.

[1:11] It means we can put the time and the effort and the energy into it that we really want to.

[1:14] And it means that we're going to keep going into your ears and then into your brain and then to your memories for hopefully – for another year at least and hopefully many years to come after that.

[1:23] So first, I want to say thank you very much for your pledges during MaxFunDrive.

[1:28] If you didn't pledge, you can still go to MaximumFun.org slash join.

[1:32] You can still join when it's not the drive.

[1:34] You know, please do.

[1:35] Why not?

[1:35] Anyway, we had our run of movies without Spider-Man in them, which ended with heart beeps.

[1:40] That was last week.

[1:41] Next week, we're going to be watching The Electric State, so we kind of segued into a robots theme month, this kind of secret theme month of robots.

[1:49] And I want to talk about robot movies.

[1:51] Having just watched heart beeps, I want to say let's get into heart beeps and cinematic mechanic that thing as we do every time we become cinematic mechanics and make this a good movie about robots.

[2:02] So, Dan, Stu, the first thing I want to talk about is what makes a good movie robot.

[2:08] Like what is a good robot for movies, but also what's a good robot movie?

[2:13] Because those are not the same things.

[2:15] You know, a robot movie and a movie robot, the best movie robots are not necessarily in the best robot movies.

[2:20] Because let's talk about it.

[2:21] What do you think are the best robot movies?

[2:23] By which I mean the best movies with robots in them.

[2:26] Not Robot in the Family.

[2:27] Not Robot in the Family, which is surprisingly like heart beeps.

[2:30] And I feel like we should have compared the two.

[2:32] They're both about kind of goldish colored robots that have incredibly annoying voices.

Dan McCoy

[2:38] So, there's like, there's, you know, organic material covering the Terminator frame.

[2:44] But the Terminators are essentially robots, right?

Elliott Kalan

[2:46] Without the flesh on them, they're basically robots.

[2:49] Yeah.

Dan McCoy

[2:49] Yeah.

[2:50] So, I'd go with, those are some great robot movies.

[2:53] I am a big lover of AI, even though some people don't like it quite as much.

Elliott Kalan

[2:58] Oh, Dan making a controversial statement.

[3:00] He loves AI.

[3:00] He wants it to replace real writers.

[3:03] He just thinks it's better than normal art.

[3:05] The Spielberg movie.

[3:06] You mean AI colon artificial intelligence.

[3:08] That one.

[3:08] We have to call it that.

[3:09] Yeah.

[3:10] Some other ones, heart beeps, tries and fails to do what WALL-E did very well.

[3:15] WALL-E.

[3:15] Yes, that's an obvious one.

[3:17] Top robot movie.

[3:17] Ex Machina, another great movie about robots in love.

[3:20] I'm going to say okay movie.

Stuart Wellington

[3:22] I like it better than Stuart.

[3:24] The dance scene is really great.

Elliott Kalan

[3:27] I would say the Iron Giant is a great robot movie.

[3:29] That's about a different kind of love between friends, you know?

[3:33] Sure.

[3:33] But then you've got your movies like.

Stuart Wellington

[3:35] Batteries Not Included.

[3:37] Well, I don't know.

[3:39] Are you fucking kidding me about this shit, guys?

[3:42] Batteries Not Included.

[3:43] It's not a very good movie.

[3:44] They think he's a burner.

Elliott Kalan

[3:45] He's on the whole thing and they think he's a burner.

[3:47] The robots are cute.

[3:48] One day, Stuart, I want you to do a presentation about best almost burgers in movies.

[3:53] Did you ever do that?

[3:53] It just leads into the.

[3:55] Everybody wants some.

[3:56] Everybody wants some.

Dan McCoy

[3:57] Stuart's thinking about burgers.

[3:58] This is going to lead into, I think, the second category where I will argue that

[4:02] the short circuit movies aren't necessarily great robot movies, but they have a great

[4:07] robot in them.

Elliott Kalan

[4:08] That's what I want to talk about.

[4:09] So, because there are some movies that are also great movies that have a robot in them

[4:12] that I don't consider robot movies.

[4:14] Movies like The Day of the Earth Stoodsdale has a great robot in it.

[4:17] Don't consider that a robot movie.

[4:18] Wizard of Oz.

[4:20] The Tin Man's basically a robot, right?

[4:22] Forbidden Planet.

[4:23] Forbidden Planet.

[4:24] That's got a great robot.

Stuart Wellington

[4:25] I think we can all agree the robot in Interstellar is incredible.

[4:29] Yes.

[4:29] Oh, yeah.

[4:29] It's a great robot.

Elliott Kalan

[4:30] I don't love that movie.

[4:31] Rocky IV, of course, is the combination of both.

[4:33] It's a great movie with a great robot in it.

[4:37] It's not a great robot movie.

[4:38] No, but it's not a great robot movie.

[4:40] Exactly.

[4:40] So, what makes a great movie?

[4:42] What is the difference between a great movie with a robot in it?

Stuart Wellington

[4:44] It would have been crazy if in the final bout in Rocky IV, Rocky's losing a looks over and the little robot's there and is like, you can do it?

[4:56] And he's like, I can do it.

[4:58] I know.

Elliott Kalan

[4:59] That would have been amazing.

[5:01] What would you say, Dan?

[5:02] Because then I have a question.

Dan McCoy

[5:03] Well, I'm going to try to answer the question you're asking.

[5:05] What makes a movie a great robot movie as opposed to a great movie with a robot in it?

[5:11] Like a robot movie.

Elliott Kalan

[5:12] So, I consider not necessarily a robot movie even though the robot plays a big part in the play.

[5:16] Right.

[5:16] You know.

Dan McCoy

[5:16] I think a robot movie always has a touch of the Pinocchio in there.

[5:20] It's about the like, what makes a human.

[5:22] Where did Pinocchio touch it, Dan?

Elliott Kalan

[5:24] Can you show me on the stall?

[5:26] Well, he lied.

[5:27] The nose?

[5:27] His nose just like shot out.

Dan McCoy

[5:29] I don't think it was purposeful.

[5:31] Sure, sure.

Elliott Kalan

[5:32] Of course not.

[5:33] Telling a lie is a choice, Dan.

Stuart Wellington

[5:35] No, but I think that there's a bit of like the like, what makes one human?

Dan McCoy

[5:40] What is sentience?

[5:41] Like that is always like part of like the movies that are robot movies.

[5:46] Like Chopping Mall.

[5:47] Like AI artificial intelligence.

[5:51] Like Short Circuit.

[5:52] Like Heart Beeps.

Stuart Wellington

[5:55] Yeah, Chopping Mall is kind of the best of both worlds, isn't it?

[5:57] I mean, Terminator is possibly the best soundtrack of any movie of all time.

[6:01] A little bit about that.

Elliott Kalan

[6:02] Well, so actually, Dan, that's a good segue into our segment right now.

[6:05] It's called Debotters.

[6:07] This is the debate segment about robots.

[6:09] Okay.

[6:10] And this segment is, so the issue is RoboCop a robot movie.

[6:16] Now, I'm going to put you guys on either side of this.

[6:19] Dan, Stuart, you're going to debate this issue with each other for points that will mean nothing.

[6:24] And so, Dan, I'm going to give you first choice because you're so fired up about this already.

[6:27] You get to choose, is RoboCop a robot movie or not?

[6:30] And you'll have to argue that side.

Dan McCoy

[6:32] I'm going to argue it is not a robot movie.

Elliott Kalan

[6:34] So, Stuart, you're going to have to argue that RoboCop is a robot movie.

[6:37] Okay.

[6:38] And, Stuart, because you didn't get to choose your side, you get to take the floor.

[6:41] You had less time to think about it.

[6:43] So, you get the opening statement.

[6:44] So, Stuart, is RoboCop a robot movie?

[6:46] You are answering resolved RoboCop is a robot movie.

Stuart Wellington

[6:50] I believe that RoboCop is a robot movie because it focuses on Alex Murphy, a human man inside who has a computer tied in with his brain.

[7:00] And we see the differences between when he is controlled by that computer and when, Dan, no interruptions.

Elliott Kalan

[7:09] For the listeners at home, Dan's face is incredulous.

Stuart Wellington

[7:12] Almost from the first moment.

[7:15] Dan is forming in his seats like I'm turning around the vibrating beads up his butt.

[7:20] I'm just reacting.

[7:21] The tingler is underneath Dan right now.

[7:23] And we also get to see the difference between RoboCop and a full-on robot,

[7:29] ED-209.

[7:31] And we can see the differences.

[7:32] ED-209 for full.

[7:33] And we can see the essential element in something that requires nuance requires a human touch,

[7:41] whereas something like ED-209 is just an unstoppable, unfeeling killing machine.

[7:46] So, in that way, I believe it is a – I'm not saying that RoboCop is a robot.

[7:50] I'm saying it is a robot movie.

Elliott Kalan

[7:52] Oh, wow.

[7:52] That strong argument.

[7:53] Dan, what's your rebuttal?

[7:54] Or rebuttal, I should say.

Dan McCoy

[7:55] Yeah, I was incredulous from the beginning because Stuart chose to start his argument out with,

[8:00] it's about a human, Alex Murphy.

[8:02] And that's the central, you know, argument I make.

[8:08] It is about a human, Alex Murphy.

[8:10] The last lines of the film are, what's your name, son?

[8:14] Murphy.

[8:15] He doesn't say, my name is RoboCop because he isn't a robot cop.

[8:19] He is a man inside a robo suit, and it is about knowing his humanity.

Elliott Kalan

[8:24] A robot suit.

[8:25] Dan, this is when the judge is going to come in.

[8:26] I just point out, maybe I'm doing Stuart's work for him,

[8:29] but the original tagline for the movie is, part human, part robot, all cop.

[8:34] Part man.

[8:35] Well, there you go.

Dan McCoy

[8:36] He's all cop.

[8:37] He's only part robot.

[8:39] Oh, okay.

[8:39] Interesting.

[8:40] All right.

[8:40] Turn around.

[8:41] The robot suit is essentially an aid.

[8:45] Again, I'm going to push back.

Elliott Kalan

[8:46] The judges are going to push back.

[8:47] Maybe I'm doing Stuart's job again.

[8:48] On the idea of suit, it's his physical body.

[8:51] Most of his body is robotic.

Dan McCoy

[8:52] It's an exoskeleton.

[8:53] It is – the brain is where the humanity exists, and the brain is intact,

[9:00] and the movie is a journey to him saying that his name is Murphy.

[9:05] His name is not RoboCop.

[9:07] He is Murphy.

[9:08] He is a man.

[9:09] There is a robot in the film, as Stuart indicates, Ed 209,

[9:13] but that is a supporting robot.

[9:15] That is not the primary character and the primary thrust of the film.

[9:20] Okay.

Elliott Kalan

[9:20] Now, closing statements for both of you.

[9:22] Stuart, you go first.

[9:23] What's your closing statement?

Stuart Wellington

[9:24] I think the essential element, the essential story of RoboCop is how – what makes us human

[9:30] and the differences and the necessity of keeping that humanity in a world that is becoming more robotized.

[9:39] Yes.

[9:40] And Dan, your closing statement?

Dan McCoy

[9:42] I believe that the theme of a robot movie is what makes us human, but it is explored through robots that become human-like.

[9:51] And this is a movie about rejecting the technologicalization of the man.

Stuart Wellington

[9:59] I would argue that kind of binary thinking is a robot talking.

Elliott Kalan

[10:03] I am a robot.

[10:05] This is the debate.

[10:06] This is the debate.

[10:07] Beep, boop.

[10:07] The debat community has been rocked by the accusation that Dan is, in fact, a robot programmed to debate.

[10:14] Oh, his disqualification.

[10:15] You know what?

[10:16] There's no winner, unfortunately.

[10:18] Oh, cool.

[10:19] This debate is being shut down.

[10:21] Best in both worlds.

[10:22] Nobody wins.

[10:23] I knew I should have had you guys tested by having you urinate into a cup.

[10:27] And when Dan's urine came out as motor oil –

[10:28] Just like in Blade Runner, right?

Dan McCoy

[10:29] Yeah.

[10:30] You have to pee in a cup?

[10:30] Yeah.

[10:32] This is our new test.

[10:34] The old one was really weird.

[10:36] Yeah.

[10:36] Deckard's like –

[10:38] All the turtle questions.

Elliott Kalan

[10:39] We realized when we looked at your eye while we asked you the weird questions, a weird person could just give weird answers and their eye might look weird.

[10:46] But if you pee and oil comes out, you're a robot.

Stuart Wellington

[10:50] Yeah.

[10:51] And Blade Runner 30-02 or whatever the next one, Deckard's like, okay, just pee in the cup.

[11:00] Harrison Ford's getting gravelly-er his time.

[11:02] Yeah.

Elliott Kalan

[11:02] It was incredibly gravelly, yeah.

Stuart Wellington

[11:04] Voight-Kampff.

[11:04] That's what I was thinking.

[11:05] Yes, it's a Voight-Kampff test.

[11:06] Well, because I couldn't remember it.

Dan McCoy

[11:07] I kept being like, Weyland-Yutani's from Alien.

Stuart Wellington

[11:10] Yeah.

[11:11] I was pretty desperately trying to find a way to make Voight-Kampff into a piss-related joke, but I couldn't do it, so I disabandoned it all.

Elliott Kalan

[11:18] It's so much easier to make it into a Mein-Kampff joke, which we don't – that's not what we're doing right here, no.

[11:23] That's not a joke, Elliot.

[11:25] We're going to give these replicants the Mein-Kampff test.

[11:28] No.

[11:28] To tell if they're actually Nazis.

[11:30] That's what's happening in the world.

[11:31] I'm a replicant.

[11:33] I'm not a – and so forth.

[11:36] So, guys, let's move on to what we were talking about before.

[11:39] Let's go back to movie robots.

[11:41] What makes – okay, so we talked about what makes a good robot movie.

[11:43] Dan says it is the theme of humanity and sentience.

[11:47] What does it mean to be a machine?

[11:49] What does it mean to be alive?

[11:50] I think that might be limiting this to human ideas of life and robotics.

[11:55] But, again, these movies right now are made for a human audience, so that makes sense to me.

[11:58] But, okay, it's about what it is to be human through the medium of robots.

[12:02] But what makes a good movie robot?

[12:05] So, as we mentioned, batteries not included.

[12:07] Stuart is still going to die on the hill that it is a great movie.

[12:11] And I will say it is a very cute robot.

[12:13] It seems like there's two kinds of movie robots, right?

[12:16] There's the cute-friendly ones, batteries not included, short circuit.

[12:20] BB-8, R2-D2.

[12:21] R2-D2, BB-8, Megan, and the scary deadly ones.

[12:24] Chopping them all, Westworld, Megan.

[12:28] Megan straddles the line there.

[12:31] So, what is the – what is it about those aspects of robots?

[12:34] They're either cute and friendly or they're scary and deadly.

[12:36] What makes a good version of each of those in your guys' mind?

[12:39] You know, what makes a good cute robot and not an annoying cute robot?

[12:42] Like, R2-D2, great cute robot.

[12:45] BB-8, okay.

[12:46] That robot in Rise of Skywalker was just a cone on a wheel or some shit.

[12:50] Shitty robot.

[12:51] Crabby, cute robot.

[12:53] Scary, deadly robot.

[12:54] Some are really cool.

[12:55] Some don't pull it off.

[12:56] What's the difference?

[12:57] What do you think?

Dan McCoy

[12:58] Well, I do think that part of this is an uncanny valley thing.

[13:02] Like, the cute robots –

[13:04] The valley the uncanny X-Men live in?

[13:06] The ones that – yes.

[13:07] The ones that are the most lovable tend to be the ones that are less human.

[13:13] Like, your R2-D2s or your batteries not included or even your Interstellars.

Elliott Kalan

[13:19] Now, I'm going to argue with that.

[13:20] I think you're usually right.

[13:21] It's funny.

[13:22] I think that you think, Sinder, the Interstellar robot, cute.

[13:24] I didn't say cute.

Dan McCoy

[13:25] I said you like them.

Elliott Kalan

[13:27] Oh, you like them.

[13:27] Because in Heart Beeps, the robot they make, Phil, is, I guess, maybe he just looks a little too much, too attempting to be cute.

[13:35] Because I found that robot despicable from moment one, that little kid robot.

Dan McCoy

[13:40] Sure, but I don't find him as off-putting as they do Andy Kaufman robot.

[13:45] No, that's true.

[13:45] Which is – I think that if you get too human-like, it's frightening, you know?

[13:51] Yeah.

[13:52] And that's where Megan knocks on the door.

[13:53] It's kind of like the Garbage Pail Kids in the Garbage Pail Kids movie.

[13:56] Yeah.

Stuart Wellington

[13:56] Yeah, exactly.

[13:57] Yeah.

[13:58] The crocodile one, fine.

[13:59] The ones that look more like humans, get them out of here.

Dan McCoy

[14:02] And in the middle, you got C-3PO, who is irritating but lovable.

[14:07] Yeah.

[14:08] He looks kind of like a human but not that much.

Elliott Kalan

[14:11] I mean he's a human shape and a human face arrangement.

[14:14] But it's – I mean C-3PO, that design is pulling so much from Maria, the robot from Metropolis, who is a cool-looking robot but is also supposed to be kind of off-putting in that way of –

[14:25] Now, what about – Stuart, you can always remember his name and I can't remember.

[14:28] The Japanese artist who paints the sexy robots.

[14:31] Soryama?

[14:31] Yeah.

[14:32] Does that work for you guys?

[14:33] Are you into that?

[14:35] Where it's like a lady's body but with like a bald faceless head on top?

Stuart Wellington

[14:39] Or like her legs look like they're – I don't know, the spokes of a motorcycle or something.

Dan McCoy

[14:44] I mean when I was a young pervozoid looking through the quote-unquote art books at B. Dalton Booksellers, like I was never all that into the Soryama books there.

[14:53] I'm like, okay, I guess this is kind of sexy but they're also robots.

[14:57] So it's not for me but I'm not putting it down for someone.

Elliott Kalan

[15:01] I feel like there should be a third category.

[15:03] There's cute friendly, scary deadly.

[15:04] There should be a category of sexy attractive because you see – and there was just an article in I think the New Yorker about what are we going to do in the future when people start falling in love with robots and AI.

[15:15] And yet aside from robots –

[15:17] The future?

Elliott Kalan

[15:18] Yeah.

[15:19] No, I'm just saying that I think that that's all we're already down.

[15:22] No, but that's – they're saying we're entering that phase.

[15:25] So what do we do about it?

[15:26] But in movies I feel like unless a robot is basically just a woman or Gigolo Joe from AI who's just Jude Law.

[15:34] But shiny.

[15:36] But shiny, yeah.

[15:37] But he looks like the Duracell battery family where they have plastic rubber skin or whatever.

[15:42] Oh, yeah.

[15:45] Awesome.

[15:45] Oh, baby.

[15:47] No games.

[15:48] What I love is the human features, but it looks like it's made out of latex.

[15:52] There isn't a – we haven't yet figured out what is sexy for a robot without just imitating a human form.

[15:58] Is that because as humans who are programmed mostly, not all of us, but most of us to reproduce with other humans, that's just what we're into?

[16:04] Are we going to enter a world where people are – find that there's a new form, a robotic form that they are attracted to?

[16:11] Dan, what do you think?

[16:12] This is off topic.

Dan McCoy

[16:13] So it's –

[16:14] But it is a hot topic.

[16:16] Can we abstract something that is still sexy, like that does not look like humans?

[16:21] Yes.

Stuart Wellington

[16:21] Yeah, like hedonism bot in Futurama.

[16:24] Yeah, yeah.

[16:24] He was the sexiest robot.

Elliott Kalan

[16:25] I mean he still looks kind of like a person.

[16:27] Oh, yeah.

Dan McCoy

[16:30] I mean I'm sure people can get there.

[16:33] People find all sorts of things sexy.

[16:35] God bless them.

[16:36] But, you know, I don't think – like I don't know.

[16:39] I think that something has to look reasonably human for me to be into it.

Elliott Kalan

[16:43] Okay.

[16:44] So let's go back to what we were talking about before because I'm getting uncomfortable talking about Dan's particular interests.

[16:48] But the –

[16:48] I'll give you a –

[16:50] Dan brought it up.

[16:50] I'll give you a pamphlet on it.

[16:52] So a cute friendly robot.

[16:54] Dan, you're saying the more kind of – the less kind of human-y, probably the shorter it looks.

[16:59] Probably – there's a reason that probably the cutest robot in all of robots is the gonk droid, the power battery droid in Star Wars.

[17:04] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[17:04] It's basically just a garbage can on legs.

[17:06] But what makes a good scary deadly robot, a robot that looks really like it – like ED-209 is a great scary-looking robot.

[17:14] A lot of them just look like people.

[17:16] You know, Megan, Yul Brynner, and I was worried.

Stuart Wellington

[17:18] There's something about like – something about an unfeeling, uncaring face that is performing an act of violence is terrifying.

[17:26] Whether it is one that is a simulation of a human face or if it's just like something flat and blank.

Dan McCoy

[17:33] Yeah, I would either go – terrifying either has to be uncanny valley, you know, like a human, but as Stuart says, there's something off.

[17:42] Like a human.

[17:42] Hey!

[17:44] Or you take advantage of the fact that a robot can be anything and, you know, it's like – I don't know.

[17:49] It's got a bunch of robo tentacles or it looks like a big spider or something like that.

[17:53] What I don't find scary is sort of the like middle ground of like – you know, we mentioned Chopping Mall before.

[17:59] It's a very fun movie.

[18:00] I like it.

[18:01] I would be scared if robots were trying to shoot me with lasers.

[18:04] But the design isn't scary because it's just like, okay, well, these are like, I don't know, like big vacuum cleaners.

Elliott Kalan

[18:09] Yeah, this ATM is chasing me.

[18:11] Yeah.

[18:12] I think that makes sense.

[18:14] I think – Stuart, something you've hit on reminds me of why I think the alien from Alien is such a scary design.

[18:20] It's because you can't see its eyes, you know?

[18:21] Yeah.

[18:22] It's like a kind of strangely human mouth with – I mean except for that little mouth inside.

[18:27] I haven't met anybody yet who has one of those.

[18:28] But it's strangely – strangely human mouth with this –

[18:30] You've got to live yet.

[18:31] With this eyeless face so it's not projecting emotion except aggression at any point.

[18:37] Okay.

[18:38] So I think we figured out something.

[18:40] A good robot movie has to really take advantage of what it means to be a robot and what it means to be human.

[18:45] It can't just be a fun story with a robot in it.

[18:48] So for this, I would think you guys would say Star Wars, not a robot movie necessarily even though there's so many droids in it.

[18:54] And a good robot, a good movie robot, if it's going to be cute, can't be too human-like.

[18:59] And if it's going to be scary, it has to have some aspect of a lack of human emotion or at least an exaggeration or character of human emotion.

[19:08] It's less a – it's partly a design thing but also partly a behavioral affect thing.

[19:13] The Terminator, although he's a cyborg technically because he's got flesh on him, he's scary in Terminator because he shows no emotion while he's doing these things.

[19:21] He's just walking through a police station mowing guys down but he's not – he's showing no reaction to any of that stuff.

[19:29] The Terminators, when they don't have the flesh on them, they're always smiling.

[19:33] They look like they're having a great time even when they're crushing skulls and they're shooting people.

Dan McCoy

[19:36] Yeah, robot party.

[19:37] Yeah.

Elliott Kalan

[19:38] It's a huge robot party.

Stuart Wellington

[19:39] I feel like – I feel like – did either of you guys see last year's Oscar-nominated animated film, The Wild Robot?

Elliott Kalan

[19:46] Yes, I did.

[19:47] Yes.

Stuart Wellington

[19:47] How was that robot?

[19:48] I didn't see it but I've heard good things.

Elliott Kalan

[19:50] It is – that movie is all right.

[19:52] I feel like – it was hard for me.

[19:53] The movie itself is very loud.

[19:56] It's much – I was expecting a movie that was a little bit more meditative and a little bit more tranquil or – what's the word?

[20:05] Flow-like.

[20:06] Flow, yeah.

[20:06] Yeah, flow-like because the book is much more like that.

[20:09] The robot in it is okay.

[20:11] The design is all right.

[20:13] It never – I feel like it's not one of those robots where you see it and you're like, I'm in love with this robot.

[20:17] And it's also not one of those robots where the – it is – it kind of starts already with a certain amount of humanity to it.

[20:26] So it's a – so it's all right.

Stuart Wellington

[20:29] I feel like – I feel like when talking about robot design, I feel like going to Pixar is a pretty good place for a lot of these things whether it's Wall-E or even like the villainous robots in The Incredibles.

[20:42] Yes.

[20:42] Because they're like very straightforward but they manage to add a lot of personality to something that does not speak.

[20:49] It's just this like uncaring ball with tentacles.

[20:52] Yeah.

[20:53] That comes after our heroes.

Elliott Kalan

[20:54] And even the other robots in Wall-E that – just the side robots all feel like they have a lot of personality even when they don't have faces or things like that.

[21:01] That's – I would say Wall-E is the best story about two robots falling in love that's ever been told.

[21:05] Yeah, I'm not going to argue with you.

[21:07] In film at least.

[21:08] Yeah.

[21:09] The – I'm sure there's fan fiction and erotic out there that maybe does it better but I've read it.

[21:15] So, okay.

[21:16] We figured out what makes a good robot movie kind of or at least what defines a robot movie.

[21:20] Wait, real quick.

Stuart Wellington

[21:20] Dan, if you were going to have to write erotic fan fiction about two robots, what two robots would you select?

Dan McCoy

[21:27] I thought we didn't want to know too much about my –

[21:30] Good question, Stuart.

[21:30] No, this is a good question.

[21:31] This is good.

[21:31] We got to dig into this.

[21:34] Well, you know, I'd have to go to like what robots do I think are sexy?

[21:39] I think would have to be –

Elliott Kalan

[21:40] Or which robots do you think would have the most interesting chemistry together?

[21:42] Yeah.

Stuart Wellington

[21:43] Like I would say Dot Matrix and R2-D2 just because they seem like similar worlds but, you know, there's something a little bit different.

Dan McCoy

[21:51] See, like I feel like my real answer gets too gross.

Stuart Wellington

[21:55] Why don't you give us a fake answer then if you're worried about it?

Dan McCoy

[21:58] No, I kind of want to hear this gross one.

[22:01] Well, I mean probably –

[22:02] I'll kick over a stone.

[22:02] I think it would probably boil down to like ex-Machina robot and Mackenzie Davis from that one Terminator movie.

[22:09] Oh, okay.

[22:11] Yeah, I can see that.

[22:12] But, you know, I don't know.

[22:13] We're just making laugh-em-ups.

[22:15] I don't know.

[22:16] A Vitamix and Eve.

Elliott Kalan

[22:22] All right.

[22:22] Yeah, let's laugh-em-ups it up.

[22:24] Yeah.

[22:25] All right.

[22:25] So we've taken that bizarre detour.

[22:29] Thank you for that.

[22:30] Is Dot Matrix a robot because doesn't she live in a computer?

Stuart Wellington

[22:35] I don't remember.

[22:36] I don't remember Spaceballs that well.

Elliott Kalan

[22:38] Oh, Dot Matrix from Spaceballs.

[22:39] I thought you were talking about Dot Matrix from Reboot.

[22:41] I'm sorry about that.

[22:41] No, no.

[22:42] Oh, yeah, Dot Matrix from Spaceballs is very much a robot.

[22:44] Oh, right.

[22:44] Yeah, yeah.

[22:44] A Philistiller robot.

[22:45] No, no, a Joan Rivers robot.

[22:47] Oh, Joan Rivers.

[22:48] Sorry.

[22:48] I've got my pioneering mediums and stuff.

Stuart Wellington

[22:49] No, but I think Dan's suggestion, but isn't, so Mackenzie Davis is a-

[22:56] Why are we still talking?

[22:57] No, but because she hunts Terminators.

[23:00] Oh, right.

[23:00] She's turned herself into more of a robot to do this.

[23:03] So would she kill Alicia Vikander's-

[23:06] No, see, that's what makes it hot.

[23:08] It's a forbidden love story.

[23:09] Yeah, it makes sense.

[23:10] Okay, so I just want to explore this.

Dan McCoy

[23:11] There has to be something taboo.

Elliott Kalan

[23:13] Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[23:14] I'm into it.

[23:14] Let's go.

[23:15] It could just be two married robots that are having a hot night together.

[23:18] That could be the story.

Dan McCoy

[23:19] I mean, that's the most alien thing I've ever heard you say.

[23:24] Part of what's hot is their commitment to each other.

[23:26] Yeah, exactly.

[23:27] My long-term commitment.

Elliott Kalan

[23:28] What's so sexy about it is knowing that there's a stable grounding for the relationship and they

[23:32] don't have to worry about anything, you know?

Dan McCoy

[23:34] I'm a middle-aged man, so I agree with that.

[23:36] Who needs a sudden burst of passion?

Elliott Kalan

[23:39] No, no.

[23:39] I want the long-term, bickering, reliable relationship of C-3PO and R2D to-

[23:45] Are clearly either a married couple or, as I mentioned in one of the Flop TV episodes,

[23:50] C-3PO is John Arbuckle, R2D to his Garfield.

[23:54] Oh, that's kind of beautiful.

[23:55] Yeah.

[23:56] You know?

[23:56] Yeah.

[23:57] So, okay, guys.

[24:00] So, get back to what I was saying before, before that other detour.

[24:03] We've decided, we've identified the theme of a robot movie.

[24:06] We've identified some of the characteristics that make a good movie robot.

[24:10] I think we should use those things to cinematic mechanic our way into heart beeps.

[24:15] But first, I believe we have a sponsor who wants to make their voice heard, now that we've

[24:20] already heard Dan's voice, about which robots he wants to see have sex with each other.

Dan McCoy

[24:26] Yeah.

[24:26] They love being-

[24:27] Unasked for.

[24:28] They love-

[24:29] Yeah.

[24:29] It was my idea.

[24:31] And also, the sponsor loves being-

[24:32] Sponsors demand.

Elliott Kalan

[24:33] They said, we know our ad will get better play if it's placed next to something disgusting.

Stuart Wellington

[24:39] Sure.

[24:40] Because people's hands are clasped over their face and ears rather than hitting the skip

[24:44] button.

Dan McCoy

[24:45] Hey, speaking of technology, this episode is supported in part by Squarespace, which is

[24:52] the all-in-one website platform for entrepreneurs to stand out and succeed online.

[24:59] Well, what is Squarespace?

[25:00] It offers an unrivaled suite of visual design effects built in and ready to go on any Squarespace

[25:08] website.

[25:08] I feel like there's something missing in the copy there.

[25:12] But we're going to soldier on.

[25:14] We're going to say that Squarespace can be used to create an elevated online aesthetic with

[25:20] dozens of modern and intuitive options, fitting every brand, industry, and purpose.

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[25:35] Build visitor trust while updating content only where you need it, extending your brand's

[25:41] footprint.

[25:42] Sorry.

[25:42] Or footpants.

[25:43] For my footpants.

Elliott Kalan

[25:45] Expanding your brand's footpants.

[25:48] You know, my footpants.

[25:49] We call them shoes where I live.

[25:51] But, you know.

[25:51] Not lately, yeah.

Dan McCoy

[25:53] Maybe it's my blood pressure.

[25:55] Okay.

[25:56] Well, go to squarespace.com for a free trial.

[25:59] If any of this has been convincing to you, if you love this footpants talk, why not support

[26:05] it by going to Squarespace?

[26:06] Squarespace.com for a free trial.

[26:08] When you are ready to launch, go to www.squarespace.com slash flop to save 10% off your first purchase

[26:18] of a website or domain.

[26:21] That's it for me.

[26:22] If anyone has any plugs, now's the time.

[26:25] Otherwise, we'll return to the show.

Elliott Kalan

[26:27] I have two plugs that I'd like to plug.

[26:30] The first is that every month, DC Comics comes out with a new issue of Harley Quinn.

[26:35] It's a comic book about everybody's favorite former Joker girlfriend turned superstar in

[26:40] her own right, Harley Quinn.

[26:41] And I write that comic book right now every month.

[26:44] So why not go into your comic book store and say, hey, make mine Harley.

[26:48] And then they'll say, what?

[26:49] And you'll say, could I have the new issue of Harley Quinn, please?

[26:52] And if it's the week that that comes out, they'll say, here it is.

[26:55] And if it's not the week, they may still have a copy.

[26:57] But you should go in every month and do it.

[26:59] And I also wanted to mention that my new children's book, Sadie Mouse Wrecks the House,

[27:05] it's a new picture book that I wrote.

[27:07] And the great Tim Miller, who did the art for my other book, Horse Meets Dog, did the

[27:11] art for this as well.

[27:12] It comes out April 22nd and is available for pre-order now from all bookstore places.

[27:18] Please patronize your local independent bookstore.

[27:21] We just call them bookstores.

Dan McCoy

[27:23] You don't have to add the places to.

[27:25] Oh, okay.

Elliott Kalan

[27:26] Because I usually add place to things.

[27:28] I'm going to the drugstore place.

[27:32] I'm going to go to the movie theater place.

[27:34] Please go to your local bookstore and say, make mine Sadie.

[27:37] And they'll say, what?

[27:38] And you'll say, can you pre-order a copy of Sadie Mouse Wrecks the House by Ellie Kaelin?

[27:41] It comes out April 22nd.

[27:43] It's a story of a good little mouse who's tired of having to do all the chores.

[27:46] And she decides she's going to do the chores bad.

[27:48] And she wrecks her house.

[27:49] And my kids think it's funny.

[27:51] So hopefully your kids will too.

[27:53] Sounds delightful.

S4

[27:54] A special thank you to the MaxFun members who joined, boosted, or upgraded their membership during this year's MaxFun Drive.

[28:07] And as a thank you to everyone who supports MaxFun, we're excited to announce that this year's pin sale is now open.

[28:13] This year's proceeds will go to Transgender Law Center to support their continuing work and advocating self-determination for all people.

[28:22] Everyone at $10 per month or more can purchase MaxFun Drive pins featuring shows from across the network.

[28:29] And all levels are able to buy our 2025 exclusive pin featuring our rad pal, Nutsy of the Squirrel.

[28:35] For more info, head to MaximumFun.org slash pin sale.

[28:40] And as always, thank you so much for your ongoing support.

Alonso Duralde

[28:45] Since 2017, Maximum Film has had the same slogan.

Stuart Wellington

[28:49] The podcast that's not just a bunch of straight white guys.

Alonso Duralde

[28:52] Ooh, we've learned something over the years.

[28:54] Some people out there really do not like that slogan.

Stuart Wellington

[28:56] Listen, we love straight white guys.

[28:59] Well, some of them.

[29:00] But if there's one thing we can't change, it's who we are.

[29:03] I'm Ify, a comedian who was on strike last year in two different unions.

Alonso Duralde

[29:07] I'm Drea.

[29:08] I've been a producer and film festival programmer for decades.

Stuart Wellington

[29:11] And I'm Alonzo, a film critic who literally wrote the book on queer Hollywood.

Alonso Duralde

[29:16] You can listen to us talk movies and the movie biz every week on Maximum Film.

[29:20] We may not be straight white guys, but we love movies.

[29:23] And we know what we're talking about.

[29:24] Listen to Maximum Film on Maximum Fun or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Elliott Kalan

[29:30] Guys, we are back to Flophouse Mini, cinematic mechanic.

[29:35] Today, we are going to be fixing the last movie we watched for this podcast.

[29:38] That movie was Heart Beeps, starring Andy Kaufman and Bernadette Peters, and written and directed

[29:43] by Paul Schrader.

[29:44] And so here's the question that we have to go with.

[29:48] We're going to improve the robots and the robot movie.

[29:51] First, let's identify, we did last week, let's identify some of the things that are problems

[29:54] with the robots in this movie.

[29:55] One, annoying, very annoying.

[29:58] Two, uncanny valley, they look like people with weird cheeks.

[30:02] Three, they don't do anything.

[30:05] That's the main problem.

[30:06] The movie is very, the idea of it is we're going to watch two robots go through the stages

[30:12] of falling in love and starting a family while they wander through the New Mexico woods, it

[30:17] turns out.

[30:18] But they don't really do much of anything else.

[30:20] Even though they're chased by a crime buster robot, that doesn't really mean anything.

[30:23] So how do we improve this movie?

[30:25] How do we improve these robots?

[30:26] What elements are these robots missing that would make them more enjoyable robots?

Dan McCoy

[30:31] They have like a big cannon on their arms, maybe?

[30:34] Yeah.

[30:34] Okay.

[30:35] Okay.

[30:35] They've got big cannons on their arms.

Elliott Kalan

[30:37] So the Andy Kaufman character, he's a valet robot, right?

[30:41] Yeah.

[30:41] And Burnett Peter's robot is designed purely to flirt with men at pool parties, specifically.

[30:47] But they should both have cannons on their arms, is what you're saying.

Dan McCoy

[30:50] I mean, I think that's more realistic to, you know, the sort of, you know, robot industrial

[30:56] complex.

[30:57] Yeah.

[30:58] Put cannons on them.

[30:59] Put cannons on them.

Elliott Kalan

[31:00] Johnny Five from Short Circuit, who I'm surprised we haven't mentioned up to this point, he has

[31:03] like a rocket launcher on his back, right?

[31:05] Even though it gets turned into an umbrella launcher.

[31:07] There's some brief Johnny Five talk.

[31:08] Was there?

Stuart Wellington

[31:09] Yeah.

[31:09] He has like a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher type thing.

Dan McCoy

[31:13] Yeah.

[31:13] So, okay.

[31:14] I was arguing that Johnny Five was a great robot while not appearing in a great robot picture.

Elliott Kalan

[31:19] Or a great roulette picture either.

[31:21] He doesn't, you know, Croupier does not feature Johnny Five in it.

[31:26] So.

[31:27] What if though, what if instead of Clive Owen, Croupier had starred Johnny Five?

[31:30] Would the movie be different?

[31:31] Would it still be accepted as a quality film?

Dan McCoy

[31:36] It's an odd, you know, mix of tones at that point.

[31:38] It's sort of a, what's kind of like a brooding neo-noir with like just a robot in it.

[31:43] A really chatterboxed robot too, yeah.

Stuart Wellington

[31:46] So for the most part, the humans in this movie wear normal human clothes.

[31:51] Why do the robots wear weird shiny clothes?

[31:54] Why don't they just put them in regular human clothes?

Elliott Kalan

[31:56] That's a good question.

[31:57] I wonder if the robots' metallic bodies would tear those clothes too easily.

[32:01] Just rip them to shreds, yeah.

[32:01] So they have to, yeah, just like the Vlondi song, it would rip her to shreds.

[32:05] And so I wonder if that's the reason that they're wearing what appear to just be vinyl clothes, you know?

[32:10] But it's a good question.

[32:11] So you would put them in regular clothes.

[32:13] You think that would help it a little bit?

[32:14] First step, regular clothes.

[32:15] So we're fixing these characters.

[32:17] I'm glad we're taking this very sincerely.

[32:18] They both have cannons on their arms and they're wearing regular clothes.

Stuart Wellington

[32:22] I would say the Val robot as a valet, he has fully opposable fingers.

[32:28] Yes.

[32:28] And due to the design of the hand, like glove, his fingers are always splayed really crazy.

[32:36] I think he should have just had a sealed, closed hand.

Elliott Kalan

[32:39] Here's...

[32:39] Oh, okay.

[32:40] So like a mitten more than fingers.

[32:43] Okay.

[32:43] Yep.

[32:43] But that's the non-canon hand.

[32:46] Mm-hmm.

[32:47] My real...

[32:47] Or does he have the thing where his mitten hand can kind of drop down on a hinge?

[32:50] Yes.

[32:50] Revealing a cannon in the arm.

[32:52] Yes.

[32:52] Duh.

Stuart Wellington

[32:53] Sorry.

Dan McCoy

[32:54] Like guts from Berserk.

[32:56] Duh.

[32:57] So you're asking for sincerity in fixing it.

[33:00] Not necessarily.

[33:01] Yeah.

[33:02] I'd be like, you know, like Bernadette Peters robot, you're doing great.

[33:06] You know, no notes in particular.

[33:09] You can basically be the way you are.

[33:11] Andy Kaufman robot.

[33:12] This voice you've been doing.

[33:14] Okay.

[33:15] Let's talk about the voice.

[33:16] Dan, what is that voice...

Elliott Kalan

[33:17] To remind the audience, what does the voice sound like?

[33:21] He can't be talking...

[33:22] He kind of talked like this.

Dan McCoy

[33:23] I can't actually do it.

[33:24] He's like...

[33:25] He's a little latke.

[33:25] A little latke, yeah.

[33:26] A little higher.

[33:27] That's pretty good.

Elliott Kalan

[33:27] It is like a little latke.

[33:28] And you want a big latke.

[33:29] You want a latke that can soak up a lot of oil, you know, get real crispy, you know.

Dan McCoy

[33:33] Be a sour cream delivery system.

[33:36] I'm more of an applesauce guy, but that's just me.

Elliott Kalan

[33:38] And I eat a plain.

[33:39] I don't...

[33:40] I want to taste the latke.

[33:41] I want to taste the potato.

[33:42] I want to taste the onion.

[33:43] I want to taste the fried grease element.

[33:45] Yeah.

Dan McCoy

[33:45] But not just the voice.

[33:46] Like, in a heartbeat, it's not to, like, return too much to our previous episode.

[33:51] Like, they talk like dumb children.

Elliott Kalan

[33:55] They do.

[33:55] It is.

[33:56] So, that's something that I feel like we didn't really adequately describe in the last episode,

[33:59] which is that it is the thing that movies do often where they confuse innocence with

[34:04] dumbness.

[34:05] Like, a character is naive and innocent.

[34:06] Therefore, they talk like an idiot.

[34:07] They don't know anything.

[34:09] They sound like...

Dan McCoy

[34:09] It's like Nuki all over again.

[34:10] Right.

[34:11] It is like Nuki all over again.

[34:12] Yeah.

[34:13] I prefer a robot that, yeah, like, talks with sophistication for a robot.

[34:18] Like, it's a lot of, you know, sort of, like, understanding of facts.

[34:21] But maybe naivete when it comes to, you know, human behavior is fine.

Elliott Kalan

[34:27] C-3PO is what you're saying.

[34:27] C-3PO.

[34:28] Yeah.

[34:28] I mean, I was thinking the exact same thing.

[34:29] You're basically describing C-3PO, who speaks very articulately, but has...

[34:33] Even for a protocol robot who's designed to interact with humans, has no idea what humans are doing at any given moment.

[34:37] Does not understand when he's cock-blocking console.

[34:40] No.

[34:41] And is only...

[34:42] So, let's talk about C-3PO for a minute.

[34:43] Okay.

[34:44] There's...

[34:44] I know people who don't like C-3PO.

[34:46] I've heard the discussions between Jesse Thorne and Tom Sharpling on, I think it was on Bullseye,

[34:51] about how much they both hate C-3PO.

[34:53] Whereas...

[34:54] And they hate him for the same reasons I love him, which is that he is the worst robot.

[34:58] He is...

[34:59] Only cares about himself.

[35:00] Is oblivious to what's going on around him, except the way it affects him.

[35:04] And he's constantly anxious.

[35:06] And he's constantly fussy.

[35:07] And he's very short-tempered.

[35:09] And it's very easy for him to get thrown off his game.

[35:12] All these things that you should not see in a robot, but he does them all beautifully.

[35:16] And I think it's partly because Anthony Daniels does such a great job with the voice, but also with the movements of...

[35:20] The movement stuff.

[35:20] He's a robot who constantly looks like he is offended and wants to talk to the manager.

[35:24] Which I think is very funny in a robot.

Stuart Wellington

[35:25] What's also kind of great is I feel like every single other movie of this type, if they had a character like this, that character would have a moment where he shines.

Dan McCoy

[35:35] Yes.

[35:35] C-3PO never has that moment.

[35:37] I was just thinking to myself, whether we could make a list of the times he is useful.

[35:42] And I can only think of...

[35:43] Just one.

[35:43] ...when he is in Return of the Jedi and is able to be a god to these Ewoks and convince them not to eat.

[35:49] And tell the story.

Elliott Kalan

[35:50] The humans that are there.

[35:52] Little cannibalistic space bears, yeah.

[35:54] And that's part of the joke of it is that he is...

[35:56] The one character who's confused for a god is, again, the most useless, least helpful character.

[36:02] He spends most of Empire Strikes Back just as an annoying voice strapped to Chewbacca's back.

Stuart Wellington

[36:07] Giving him directions which are mainly ignored.

Elliott Kalan

[36:10] Yes.

[36:10] And I love how in the trash compactor scene that C-3PO is like, oh, it's too late.

[36:16] We've killed them.

[36:18] Like his job, which is to be the liaison between R2-D2 and the others, he's doing so poorly.

[36:23] It is...

[36:25] It shows such...

[36:26] I don't...

[36:27] It's one of these things where like the...

[36:29] You know, George Lucas doesn't get a lot of credit usually for his character personalities.

[36:33] You know, I feel like outside of C-3PO and Han Solo and maybe a little bit of Darth Vader,

[36:38] he doesn't get a lot of credit for creating indelible characters.

[36:40] There's some people who like Luke, but I don't...

[36:42] Other people who don't.

[36:43] But the...

[36:43] C-3PO is such a specific, funny character to me.

[36:47] And he is so out of...

[36:48] There's no reason to have him in so much of it except to interpret for R2-D2.

[36:52] Like he's useful when he can interpret sometimes.

[36:54] But even when he's interpreting for R2-D2, he does it in a way that is...

[36:57] That is totally misunderstanding what's actually important with what's going on in the story.

[37:02] So anyway.

[37:03] I love all that about him.

[37:04] So he's...

[37:05] I just want to throw...

[37:05] You can have an annoying robot character and have them be the best thing in a movie.

[37:09] I want to toss in...

Dan McCoy

[37:10] I mean, you know, Leia's pretty indelible, but I think that Carrie Fisher is bringing almost all of that to that.

[37:16] I think none of that is on the page.

Elliott Kalan

[37:17] Yeah.

[37:17] The personality of that character, if you're just looking at it without her performance, it changes so much from scene to scene.

[37:23] Yeah.

[37:24] And she's the thing that ties it together, for sure.

[37:26] Yeah.

[37:26] So here's what we need.

[37:27] So these robots either have to be...

[37:29] So we're saying they should not sound like morons, basically.

[37:33] These robots...

[37:34] They should misunderstand things, but in a way that is smart and specific to them.

[37:38] Because again, they're robots.

[37:39] Why would you make a dumb robot?

[37:40] Again, I feel like we are moving towards that in actual real world technology for some reason.

[37:45] But unintentionally.

[37:47] Why would you want to create a robot that gives you just wrong information all the time?

[37:52] That is essentially C-3PO.

[37:54] Yeah.

[37:55] He's like, I'm fluent in six million forms of communication, but none of them are basic human emotional signals.

[38:02] So we can make these characters more like C-3PO is basically what we're saying.

[38:05] Like Andy Coffin's character is more like C-3PO, which gives him more of an arc.

[38:08] If he is not a lovable, already in love, you know, innocent from the beginning, it gives him a place to go.

[38:16] I feel like with Wally, he starts out as an innocent, but it is kind of the arc of him understanding that the job he's been doing for years is the wrong job.

[38:25] You know?

[38:26] Right.

[38:26] The things that he does that are outside his programming, where he keeps his old stuff, that is the good stuff that he's doing.

Dan McCoy

[38:32] Well, plot-wise, you know, I mean, and I'm mentioning this as it sort of associates with his character, like there should be an inciting incident that specifically catapults him beyond his comfort zone in a way that then he needs to like change his programming, become more human in reaction to it.

[38:53] Rather than like in heartbeats, like it really seems to be like, oh, what's going on over there?

[38:59] Let's go look.

[39:00] Like that's kind of all that motivates them.

[39:04] And yeah, it needs something that's sort of like, I don't know, like a fish out of water thing.

Elliott Kalan

[39:10] I mean, they see a rainbow.

[39:10] That's kind of the incitement.

[39:12] If they see a rainbow and they want to get closer to it.

Stuart Wellington

[39:14] Andy chats with Bernadette Peters about banana daiquiris, dude.

[39:18] You don't think that's inciting enough?

[39:19] You don't think that's –

[39:20] That's true.

Dan McCoy

[39:23] I guess so.

[39:24] I mean, incite a reaction in me, but –

Elliott Kalan

[39:27] The idea of a banana daiquiri opens up a whole world.

[39:30] It's like Ariel finding that fork or whatever in Little Mermaid.

[39:34] It's like, oh, I have to learn more about the civilization that would create this.

Dan McCoy

[39:37] But honestly, that would be so much better a thing.

[39:41] Exactly.

[39:42] Be like, I want to taste what a banana daiquiri is.

[39:45] I've been programmed in with this chatter, but I don't know what a banana daiquiri is.

[39:49] It would be a very funny quest to me if this kicked off just being like, we have to go taste as robots a banana daiquiri.

Stuart Wellington

[39:56] Yeah.

[39:57] Or she brings it up and he's like, okay, what does it taste like?

[40:00] And she doesn't have an answer.

[40:02] And then she actually has a quest of her own and not just I follow you around.

[40:06] Yeah.

Elliott Kalan

[40:07] Well, now let's talk about the quest because I think this is great.

[40:08] Okay.

[40:09] So heart beeps.

[40:09] The characters start talking about banana daiquiris.

[40:11] She's never been asked the question, what does it taste like before?

[40:13] And now she wants to go on that quest and he's in love with her.

[40:16] So he's going to follow along.

[40:17] Again, this is very Wally Eva where Eva is the one who's like doing stuff.

[40:21] And Wally literally stows away to follow along after her.

[40:25] The quest.

[40:26] So the quest in the movie now seems to be that they need to go somewhere to see a rainbow.

[40:33] And then when they get there, they're like, we're running out of power.

[40:36] We got to go back.

[40:37] Again, we said last week, Fury Road plot structure.

[40:39] Yeah.

[40:40] What would make this quest more interesting than say just wandering through the woods and once or twice Crime Buster threatens them?

[40:48] What – like let's quest it up, you know?

[40:50] And keep in mind they have cannons for arms now.

[40:52] So that's a thing that could cause some trouble too.

[40:55] And also that the Andy Kaufman character is going to be much more like C-3PO.

[40:58] So he's constantly complaining and probably getting into trouble because he's not programmed very well at what he does.

[41:03] So what are some things – just give me some incidents, some incidents in episodes.

Dan McCoy

[41:06] This would be very difficult to do in this world where the Stan Winston makeup does not look like people.

[41:13] It looks like weird energizer characters like we said.

[41:17] Yeah.

Elliott Kalan

[41:17] They're not going to get mistaken for people in this movie.

Dan McCoy

[41:19] I would love a scene where because they're on the run, they have to pretend to be human.

Elliott Kalan

[41:26] Instead of pretending to be trees as they do in the movie.

Dan McCoy

[41:29] Yeah.

[41:29] Okay.

[41:30] Like they're at a busy bar or restaurant or a public place and like the whole crowd of people and they have to behave like humans and pass as human.

[41:39] Yeah.

Stuart Wellington

[41:39] They put like masks on.

[41:41] They're like, oh, we got to protect from COVID.

Elliott Kalan

[41:44] You put your finger on something that is a problem with this movie that I didn't even necessarily realize while watching it because I was so eager to be done with watching it.

[41:52] Which is we see them go to a party.

[41:54] They don't pretend to be attendees of the party.

[41:57] They pretend to be robots that are working at the party.

[42:00] Woody Allen pretending to be a robot and sleeper who works at a party is a joke because he's a person.

[42:05] He's not a robot.

[42:05] Right.

[42:06] For a robot to go to a party and then pretend to be one of the robots working at the party is not particularly funny.

Dan McCoy

[42:11] It would be much funnier if they're like, oh, we got invited to this party.

[42:15] Yeah.

[42:16] We're the robot invitees.

Elliott Kalan

[42:19] Or they pretend they're people and like, oh, we had work done.

[42:22] We had work done to look like robots or whatever.

[42:25] A person pretending to be a robot and messing it up is funny.

[42:28] A robot pretending to be a person messing up is funny.

[42:29] A robot pretending to be a robot and messing it up, you've got to work much harder.

[42:33] It's just got to be that much better.

[42:36] So I think that's great.

[42:37] So one scene, they've got to go somewhere and be people.

[42:39] Maybe they go to a bar.

[42:40] If this was a movie made – I feel like this movie was made just one year earlier or after.

[42:47] They would have gone to like a honky-tonk bar and they'd have to pretend to be cowboys or something like that.

[42:52] One of them would have to ride a mechanical bull.

[42:54] Yeah, arm wrestle on the ramp.

Dan McCoy

[42:55] And someone would hit on one of the robots like a human being.

[42:58] Yes.

[42:59] Yeah, there would be something saucy going on.

Elliott Kalan

[43:02] A woman would be hitting on the Andy Kaufman robot not recognizing that he is a robot and not a person.

[43:09] And it would be very awkward.

[43:10] And also, Brenna Peters would be getting – my jealousy circuits are kicking in.

[43:14] I've never felt these before.

[43:15] And I'd be like, but I'm not even responding.

[43:17] They felt these.

[43:18] Why did they get – why do I feel pain?

[43:20] Like in Star Wars, in Return of the Jedi when they're torturing those robots.

[43:23] It's like, well, why do they put pain sensors on the bottom of that robot's feet?

[43:27] For this scene.

[43:28] For this one moment.

[43:29] You know, we got to make sure that these robots, which are – they're just untiring workers that can do dangerous jobs, that they feel pain while they're doing it.

[43:37] That is – it's a statement on capitalism.

Stuart Wellington

[43:39] Cruelty is the point.

Elliott Kalan

[43:41] Yeah.

[43:41] Yeah, I guess so.

[43:42] So, okay.

[43:43] So they have to go to a bar and – maybe a honky-tonk bar, maybe not, and pretend that they are – maybe it's a swing dancing bar and they've got a swing dance and they win a competition or something like that.

[43:51] But they accidentally blow everybody up and they think it's part of the show.

[43:54] What's another fun adventure for these robots to have?

[43:57] Let's come up with like two more and then I think we'll have maybe fixed heartbeats.

Dan McCoy

[44:01] What are some fun robot adventures?

Stuart Wellington

[44:03] Fun robot adventures.

[44:05] Okay.

[44:06] We've already talked about having to find the banana daiquiri.

[44:10] Yes.

[44:11] Are we going to keep the idea that they –

Elliott Kalan

[44:13] And maybe at the bar they're just about to almost drink it when they accidentally start a bar fight.

[44:16] It gets knocked out of their hands.

[44:18] Oh, no.

[44:18] They were so close.

Stuart Wellington

[44:19] Are we going to keep the baby robot story in this?

Elliott Kalan

[44:24] This is – okay.

[44:24] So let's talk about it.

[44:25] This is a big question.

[44:26] It's a big part of the movie that they are becoming parents.

[44:28] They're experiencing the things that parents do.

[44:30] As I said during the episode where we talked about this movie, that made me really mad.

[44:34] It felt like they were trying to tug on my heartstrings in a way that I didn't give them consensual permission to.

[44:39] So I had to bat their hand away from my heartstrings.

[44:42] Yeah.

[44:42] So do we keep that little baby robot, Phil?

Dan McCoy

[44:45] What do you guys think?

[44:46] I don't think it's necessary.

[44:48] Like I think that it's enough to be like, oh, can two robots fall in love?

[44:55] But if we did keep it, I would add that much later in the film.

[44:59] I would be like that seems like that should be a third act thing that happens is like they create this life together.

Stuart Wellington

[45:05] Do you want to have like a weird birth scene or should it be the way it is where they like build it?

[45:10] Like she doesn't have to like squirt it up.

Dan McCoy

[45:12] I don't want any body horror.

[45:14] Thank you.

Elliott Kalan

[45:14] You don't want a robot birth.

[45:15] I've seen Teton.

[45:16] I know what a good movie looks like.

[45:18] I mean it just shows, Dan, that the act of birth, maybe the most beautiful act of creation, a human, great.

[45:23] That goes straight to horror for you, to body horror.

[45:25] You're right.

Dan McCoy

[45:25] I was talking about that and not the idea of a robot giving birth.

Elliott Kalan

[45:31] Oh, no.

[45:32] My water broke.

Dan McCoy

[45:33] My oil broke.

[45:34] This is a very dumb idea, but somehow in my head I really want to see them out.

Elliott Kalan

[45:39] It's that in the water world world?

[45:40] So if they fall in the water, they switch it.

Dan McCoy

[45:41] I want to see them at a water park where they keep being –

[45:44] Hell, yeah.

[45:45] Like people keep trying to encourage them to go down the water slide and they're like –

Elliott Kalan

[45:49] And they can't.

[45:49] Oh, we can't.

[45:51] So they've gone to the bar.

[45:52] They're hiding out with the people who think they're – the woman who thinks they're humans.

[45:55] Oh, the next day she's going to a water park.

[45:57] Yeah.

Dan McCoy

[45:58] They have to go with her or else they'll blow their cover.

Elliott Kalan

[46:00] And so they can't get wet.

[46:02] Yeah, because they're gremlins.

Dan McCoy

[46:03] See, this is what I'm saying.

[46:04] Like the screenwriting gurus say, you got to get your heroes up a tree and throw rocks at them.

[46:08] There weren't very many rocks being thrown at these characters.

Elliott Kalan

[46:10] To be fair, there were a lot of trees though.

[46:12] They passed a lot of trees.

[46:13] There were a lot of trees.

[46:13] It just didn't go up.

[46:14] Yeah.

[46:14] And shrubs.

[46:15] Now, taking out the shrub, the little kid, it raises a question.

[46:19] It opens a Pandora's box.

[46:20] I'm not sure you want to get open, which is, do we need Catskill?

[46:23] Wow.

[46:23] Is Catskill a necessary part of the movie?

[46:25] Well, do you like to fucking laugh, Elliot?

[46:27] Yeah.

Dan McCoy

[46:30] Does this podcast need an Elliot Kalen in it?

Elliott Kalan

[46:33] Wow.

[46:34] It is – so if I'm Catskill, which – I guess, Dan, you're Andy Kaufman and Stuart, you're Bernadette Peters.

[46:39] Unfortunately.

[46:40] I'm a fucking dream.

[46:41] Yeah, and I'm Catskill.

[46:43] So I guess what we're saying is we need Catskill.

[46:44] Can I be Dick Miller?

[46:46] Who shows up in one scene?

[46:48] Yeah.

[46:48] No, I don't think you can be Dick Miller.

[46:50] So – well, okay.

[46:51] I'll let you be Dick Miller, sure.

[46:52] Thank you.

[46:53] For Halloween.

[46:53] I dream.

[46:54] Dan, if you were going to dress up as Dick Miller for Halloween, how would you do that?

[46:57] What would you – just get a mask of Dick Miller?

[46:58] That is –

[46:59] Yeah.

[47:00] Go to Spirit Halloween, get a beloved character actor.

[47:04] Well, so it would be – they would make it a generic set, though.

[47:07] So it would just say beloved character actor, and it would clearly be a Dick Miller costume.

[47:11] No, I mean, I would have to –

[47:12] It's the same way that you get a jumpsuit and a proton pack, but it says like spirit fighter.

Stuart Wellington

[47:18] Yeah, the Dick Miller one is older gremlin disliker.

Dan McCoy

[47:27] Snowplow victim, question mark?

Elliott Kalan

[47:29] He shows up in the second movie.

[47:31] Yeah, I think I would have to just do a makeup.

[47:32] I wish he had shown up in the second movie with one bandage on his forehead, just like an exit bandage.

[47:37] That's what he got from the snowplow.

[47:38] That would have been great.

[47:39] So, Dan, what are you saying?

[47:40] So you want –

Dan McCoy

[47:41] Makeup, you know, like some like forehead lines, some smile lines, and then just, you know, wear like old man clothes.

Elliott Kalan

[47:48] Because in most of his roles, he's just wearing regular clothes.

[47:51] It's rare that Dick Miller is wearing something flashy, you know, or super recognizable.

Dan McCoy

[47:55] Yeah, I just mean like old man, like he's of like an earlier generation.

[47:59] Like he's like, you know, Dick Miller, I think you look at him, you're like, this guy was cool, but he's also older now, you know?

[48:06] Yeah.

Stuart Wellington

[48:07] I feel like if he's in a movie that has exciting costumes, it's important for him to look like a normal guy.

[48:13] Yeah.

[48:13] I agree.

[48:14] I agree.

[48:14] He's like a janitor.

[48:16] Yeah, he's the janitor who cleans up after He-Man or something.

Elliott Kalan

[48:19] So this is all to say that Catskill stays in the movie.

[48:22] So what's Catskill's – does Catskill get – in this movie, he does get a scene where he kind of proves his worth by giving his life literally to Phil.

[48:31] That is that moment that you expect C-3PO to get in another movie that he never gets.

[48:34] Does Catskill need that moment or can he just be like a real Borscht Belt hack stinker the whole movie?

Dan McCoy

[48:40] Yeah, he can just be – I don't know that he needs that moment.

[48:43] But it is weird that they make it out to be like, you know, these robots have their specialties.

[48:51] Like the specialties never come into play really.

[48:53] Like there's no moment where Catskill's like gets up on stage and people are like, yeah!

Elliott Kalan

[48:57] They like him at the party.

[48:59] They like his joke at the party.

[49:00] Joke's at the party.

[49:00] He doesn't help in any way.

Dan McCoy

[49:01] I guess that's the closest it comes.

[49:03] But it feels like if you're going to have three robots who have different strengths, like that should pay off at some point in the film.

[49:11] Maybe I'm crazy.

Elliott Kalan

[49:12] I mean that would be kind of textbook screenwriting.

Stuart Wellington

[49:15] We've been talking about robots a lot.

[49:17] I don't think it has happened with all of them.

[49:18] We haven't even mentioned probably one of the most popular robot movies, the Transformers films, which we've talked about.

[49:25] Robot jocks.

[49:26] Yeah.

Elliott Kalan

[49:27] They're not even robots, dude.

[49:28] They're driving things.

[49:29] They don't even spell jocks properly.

[49:31] Yeah, there's a lot of problems with that, with calling robot jocks a robot movie.

[49:35] Those are mechs, Dan.

[49:36] Yeah.

[49:37] So Transformers, let's talk about –

[49:39] So what does Transformers do so right that it's been such a successful series

[49:42] that people love so much and the stories are so great?

[49:45] Is it – you're saying this movie also needs a character who has laminated the rules about what constitutes statutory rape and what doesn't in case a police officer gets mad at him?

[49:53] I forgot about that.

[49:54] What a weird moment in a weird movie.

[49:55] It is the thing that sticks out to me the most from those movies because it's so unnecessary.

[49:59] It's not fun.

[50:00] And it's like, yeah, I took my kids to see this action movie about robots that change shape.

[50:03] Oh, this guy's going to spend a whole scene justifying why he has a relationship with a 17-year-old girl.

[50:08] Like, I don't like it.

[50:09] I don't like it at all.

[50:10] Yeah.

Stuart Wellington

[50:11] Or the two young robots who speak in slang and can't read.

[50:15] Yeah, I guess.

Elliott Kalan

[50:16] I don't like that.

[50:17] And I do like that there's a robot with a beard, though.

Stuart Wellington

[50:19] What about the robot that has the giant swinging wrecking ball testicle?

[50:24] That's right.

[50:24] The secret to their success is crassness and racism.

Elliott Kalan

[50:29] It makes me wonder if every Transformers movie, Michael Bay was like, why doesn't my friend John Waters take over one scene in this movie?

[50:36] Every installment.

[50:38] And John Waters is like, well, of course this robot needs huge wrecking ball balls.

[50:41] And Michael Bay is like, I gave you total control today.

[50:44] I don't like it, but you've got to do it.

[50:45] You've got to run a cut for this one scene.

[50:47] What if this character is talking about all about their illegal taboo-busting cross-age relationship?

[50:52] All right, John, you're America's favorite dirty uncle.

[50:55] I can't say no to you.

[50:56] It's a billion-dollar franchise, but go for it.

Stuart Wellington

[50:58] T.J. Miller has been in this movie, beloved by America.

[51:01] Let's just kill him with, like, no fanfare.

[51:06] Cogman.

[51:07] I think we can all agree Cogman is awesome.

[51:10] Cogman, the robot butler guy?

[51:12] You remember Cogman.

[51:12] I don't remember Cogman.

[51:13] You don't remember Cogman from Transformers The Last Knight?

Dan McCoy

[51:16] I think you'll find that I might retain very little about the Transformers series.

Elliott Kalan

[51:21] So what is it, Stuart, that makes them successful robot movies to make?

[51:25] Because, again, the Transformers, they don't do a lot of the stuff that Dan was talking about earlier about what it would mean to be human.

[51:30] Because they're aliens.

Dan McCoy

[51:32] They're aliens.

[51:32] They're aliens who happen to be sentient machines.

[51:35] Oh, yeah.

[51:36] That's what makes it different, I think.

Elliott Kalan

[51:37] But they also turn into cars and dinosaurs.

Dan McCoy

[51:40] Yeah.

[51:40] The morphing.

Elliott Kalan

[51:41] So you're saying that in Heartbeeps, so let's say it's the big climax.

[51:44] We're going to the climax of the movie.

[51:46] Are we keeping the Crime Buster story or is there some kind of robot police that's after them or something like that?

[51:51] There's got to be something that they're in danger from.

[51:54] So let's say it's Crime Buster, but he's like – but it's ED-209.

[51:57] Let's say ED-209.

[51:58] He's been out of work for a while.

[51:59] They hired him for Heartbeeps.

Stuart Wellington

[52:00] I would argue if you are trying to tell this kind of a story and you're going to have the Crime Buster character, the conclusion of the Crime Buster character should not involve an armed conflict where they like deactivate him or whatever.

[52:16] It should be that they like convince him that he's wrong basically.

Elliott Kalan

[52:21] You could say that could be the moment where Catskill makes Crime Buster laugh or they share a banana daiquiri with him and it messes with the circuits and he becomes a loving robot or something like that.

[52:31] Yes, thank you.

Stuart Wellington

[52:31] The taste of a banana daiquiri poured through his intake port.

Dan McCoy

[52:36] Famous Iranian film, Taste of Banana Daiquiri.

Elliott Kalan

[52:40] No robots in that movie.

[52:41] Surprising.

[52:42] Yeah.

[52:43] So it would be the power of love or banana daiquiris that stops Crime Buster.

Stuart Wellington

[52:48] Or that they have changed so much that they are not behaving like robots anymore so he does not want to capture them.

Elliott Kalan

[52:56] And there's a moment in the movie that almost gets to that point where it doesn't compute that they're acting like humans and robots.

[53:03] But I think that's a surprisingly sweet way to end it is that the robot police officer no longer recognizes them as robots.

[53:11] They've done it.

[53:11] They've done every robot in a movie's dream of becoming a person.

[53:15] It's that Pinocchio aspect Dan was talking about.

Stuart Wellington

[53:17] Maybe some of their robot parts start becoming all squishy and fleshy like in Existence or something.

Elliott Kalan

[53:23] There you go.

[53:24] And now she can give birth to Tane style.

[53:26] And then Dan thinks it's sexy again.

[53:30] And so we basically I guess have to rip off the end of Short Circuit 2 which was also a rip off of the end of Mac and Me.

[53:37] Like a naturalized citizen.

[53:38] And they take the citizenship oath and they're robot citizens.

Dan McCoy

[53:41] Oh God, I forgot about that.

[53:42] That's awesome.

Elliott Kalan

[53:43] Yeah, there's a – I wish that Mac and Me was not about them discovering the aliens and all that but was just about them studying for the citizenship exam.

[53:52] Yeah.

[53:53] Because as far as we can tell they can barely talk.

[53:55] They can just kind of whistle at each other and they look – like they're so totally at a loss to understand anything that's going on around them at any moment.

[54:02] How they memorize the first ten amendments in the Bill of Rights.

[54:06] Like I don't know.

[54:07] I don't know how they did it.

Stuart Wellington

[54:08] Guys, I've never seen Mac and Me.

[54:09] Should I watch it?

[54:10] What?

Elliott Kalan

[54:11] I have seen it too many times since we had to do a mystery science theater for it.

[54:14] I've seen it – at this point it might be in the double digits of times I've seen Mac and Me.

[54:19] But at some point we might have to do Mac and Me just so you can see it, Stuart.

Stuart Wellington

[54:22] Yeah, I'd like to see it.

[54:23] And I feel like you probably want to share with your kids.

[54:25] Oh my God.

[54:26] Yeah, that's a classic.

Elliott Kalan

[54:27] No, I think I've told the story before of being at a sleepover.

[54:31] It might have been at my house where we were watching the first half of Mac and Me.

[54:34] And the parents came in and said – no, it shouldn't have been at my house because it wasn't at my mom who came in.

[54:39] It was – the kid's mom came in and was like, you're going to have to finish watching this movie tomorrow because it's late.

[54:44] And we were all like, but do we have to finish watching it tomorrow?

[54:47] Like can we just leave it unfinished here?

[54:49] We did finish it the next day though.

[54:51] So I guys just – I think we're running out of time in this episode of Flophouse Mini Cinematic Mechanic.

[54:57] But I think we did what we needed to do.

[54:58] I think we fixed heartbeeps.

[55:00] The characters are – they're like – they have a stronger reason for leaving the factory.

[55:04] Which is to learn the taste of a banana daiquiri.

[55:07] We've given Bernadette Peters more of a starring role in it.

[55:11] Andy Kaufman's voice I assume will have to – we can just take it for granted that it's changed.

Stuart Wellington

[55:15] Dan, just jump onto – Dan can just jump onto Facebook Messenger and hit up Uncle Paul Schrader and tell him all these tweaks and changes.

Elliott Kalan

[55:22] Or talk to – you guys talk through Letterboxd a lot, right?

[55:25] Yeah.

[55:26] And they're not dumb characters anymore.

[55:29] They're just kind of unknowing.

[55:30] They're much more like C-3PO.

[55:32] They have cannons in their arms and mitten hands.

[55:35] If they make a baby, it's much later on after their parts start becoming fleshy, Cronenberg style.

[55:40] Yeah, I was talking about that.

[55:41] Through the power of kind of love.

[55:42] Or maybe they're – a different version of this is they're literally stealing the organs of humans and putting them in their own bodies.

[55:47] Sure, sure.

[55:48] Make them more lovable.

[55:49] Yeah, kind of like a more criminal version of Jonas from the Book of the New Sun, you know, a robot who's getting flesh parts put on him, a reverse tin man.

[55:57] And by the end of the movie, they're so human that they're no longer robots and Crime Buster just doesn't want to stop them, perhaps aided by having a banana daiquiri poured into its drink intake port.

[56:08] Yeah, yeah.

[56:09] Perfect film.

[56:11] Perfect film.

[56:11] We keep the same score.

[56:12] Great score.

[56:14] And we add in a scene at a bar, a scene at a water park.

[56:17] A second scene with Dick Miller.

[56:19] A second scene with Dick Miller.

[56:20] And I think we'd – so that maybe that's just Dan and his Dick Miller costume.

[56:23] I'll play him.

[56:24] Yeah.

[56:25] And I think we fixed it.

[56:26] So we fixed Heart Beeps.

[56:27] We finally made it a movie that really deserves to be on the same level as American Gigolo, Mishima.

[56:34] Yeah.

[56:35] First Reformed.

[56:36] First Reformed.

[56:36] You know, the great films in Paul Schrader's film.

[56:39] Kurt Tanner, Blue Collar, yeah.

[56:40] Oh, yeah.

[56:41] Blue Collar.

[56:41] Thank you.

[56:42] Oh, for sure.

[56:43] So, you know what?

[56:45] It's time for us to go back and watch some more Paul Schrader movies, including Heart Beeps.

[56:49] Thanks so much, everybody, for listening.

[56:52] I want to thank my guests slash co-hosts, Dan McCoy and Stuart Wellington.

[56:56] I want to thank our producer, Alex Smith.

[56:58] You may find him online as Howell Doughty where he is a talented musician.

[57:02] But he is the one who edits this and makes it all good and probably puts some sound effects in there here and there.

[57:06] Maybe some like –

[57:07] Shoo, shoo.

[57:07] You know, those kinds of sound effects.

[57:09] Ratchet, ratchet, you know, gearhead type sound effects.

[57:12] We are a member of the Maximum Fun Podcast Network.

[57:16] Go to MaximumFun.org and listen to some of the other great podcasts that are there.

[57:20] Go to MaximumFun.org slash join.

[57:22] If you want to become a member as a pledger, the drive is over.

[57:25] But you can still do it, you know.

[57:27] There's nothing stopping you.

[57:28] Nothing stops.

[57:28] There's nothing in the rule book.

[57:29] Nothing stops.

[57:29] I'm not stopping you.

[57:31] Until next week when we will be talking about a movie as opposed to nonsense.

[57:37] Though I think we'll get some nonsense in there.

[57:39] Join us next time.

[57:40] We're going to be talking about The Electric State.

[57:41] And until then, I remain Elliot Kalin.

Dan McCoy

[57:44] I've been Dan McCoy.

Stuart Wellington

[57:46] I am Stuart Bott Wellington Bott.

Elliott Kalan

[57:49] Oh, no.

[57:49] It works backwards.

[57:50] Guys, we've got to fix Stuart before the next episode.

[57:54] Boop.

[58:01] Maximum Fun.

S4

[58:02] A worker-owned network.

[58:03] Of artists-owned shows.

[58:05] Supported.

[58:06] Directly.

[58:07] By you.

FH Mini 125 - Cinematic Mechanics

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