Episode 37 features Edward O’Hare, who is here in his official capacity as “the movie guy.”
We discuss what that means, what to call the things we watch on the big screen, lists, Oscar, and much much more.
During the episode we cover:
- Movies, Film, or Cinema
- The Movie Theater Experience
- Studying Film
- Palmer Video
- The Usual Suspects
- The Oscar Challenge
- Depressing Documentaries
- Thoughts on being “The Movie Guy”
- Trailers
- Reboots and Remakes
- Favorite Films
- Lists
- Television
- And much more…
Mentioned and Helpful Links from This Episode
Find Ed Bonds With Bill on the Wicked Theory Patreon
Music created and provided by Henno Heitur of Monkey Tongue Productions.
–End Show Notes Transmission–
–Begin Transcription–
00:00:00:01 – 00:00:23:37
Agent Palmer
Previously on Agent Palmer dot com. Sorting things out five items at a time. The Birth of loud chronicles the innovation of two iconic guitars. And while I don’t actually feel different, I have been using pure maple sirup instead of sugar in my coffee, and I know at least that’s a start. This is The Palmer Files, episode 37 with Edward O’Hare, who is here in his official capacity as the movie guy.
00:00:23:42 – 00:01:04:08
Agent Palmer
We discussed what that means, what to call the things we watch on the big screen lists. Oscar and so much more. Are you ready? Let’s do the show.
00:01:04:13 – 00:01:43:04
Agent Palmer
Hello, and welcome to the Palmer Files. I’m your host, Jason Stershic. Also known as Agent Palmer. And on this 37th episode is Edward O’Hare, who some of you may know from his days on the Wicked Theory podcast. Or perhaps the DC TV report. Or maybe you just know him as the movie guy, and whether you know him or not, we all have a movie guy that we know who just seems to be the person who lives at the movies, always has a recommendation at hand for what’s out, and can give you an opinion on that flick you might take your date to see tonight and actually functions as my movie guy, though we are genuine
00:01:43:04 – 00:02:11:23
Agent Palmer
friends and discuss other things, but I wanted to have a genuine discussion about movies in a general sense, and he was the only person that came to mind. So we talk about Ed’s cinephile origin, the first film he saw in theaters. Palmer video studying film, the Oscar challenge, film eras, movies and perhaps things get too personal, but what’s some tough questions between friends anyhow?
00:02:11:28 – 00:02:32:11
Agent Palmer
Before we get it going, remember that if you want to discuss the episode as you listen or afterwards, you can tweet me at Agent Palmer, the show at The Palmer Files, or Ed at Little Edie O’Hare. That’s Lil e I e o h a r e. You can visit Wicked theory.com to see some of what that has done in the past, including the DC TV report.
00:02:32:16 – 00:02:53:26
Agent Palmer
Don’t forget, all of my ratings and ratings can be seen on Agent palmer.com. And of course, email can be sent to the show at the Palmer Files at gmail.com. So without further ado. Quiet on the set. Cue the music.
00:02:53:31 – 00:03:01:50
Agent Palmer
Ed, I’m going to start by making sure that we have our, We’re all on the same page. So is it movies, film or cinema?
00:03:01:55 – 00:03:05:22
Edward O’Hare
It’s all the same. And it’s all one big.
00:03:05:27 – 00:03:06:46
Agent Palmer
Is it though?
00:03:06:51 – 00:03:36:30
Edward O’Hare
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it’s I mean, it’s people get really snooty, you know, people decide, oh, you know, I only watch cinema and, I think a lot of that’s just posturing. It’s it’s it’s the movies. That’s what we enjoy. You know, sometimes if, if it’s, you know, film or cinema, you know, that that’s when we’re talking about talking about being in a classroom and, you know, trying to make this academic, which I’ve been there.
00:03:36:35 – 00:03:43:30
Edward O’Hare
But, in the in the end, there are movies. It’s all the movies to me that those, those terms are all interchangeable.
00:03:43:45 – 00:04:07:57
Agent Palmer
I asked you that question with the idea that I would just move on to the next one, but in your answer, I was starting to think like there are times when I feel like being snooty when I’m reviewing something from the larger screen, when I do say things like, well, this film is fantastic. And it’s not just for the alliteration.
00:04:08:01 – 00:04:17:52
Agent Palmer
There are times when I know I’m trying to be, pinky in the air with my popcorn.
00:04:17:57 – 00:04:18:36
Speaker 3
Right.
00:04:18:40 – 00:04:21:29
Edward O’Hare
Yeah, yeah.
00:04:21:34 – 00:04:27:18
Agent Palmer
And you’re you’re here because, you’re you’re the movie guy.
00:04:27:23 – 00:04:28:03
Edward O’Hare
Okay.
00:04:28:08 – 00:04:44:30
Agent Palmer
And I wanted to ask you about being the movie guy, but I want to start with where does it start? Like, what’s your first movie? Like, what’s the one that’s like, oh, I like movie. This is the medium for me.
00:04:44:35 – 00:05:07:53
Edward O’Hare
Well, the first movie, I think. I guess you should talk about the first movie I saw in a theater. And I remember it was, it was The Rescuers Down Under. I was about 3 or 4 years old, and that had a, a short in the beginning, like a half hour version of the, Mickey Mouse version of The Prince and the pauper.
00:05:07:58 – 00:05:40:02
Edward O’Hare
And, I, I can’t remember, we would have gone to the United Artists 14 screen in Travis, which is the Travis neighborhood of Staten Island, which was the first multiplex, on Staten Island. And and there used to be a bunch of movie houses and twin screens all over Staten Island. And then that place opened, and then there was a five screen in the Highland Plaza and the atrium, which is on Richmond Avenue.
00:05:40:02 – 00:05:49:45
Agent Palmer
And these are all the places where you spent your childhood after after watching rescuers, you’re like, I’m never leaving any of these places. There will always be a screen for me.
00:05:49:50 – 00:06:18:28
Edward O’Hare
Yeah, yeah. And, you know, it’s just I remember the whole, like, the whole idea of everything going dark and then all of a sudden the screen goes bright and you’re just transported into this enormous world and, you know, I watch TV a lot more than. And then, then I watch movies, as most people do. But that whole experience of being enveloped in darkness and then all of a sudden there’s nothing else to do but watch what’s on the screen.
00:06:18:33 – 00:06:32:02
Edward O’Hare
They, they, they call that term suture, where you get wrapped up in it so much that, you know, everything beyond the screen just kind of falls away. I to me, there’s no there’s no better feeling.
00:06:32:16 – 00:06:51:51
Agent Palmer
You. And look, you and I, I’ve talked about this before. You would prefer the theater experience no matter what. Like, I can buy you the biggest television and, like, the most blackout, of of, like, window coverings. And you still want to go to the theater?
00:06:51:56 – 00:07:18:45
Edward O’Hare
Yeah. Yes. Yes, yes. You know, I mean, I have I have a decent sized TV, you know, and I’ve played that in my apartment, turning on the lights. You know, when I watched, Mank, you know, or a couple of the other Netflix movies that were coming out, and. Yeah, it’s nice. It’s just not the same, you know, and I, I actually really enjoy some of the elements that people despise about movie theaters, which are the other people.
00:07:18:52 – 00:07:22:11
Edward O’Hare
00:07:22:16 – 00:07:23:14
Speaker 3
Oh.
00:07:23:19 – 00:07:30:20
Agent Palmer
Number one. Sure. Yeah. Right. I mean, most people’s list. If there’s something to despise other people.
00:07:30:25 – 00:07:55:35
Edward O’Hare
Yeah. Because because the the the one thing to me, you know, if I saw a movie in theaters, I generally feel like I know the movie better, I, I can I have better recall of it, but also the, the combined experiences of whatever happened in the movie theater, as I was watching it, you know, just or just just the memory of, like, what?
00:07:55:35 – 00:08:24:11
Edward O’Hare
What was going on, you know, thinking about you, for example, I remember Iron Man three sitting in a crowded theater opening night. It was probably midnight showing. And, you know, you’ve you’ve got you’ve got like 200 people packed, packed into, packed into that theater and the scene where, the kid, he’s at the kid’s house and he’s repairing all of his stuff in, like, the in, like the garage.
00:08:24:16 – 00:08:50:48
Edward O’Hare
And he has the kid where his parents are, and, he says mom’s asleep. Dad went out for scratchers. He must have won, because that was six years ago. And there was a guy who loved that joke so much for the rest of the movie. Every five minutes he just chuckled himself, going, whatever scratches.
00:08:50:53 – 00:09:15:39
Edward O’Hare
And I know that. And I know that would annoy some people, but to me that just enhances the experience. It’s the kind of thing where it’s like, oh, that’s a funny joke and some people can’t get enough of it. Now don’t get me wrong, I get annoyed by the phones and all the unnecessary stuff. I have actually gone up to people in the middle of a theater as I saw them recording something on a phone and asked them to put it down because it’s distracting.
00:09:15:44 – 00:09:22:36
Edward O’Hare
But, you know, little, little small, tiny moments like that. Stick with me.
00:09:22:41 – 00:09:28:32
Agent Palmer
Okay. All right. How many midnight showings have you done? Or can you not,
00:09:28:37 – 00:09:59:11
Edward O’Hare
I can’t count. Okay, I, I, I would say probably on average, I would, I mean, midnight shown late night showings, you know, evening showings, like the Thursday night show, especially in the last few years when they’d started to go to, they started to do, like, 7:00 and 10:00 showings. You know, I would say I was, you know, I’d probably do about 20 of those a year, midnight showings, like deep midnight showings.
00:09:59:11 – 00:10:04:04
Edward O’Hare
Before that, I would probably hit like, you know, 3 or 4 of those every year, depending. So.
00:10:04:04 – 00:10:11:43
Agent Palmer
They made it easier for you when they went to, like, Thursday and. Oh, yeah. You know, it’s at seven and ten. All right.
00:10:11:48 – 00:10:12:06
Edward O’Hare
Yeah.
00:10:12:11 – 00:10:17:16
Agent Palmer
It you went to school to study film?
00:10:17:21 – 00:10:21:50
Edward O’Hare
Yes. Yes, I studied I, my major in college was film studies.
00:10:22:03 – 00:10:34:11
Agent Palmer
Why. And look, look, I’m. This is not me being like. Oh. And and and I are friends. Like I’ll invite him on his show and, like, berate him for going like. But all I know is like, I know a.
00:10:34:11 – 00:10:37:33
Edward O’Hare
Lot, I know I, I wish, I wish you were there to berate me at the time.
00:10:37:38 – 00:11:00:08
Agent Palmer
Well, because it will the follow up or the preface is I know too many art students that have nothing to do with art in their careers now, right? So what? I’m not going to berate you. What I’m going to ask is this what was the objective like? I’m going to study film in school. Was there to, to what end?
00:11:00:08 – 00:11:02:23
Agent Palmer
Like to learn more? Like what?
00:11:02:28 – 00:11:15:39
Edward O’Hare
To know? No, I didn’t I didn’t know what I was doing and I don’t want to I did not have a very good college experience. For a lot of personal reasons that I’m not going to get into. That’s fine.
00:11:15:44 – 00:11:17:02
Agent Palmer
I’m not.
00:11:17:07 – 00:11:48:39
Edward O’Hare
The basic thing is, is I got to, you know, like halfway through sophomore year where it was a point where it’s like, you, you really got to declare a major. And basically, you know, I started interested in film production and that didn’t really work out. And I ended up transferring to a different school. And by that point, based on the credits I had and the idea that I was not going to spend more than four years in school, that was just the easiest road to go down.
00:11:48:43 – 00:11:59:08
Edward O’Hare
Okay. And and I appreciated the classes. I did learn a lot, but, didn’t has not really helped me very much in my working life, so.
00:11:59:13 – 00:12:25:14
Agent Palmer
Well, that’s fine, but I, I, I’m kind of shocked and taken aback that it was film production because I of of our interactions of what I know from you on other podcast, like you, you are a writer, you are a creator. So film production seems like I like, like why not go into like the writing aspect of it?
00:12:25:19 – 00:12:27:10
Agent Palmer
Or is this ego like, oh well.
00:12:27:10 – 00:12:46:54
Edward O’Hare
Yeah, it start, it started in film production because everyone thinks they’re going to be a director coming out of high school, and then slowly took a screenwriting class, and then I had a semester. I was like, I’ve got to, I can’t do that. I’ve got to do something else. And then the next semester it’s like, well, no, I got to finish in two years.
00:12:46:59 – 00:12:56:08
Edward O’Hare
No, I’ve got to be able to, to, to to graduate on time. So the only way to fill in those gaps was, was with film studies.
00:12:56:08 – 00:13:17:12
Agent Palmer
So if we go backwards before like, high school, right. Ed’s in love with film. And before the, you know, higher education. What do you want to be when you grow up? Like, is there it is, director there is it or are you just like every other kid where it’s like, no, I want to be quarterback for the Giants.
00:13:17:12 – 00:13:18:06
Agent Palmer
And you know.
00:13:18:06 – 00:13:38:06
Edward O’Hare
Yeah, it’s it’s every kid. You go you go through phases. It’s basically whatever TV show you were into. It’s it’s, you know. Yeah. Half the time it was it was a homicide detectives sometimes you know if you, you know astronaut you know all all that or those, you know, different different iterations and, you know, not understanding like what exactly it took.
00:13:38:10 – 00:13:59:42
Edward O’Hare
But the first time I actually, like, felt like, you know, teaching I was, I was considering teaching for a while. The but the, like, the first movie I watched that that made me think about, like, going into that as a profession or just just saying, like, I would want to be involved with that world of storytelling.
00:13:59:47 – 00:14:03:41
Edward O’Hare
Was the usual suspects it.
00:14:03:46 – 00:14:12:35
Agent Palmer
But, but you’re but you’re of an age where you can easily go with everybody else and say, clerks and slackers.
00:14:12:40 – 00:14:38:58
Edward O’Hare
Yeah. You could. Yeah. I mean, I could, I could grant I’m a little younger than you. And, you know, Usual Suspects came out like the same time as those movies, but that, that was the way, the way Christopher McQuarrie put together that screenplay and, and had that airtight narrative. And, Bryan Singer just just executed it to perfection.
00:14:39:03 – 00:14:59:34
Edward O’Hare
They’re kind of like weird mouse trap and and the reveal at the end and the way everything sort of came together was so intriguing to me. You know, just and just, you know, I was a kid. I grew up across the street from a video store. It was originally Palmer video and then changed a West Coast video.
00:14:59:34 – 00:15:19:27
Edward O’Hare
But, like one of those chain video stores, I would just walk across the street and just rent stuff constantly. And it would be the kind of thing where, you know, if I had something for a week, I would watch it at least once every day that I had that I had that movie. So there are some movies that are just ingrained into me that I just watched over and over again and memorized, but like.
00:15:19:27 – 00:15:25:06
Agent Palmer
To what end, though? Because like, I, I, I would say like, why not just watch five different thing?
00:15:25:06 – 00:15:55:57
Edward O’Hare
Well, just, just just for enjoyment and also because, you know, to me it was like, well, no, I, I love these characters. And watching this movie is just like hanging out with my friends. If there was a whole TV show with those guys. Yeah, sure. I’d, I’d love to watch it, you know, and you know, but but since since these two, since these two hours are all I have, you know, whenever, whenever I want to, I want to see, you know, I want to hang out with Marty McFly.
00:15:56:02 – 00:16:01:03
Edward O’Hare
Or Indiana Jones. I’ll just I’ll just pop in one of those, you know?
00:16:01:08 – 00:16:01:46
Agent Palmer
All right.
00:16:01:51 – 00:16:43:04
Edward O’Hare
So, so basically, I already had that kind of, you know, I I’m, I’m what you would call a serial obsessive when when I become interested in something, I, I have to I can’t go halfway. I immerse myself into it. So I already had that kind of a brain and usual suspects just kind of like, you know, opened the, the, the tuna fish can of my mind and just blew everything apart and, realized like, oh, I can watch this movie 50 times and find something completely different about it every time.
00:16:43:09 – 00:16:49:21
Edward O’Hare
And, and wanting to see all those nuances and take it apart. That’s that’s what I really enjoyed about it.
00:16:49:32 – 00:17:00:59
Agent Palmer
Well, then I’m going to ask you what would probably be the most personal question I can ask you tonight, which is how many unfinished scripts have you started?
00:17:01:04 – 00:17:04:40
Edward O’Hare
Quite a few. Well, let’s just leave it at that, okay?
00:17:04:47 – 00:17:23:19
Agent Palmer
I mean, look, I I’ll, I’ll, I’ll be one to admit, like, I have unfinished things, you know, I, I think it’s and it’s a, it’s a, it’s, I call it a personal question because not a lot of people like to, you know. Yeah. You know, you have a regular show and you’ve been a part of other projects that have finished.
00:17:23:24 – 00:17:57:07
Agent Palmer
And I put out a weekly blog. So like I it it’s one of those personal things where it’s like, well, nothing’s unfinished like you. The next thing I’m working on is the unfinished one, right? Not like, oh, I have these things. But, like, is that is that a goal? Like, at some point, you know, for like, a writer writer, it would be like to write the great American novel, but for you, is it like, oh, I want, I want to write the next great screenplay, like, is, is that,
00:17:57:12 – 00:18:09:14
Edward O’Hare
I and, you know, this is this is again with the personal stuff. I have had a very hard time over the last decade and a half reconciling what I really want.
00:18:09:19 – 00:18:10:29
Agent Palmer
Like, in general. And.
00:18:10:29 – 00:18:10:58
Edward O’Hare
Yes.
00:18:10:58 – 00:18:12:55
Agent Palmer
Okay. Yeah. You’re not alone.
00:18:12:55 – 00:18:41:04
Edward O’Hare
So. So taking that path. Sure. That would be great. And it’s a it’s an idea of decision and follow through and writer’s block. And, I have a nasty habit of figuring something out in my head and then forgetting to write it down, and then just getting too bored with it afterwards and wanting to move on to the next thing, and trying to turn that into something productive.
00:18:41:08 – 00:18:46:27
Edward O’Hare
That could be, you know, a profession. It’s been a problem for me, and I’m still working through it.
00:18:46:27 – 00:19:14:02
Agent Palmer
Do do you find, like, solace as well as inspiration for movies? Because, like, I’ll, I’ll be the first to admit when when I back in 2008, when I started my business, because I, I was in retail hell and not doing anything anyway. And I was just like, whatever. Like I would put movies on instead of listening to music when I was doing stuff.
00:19:14:06 – 00:19:33:55
Agent Palmer
And the whole point was to get inspired. And yeah, part of it’s the score, but part of it’s the dialog. And I’ll admit, part of it’s, you know, being lonely and working, you know, doing some coding until three in the morning. And at least my friends, you know, are around, you know, whatever. You know, Skywalker and Solo are around.
00:19:33:55 – 00:19:49:54
Agent Palmer
It’s nice. Right? Yeah. But do you find like that you can get not comfort. Like comfort movies is a whole different ballgame. But do you find, like, you can put a movie on and be like, this is going to inspire me or, you know. Oh yeah.
00:19:50:04 – 00:19:50:35
Edward O’Hare
Oh, yeah, of.
00:19:50:35 – 00:20:03:23
Agent Palmer
Course. And do you, do you, do you always take the leap or do you go like I’m inspired? Like, I’ll jot this down and move on or.
00:20:03:28 – 00:20:03:48
Speaker 3
Let me.
00:20:03:48 – 00:20:13:22
Agent Palmer
Let me ask you this because I know and maybe not all the listeners do for the last however long you’ve done the Oscar challenge.
00:20:13:27 – 00:20:14:16
Edward O’Hare
Yes.
00:20:14:21 – 00:20:33:34
Agent Palmer
First of all, not even. What is it? Just was it a thing that existed that I only learned about because of you? But like that you learned about from somebody else or is this, like, Ed original? Like I’m going to do this?
00:20:33:39 – 00:20:59:57
Edward O’Hare
Well, it existed before I started doing it. Okay. I actually didn’t become aware of the, you know, that it was a thing until about halfway through completing the first time I actually completed it. I am one. One strange thing about me is, you know how a lot of people, when they’re, like, bored in class, they’ll just doodle and they draw sketch a lot.
00:21:00:01 – 00:21:06:11
Edward O’Hare
Yeah. I’m the kind of person who writes lists when I’m bored.
00:21:06:15 – 00:21:07:15
Agent Palmer
What’s good?
00:21:07:20 – 00:21:31:46
Edward O’Hare
And I have, have this habit of doing up spreadsheets where I will find just a chunk of data or try to piece things together to create spreadsheets. And I started just to compare, you know, and so there there was a point where I would put together a list of every movie that was nominated for an Oscar that year and in each category.
00:21:31:46 – 00:22:13:51
Edward O’Hare
And just to compare, you know, just to see, like, how things shook out, you know, what movies were, you know, were nominated in word and in and so forth. And then once I put together that spreadsheet, it’d be like, wouldn’t it be cool to actually see all of these movies and try to make a comparison? And I tried it several different times and, most of the time, you know, even living in New York, it most of the time it just wasn’t able to complete either because movies were out of theaters but hadn’t reached DVD yet, or, foreign movies were only showing it like, you know, one theater in the city.
00:22:13:56 – 00:22:17:22
Agent Palmer
At 1230 in the afternoon on a Wednesday.
00:22:17:24 – 00:22:42:56
Edward O’Hare
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And within the last few years, a lot of those movies have, made it to to rent on Amazon, you know, or have become available sooner. The documentary shorts are always the hardest ones to find. And they usually play on the IFC center at the IFC Center in Manhattan. Like for the last couple of weeks before the Oscars.
00:22:42:56 – 00:22:45:35
Agent Palmer
And how many years have you completed it?
00:22:45:40 – 00:22:59:15
Edward O’Hare
So I was I completed it three the three years in a row. And I’ve I’ve already kind of, confided to myself that, I probably will not be completing it this year.
00:22:59:20 – 00:23:20:20
Agent Palmer
Okay. And that’s I mean, look, it’s what you’ve already accomplished in doing it. Three times is is pretty impressive. Do you like do you have an inside track now, like you’ve done it three times. You had a feeling going into that first year of, like, who would win and whatever happened, happened. And then you took that knowledge into year two and year three.
00:23:20:20 – 00:23:37:01
Agent Palmer
Like, do you like I mean, obviously you have to see the movies like you can’t just. Yeah, yeah, but but do you feel like you can go in and sit through a movie and like decide like this is going to be like close, this can be a runner up maybe like, do you, can you get that sense?
00:23:37:06 – 00:24:05:02
Edward O’Hare
Well, I part because part of the Oscars is very political. So you can also you can also get a sense because a lot of it, a lot of figuring out if a movie has a chance, has nothing to do with whether the movie’s good or not. A lot of times it depends on release dates and, and the people involved, you know, what studios backing it.
00:24:05:02 – 00:24:30:13
Edward O’Hare
If there’s another movie at that studio that’s going to get more prominence. And, you know, whether or not because there are some movies that look like Oscar contenders that might come out in like August or September, and if they have tepid box office, they’re toast. Whereas if that same movie came out in November and December and had the same box office but got enough critical notoriety, it would have a better chance.
00:24:30:17 – 00:24:43:22
Agent Palmer
Well, so so what you’re telling me is that the the, the establishment pays attention to the box office, like batting averages, like it matters.
00:24:43:27 – 00:25:17:48
Edward O’Hare
Depending on the film. Yes and no. You know, if it’s a wide release. Yes. Box office matters. If it’s one of these festival films that might show up at, like, Toronto Film Festival or Telluride or earlier in the year at Sundance. And, you know, they do the, the small release with the release at it like four theaters, one week and then slowly added into more and more theaters, hoping that, you know, by December it gets enough buzz that it can get a wide release box office doesn’t matter as much.
00:25:17:48 – 00:25:23:01
Edward O’Hare
They’re they’re it depends more on on buzz on, on.
00:25:23:06 – 00:25:44:30
Agent Palmer
Oh, I want to I want to go back for a second independent short all all of the documentaries. Right. That they usually get Oscar. They’re all depressing it. They’re all depressed. Ed. They’re all depressing. You’re not going to convince me either. How you have for three years in a row, you watched all of them? How? Yeah, I will.
00:25:44:35 – 00:26:21:51
Edward O’Hare
Feature your documentaries. Although it’s it’s it’s weird because, like, there were movies like I was convinced that won’t you be my neighbor was was a shoo in, and, you know, there was there was no stopping that. That was the clear winner and documentary feature and it did not even get nominated. And there’s usually, there’s usually one documentary that’s a little bit more uplifting that has some hope in it, and that’s the one that goes the distance.
00:26:21:56 – 00:27:01:02
Edward O’Hare
And for I think that year, when Won’t You Be my neighbor got knocked out. It was free solo, which is about, which is about a mountain climber, so usually I would say usually like, in the, in the documentary feature category, you’ll have one that’s that’s light and hopeful. You’ll have one that’s like, very avant garde, you know, very like cinema verité where it’s it’s just like, we’re going to show you anything.
00:27:01:02 – 00:27:27:49
Edward O’Hare
There’s no talking heads. And it’s it’s going to be about the American experience. And then, you know, sometimes 2 or 3, will it be about something happening in the Middle East, like there have been Syria? There have been a lot of documentaries coming out of out of the Syria conflict. And there and you’re right, they are all bone crushingly depressing.
00:27:27:54 – 00:27:54:15
Edward O’Hare
The documentary shorts category, is, is kind of the same thing, but can be a little bit, there’s usually a little bit more light fare. There was a really good one about, an Olympic fencer. There was another one that was about two Vietnamese immigrants who, like to go to dance, like to, do ballet dancing.
00:27:54:20 – 00:27:54:39
Speaker 3
I don’t.
00:27:54:39 – 00:28:18:35
Agent Palmer
I look, I look, and so I, I’ve become a guy that like, I will read anything that comes my way. I’m trying to get out there and watch different things that I wouldn’t normally watch. I mean, you’ve, I mean, obviously you’ve seen all of them, at least for those three years, and you’ve seen the good and the bad because I’m convinced that even if it’s just nominated, it doesn’t mean they’re all the greatest things.
00:28:18:40 – 00:28:20:06
Edward O’Hare
So. Yeah. No. Definitely.
00:28:20:06 – 00:28:34:21
Agent Palmer
Have you are are you more open to things that you don’t think you would like? I guess, as the question is, is obviously, in order to complete this challenge, you’ve probably been surprised, I guess.
00:28:34:26 – 00:28:53:32
Edward O’Hare
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There’s been yeah, there’s been things that I haven’t. That I haven’t expected to like, that, that I was surprised by, stuff I never would have seen otherwise. And a lot of times I was justified in.
00:28:53:36 – 00:28:55:27
Speaker 3
00:28:55:32 – 00:29:19:51
Edward O’Hare
In that opinion. And there’s, there’s a lot of stuff where it’s like, yeah, it’s okay, but it’s, you know, you get those clear, like, Oscar bait things where it’s, you know, why is this movie being made now? And, you know, aside from trying to push this one actor, or try to sneak this, this, you know, just try to sneak a little bit of attention.
00:29:19:55 – 00:29:24:18
Edward O’Hare
But, yeah, you know. Yeah, there’s things I’m looking through the the list of.
00:29:24:23 – 00:29:26:12
Speaker 3
00:29:26:17 – 00:29:44:41
Edward O’Hare
List of movies that I watched last year for the Oscars. Harriet, that was one that just seemed that that, that I wasn’t that impressed with, The Two Popes was something I probably would not have seen otherwise, but was pleasantly surprised by.
00:29:44:46 – 00:30:00:11
Agent Palmer
So all of this is a means to say that for a certain group of people on the internet, but probably almost for almost every group of people you’re in and you are quote unquote, the movie guy.
00:30:00:16 – 00:30:00:48
Edward O’Hare
Yes.
00:30:00:48 – 00:30:13:47
Agent Palmer
Do you enjoy that role? Like, is it tiring? Because I know that you have called me in or I have called you and be like, do I need to see this movie? Like, do you do you enjoy that role?
00:30:13:52 – 00:30:40:11
Edward O’Hare
Of course, of course I love it. And like it doesn’t just extend to being the movie guy. Like every job I’ve ever worked with, I was the comic book guy. So any time a big comic book movie was coming out, I, you know, even if it was like some Marvel character I never even touched, I’d have to at least glance at the Wikipedia page, just in case someone asked me who the hell Groot was.
00:30:40:16 – 00:31:00:25
Edward O’Hare
And, yeah, no, I, I enjoy that part. You know, it’s it’s that’s, you know, I’ve like, if you ask me, like, my druthers, if I could have any job I wanted, that it would be to find a way to make money being that guy, you know,
00:31:00:30 – 00:31:32:18
Edward O’Hare
Being being the guy with, you know, with the knowledge and, you know, being opinionated enough, to to be able to, to give those recommendations and, and for people to come in and, and look to me for those and, you know, just that, that back and forth discussion, you know, you know, I, I, you know, a lot of times getting into arguments with people about whether or not a movie was good or not, you know, or, you know, with the, you know, whether, whether or not it was enjoyable to me.
00:31:32:18 – 00:31:37:20
Edward O’Hare
I enjoy those kind of lively Siskel and Ebert discussions, and I wish I could have them more often with people.
00:31:37:29 – 00:31:57:00
Agent Palmer
Do you of of the people around. And I don’t even have to know them. I mean, we have some cross-section, but like, do you have like a Siskel to your Ebert? Like, do you have a someone who’s like, going to argue, I, I’m not going to ask if there’s somebody who will argue with you for argument’s sake, because I’ve done that to you.
00:31:57:12 – 00:32:01:10
Agent Palmer
But like, is there someone on a film level that’s like, well.
00:32:01:10 – 00:32:23:17
Edward O’Hare
I mean, the, Uncle Jay, Jay Chiclets who is on, Wicked Theory for a while, we had some, some rowdy, rowdy battles, you know, and, and a lot of that had to do with just the way we, we came at film and in our philosophies. And, you know, we had different things that we we knew would tick each other off.
00:32:23:22 – 00:32:51:05
Edward O’Hare
Yeah, that that would probably be the closest I would say, you know, nowadays it it kind of goes back and forth. I have my friend Steve, Lamport, who’s, director, author and teacher, film teacher out in California. You know, we, we basically talk talk movies all the time. Although a lot of times I’ll argue with him about the industry and, you know, because, you know, I think he’s the only person who can explain to me why certain studios do certain things, but, I.
00:32:51:05 – 00:33:10:17
Agent Palmer
Don’t think they even know at times. I mean, look, I’ll I’ll admit I’m not the guy who’s like, like, reading all the rags or whatever the digital equivalent is, but but I will say, like from from studio reaction to audience reaction, they have no idea what they’re doing.
00:33:10:22 – 00:33:26:53
Edward O’Hare
Yeah. And and a lot of, a lot of times I find that frustrating, especially if it was a movie that I thought had a great trailer and I was looking forward to was exciting. And then I went in there and just was completely disappointed. I’m I’m running out there screaming like rich guys. And after a Jets loss, you know, it’s,
00:33:26:58 – 00:33:27:18
Speaker 3
All right.
00:33:27:18 – 00:33:37:15
Agent Palmer
So so then I have two very big industry questions for you. Do you want the hard one or the harder one?
00:33:37:20 – 00:33:43:14
Edward O’Hare
Well, it let’s let’s lean into it. Let’s let’s, let’s start off small and move up. But what’s the hard one?
00:33:43:16 – 00:34:11:43
Agent Palmer
The hard one is why can Hollywood not cut together a decent trailer anymore? And I say that as a guy who watches these older films and I’m, I’m also targeting 60s and 70s, and I go, like, I like. The other day I shared with Stephanie because I’ve been talking about wanting to rewatch bullet. So we watch the trailer because she has no idea what I’m talking about.
00:34:11:43 – 00:34:28:37
Agent Palmer
Oh. Oh, okay, so we rewatched the trailer of bullet. I’m like, oh great, like it? And it doesn’t even like bullet. Just get like, this is what you’re here you go. And it’s like a proper trailer as opposed to these formulaic ones that we get now that’s just like give you everything.
00:34:28:42 – 00:34:36:23
Edward O’Hare
Did you watch the trailer from 68, or did you watch, like a modern remix of the trailer or like, was it like a fan made trailer?
00:34:36:23 – 00:34:38:11
Agent Palmer
I think it was the 68 one.
00:34:38:16 – 00:35:03:50
Edward O’Hare
Okay, okay. So, so, so you watch one that was put out at the time, the movie. Yes. That’s right. Yes, that’s what I was asking. Okay. Because there was going to say, up until the 90s, a lot of trailers would be I would consider most trailers prior to the 90s wouldn’t work by modern standards because they usually give too much of the movie away.
00:35:03:55 – 00:35:44:14
Edward O’Hare
Like, I know on the Ed bonds with Bill trailers. I think Ed Bonds with Bill podcast that I’ve, been doing behind our paywall at Wicked Theory. Going back and seeing trailers from Doctor No and and from Russia with a and a lot of a lot of the Sean Connery and Roger Moore Bond movies. They gave away the whole movie, you know, it’s, you know, the and the idea then was that this was something you were going to see like three months or six months before the movie came out and you’d have all of that time to forget what you saw before you saw the movie, because you couldn’t go on the internet
00:35:44:14 – 00:36:12:33
Edward O’Hare
and watch it and watch it over and over again. And you know, the, you know, TV spots. We’re going to we’re, you know, we’re not going to show as much as they showed in the trailer. So it was it was a different marketing style, I think part of the problem is that because, you know, you have people who can dissect trailers and over and over again, and Hollywood is going by the marketing strategy that they know.
00:36:12:33 – 00:36:41:56
Edward O’Hare
Is that you you need to tell people that these certain things are in the movie. And a lot of times that’ll spoil things, that’ll, that’ll ruin the plot. Like a good example. Like I can, remember this, downsized the Matt Damon movie. Yeah. Where he gets where he gets small. The first trailer I thought was interesting, and then the second trailer revealed that his wife, played by Kristen Wiig.
00:36:42:01 – 00:36:56:40
Edward O’Hare
Decides after Matt Damon’s been downsized. She decides not to go in for the procedure and divorces him. And to me, that’s like, that could have been an amazing reveal.
00:36:56:42 – 00:36:57:16
Agent Palmer
Sure.
00:36:57:16 – 00:37:16:27
Edward O’Hare
Yeah. If I if I had seen that not knowing it going in and the trailer is just so desperate and afraid that people aren’t going to go see this movie, they feel like, well, we’ve got to tell them more about it. And, and, and end up ruining that moment for, you know, for, for a potential audience, see, and, I.
00:37:16:29 – 00:37:44:03
Agent Palmer
And I don’t see it as, particularly 100% movie thing. Like, I’ve stopped reading the back covers and inside flaps of books. I’m interested in, because one of the things when I go to like, all right, so almost all of my fiction book reviews are spoiler free, and I will, after I finish reading the book, go back and see what they gave away.
00:37:44:08 – 00:37:58:07
Agent Palmer
Unlike the back cover. And there are times when I am like, but that was great to not know. Like, what do you do? Why are you putting it on the back cover? Like that’s, that’s a turn.
00:37:58:12 – 00:38:17:19
Edward O’Hare
That’s be because they don’t understand any other way to hook you in. And a lot, because a lot of times I’ll find the only way to get someone to enjoy a movie. You know, I could tell someone about something till they’re blue in the face. Unless I have to, like, physically sit them down and show it to them.
00:38:17:24 – 00:38:35:56
Edward O’Hare
You know, so that that that’s the that’s the thing you’ve got to know. Because like, with a Star Wars movie, there’s a huge built in audience that you just got to tell them a date and time and they’ll be there. Sure, you don’t need to reveal much more, but the problem is that no matter what that built in audience is.
00:38:36:01 – 00:38:37:22
Agent Palmer
They want more.
00:38:37:27 – 00:39:06:48
Edward O’Hare
They want more. So they’ve got to draw in the people who aren’t going to go automatically. So that that’s a problem is the trailers are not built to to just inform you that a new movie and your favorite franchise is coming out is to try to convince people who haven’t seen any other movies in that franchise, or maybe have even been turned off by the idea by those movies in the past to try to change their minds and bring them.
00:39:06:48 – 00:39:46:02
Agent Palmer
In so that that makes sense. Then for for for the for the trailers, at least as far as like, Star Wars and Marvel go, that makes complete sense. Yeah. And even to the same extent, the DC, Extended Universe does the same thing. Like, well, I they’re they’re not going after the fans. Yeah. So the other question I wanted to ask you was, from a purely content perspective, I don’t from a money perspective, the answer to my question is very different from just a content perspective.
00:39:46:06 – 00:40:15:01
Agent Palmer
Why all the reboots like. Because because I understand like the I like, I, I like I understand from the money perspective. Right. Like it’s there. We don’t have to pay a guy to write a new thing. We can take this old thing and make it new again. I get it from a money perspective that works, but from a content perspective like, oh, why and why it.
00:40:15:06 – 00:40:16:24
Edward O’Hare
It’s a circle man.
00:40:16:29 – 00:40:19:13
Speaker 3
Book is the the.
00:40:19:18 – 00:40:55:28
Edward O’Hare
The why the the reason that creators are putting out that is because they know studios will pay them to make it. And, you know, original projects for an original idea to get put out into a movie theater, you need to build up so much credibility to even get that made. And even then, it is a complete gamble because it can either be Christopher Nolan and Inception and everyone loves it, or it can be Guillermo del Toro and Pacific Rim, and everyone feels weird about it.
00:40:55:33 – 00:41:31:17
Agent Palmer
I, I’m I’m going to yeah, I’m going to ask this question, despite my better efforts, because I feel like I have to is is the 24 hour news cycle hurting, filmmaking? And let me preface it by saying, you and I are both sports guys, right? And we know that in the 20s and 30s and 40s and 50s and even up into the 60s, some of our athletic heroes not so heroic, but, you know, it doesn’t come out until decades and decades later.
00:41:31:17 – 00:42:00:04
Agent Palmer
It’s not reported on in the moment. At the time, the producers, the directors, even the writers, in addition to the actors, are getting the same kind of press and digital column inches as the starting quarterback for the New York Giants. Like, is there a part of that that takes away from the I don’t know, the medium is a whole?
00:42:00:08 – 00:42:03:11
Agent Palmer
Well.
00:42:03:16 – 00:42:29:51
Edward O’Hare
I think I think I think it can be a double edged sword. It might take away from some of the mystique and the magic of it. And I think a lot of it, it depends on a couple of things. It depends on, how people use the media to promote their stuff. Okay. And also how that audience decides to, to consume it.
00:42:29:56 – 00:42:37:13
Edward O’Hare
So if you know, you know, it’s the kind of thing where,
00:42:37:18 – 00:42:44:18
Agent Palmer
If make it me, use me as the example. I’m not, I don’t I’d rather you slander me then like, let’s not.
00:42:44:23 – 00:42:57:49
Edward O’Hare
No, no. Oh, well, just just just for an example. What? What’s what’s probably the the one what was the last big streaming show that you binged?
00:42:57:54 – 00:43:02:15
Agent Palmer
I Letterkenny, the new season, the Letterkenny came out on Hulu.
00:43:02:20 – 00:43:06:23
Edward O’Hare
Okay. So that that that show has a pretty niche following.
00:43:06:28 – 00:43:06:59
Agent Palmer
Yeah.
00:43:07:04 – 00:43:33:41
Edward O’Hare
But but it’s but it’s devoted so you know, most of the most of the person I could tell you like with the DC TV shows, most, most of the press when that show’s not happening, it’s usually just giving little bits about character stuff. And then once it’s come out, it’s all of the photos from the set, you know, and, and all the little behind the scenes thing to show you how fun it was to make those things.
00:43:33:46 – 00:44:00:45
Edward O’Hare
That’s how, you know, good producers, good content providers usually usually work out, if you’re talking about like, the gossip cycle, you know, if, if you’re, you know, that’s something that you need a lot of a lot of people, most people, I would say, don’t pay attention to, they just oh, I like the show. You know, maybe if I see an article or something about it, I’ll read it.
00:44:00:50 – 00:44:19:45
Edward O’Hare
You know, and, if there’s, if there’s a gossip, you know, if there’s, you know, some scandal or something that comes out about it, I mean, that that might affect what that might affect the show, but I don’t know if that’s necessarily going to change people’s enjoyment of the show in the moment.
00:44:19:50 – 00:44:41:25
Agent Palmer
I would like to think so. I mean, I, I, I, I don’t, I don’t want to go down like the cancel culture thing, but like, I have a problem with cancel culture only because like, I, I don’t necessarily think some people’s private lives are the best, but like, I’m not to judge and Woody Allen’s movies are funny.
00:44:41:30 – 00:44:53:41
Agent Palmer
Yes. Like I, I, I okay, fine, he’s got a despicable, personal life. But the man can write and funny like, I’m not.
00:44:53:45 – 00:45:31:26
Edward O’Hare
Yeah, yeah, I think I think a lot of that. A lot of it depends on, you know, some some stuff might be in poor taste, the legality of certain things, you know, that that kind of comes into question. But, Yeah, I know, I mean, I, I, I try to ignore a lot of that stuff, you know, personally, you know, I mean, there is I spent the whole year not watching movie trailers, like, like literally like, go going into going into movie theaters, putting my hat over my eyes and headphones in my ears and just kind of like peeking out of the corner waiting for the Coke commercial to come before the movie
00:45:31:26 – 00:45:33:02
Edward O’Hare
starts.
00:45:33:07 – 00:45:36:52
Agent Palmer
Did you enjoy movies better that year? Yeah.
00:45:36:57 – 00:46:07:55
Edward O’Hare
Yeah, I think, the, the one thing I would say, you know, is a lot of times, well, it, a lot of times trailers will set your expectations in a certain way. And I feel like if a trailer was changing, it’s, a lot of times trailers, you know, marketing companies will give you a certain impression that it’s a different kind of movie.
00:46:08:00 – 00:46:30:05
Edward O’Hare
Okay. And, I would say in a lot of time, in a lot of places where they were telling it was a different kind of movie because they didn’t think enough people would see, would see the movie otherwise. I enjoyed it more. And, what was interesting is, is, you know, there were there was there were others like it was after watching that downsizing trailer that I was like, yeah, let me try this.
00:46:30:05 – 00:46:38:16
Edward O’Hare
And it came in. I was able to go in with more of a fresh slate. Yeah, yeah.
00:46:38:21 – 00:46:58:18
Agent Palmer
Yeah, yeah. I’m I’m with you there. I, I, I mean, for me, it’s books really more than anything like. But I going in without any clue. Except maybe like I like the author or somebody recommended it. Yeah. Like that I think that’s enough.
00:46:58:22 – 00:47:27:31
Edward O’Hare
Yeah. Yeah. But also like I make it a point. Well I, I’m not on Twitter very much any more at all. But even when I was, if there was something coming, if there was a movie coming out, I would, I would not go on Twitter for like an entire week until I’d seen, until I’d seen that thing just so things wouldn’t get spoiled or, just, just maybe, you know, or, you know, I, I usually will not read movie reviews of or reviews of, of a movie or a television show.
00:47:27:36 – 00:47:31:10
Edward O’Hare
I’m interested in until I’ve watched it so I can. And that’s my own opinion.
00:47:31:10 – 00:48:01:34
Agent Palmer
I will say, it’s it’s unfortunate that we needed marketing, departments to come up with, Thanos demands your silence. And whatever they came up with for the for the Star Wars, you know, trilogy. Because because I remember that was trending for the longest time. It was. Don’t spoil it. You go in going. Well, at least I know there’s something that.
00:48:01:38 – 00:48:18:28
Agent Palmer
Oh, what am I doing lately? I. But but but it’s those big tentpole movies that that exists for. Meanwhile all the little Indies, they’re like, oh, you have to see this movie. The guy blows up in the third act.
00:48:18:33 – 00:48:19:21
Speaker 3
What.
00:48:19:25 – 00:48:40:51
Agent Palmer
What why why would you say that? Like that’s. But we need these, like so. I don’t know why it’s such a thing. Like, I’d rather discuss the movie with you as I’ve seen it. Then be like. So, Ed, what happens? Like to watch it, right? Like.
00:48:40:56 – 00:49:01:53
Edward O’Hare
Yes. Yeah, yeah. And there are some people, there are some people that just, you know, once they find out a certain fact, it’ll, it’ll just to them. And I had a buddy who was incredible, who was really into The Incredible Hulk. And the moment he just found out that the Hulk only shows up in, like, the first five minutes of Infinity War, he was out.
00:49:01:58 – 00:49:05:25
Agent Palmer
Did he go to it? Did he go to watch the first five minutes and then leave?
00:49:05:36 – 00:49:13:05
Edward O’Hare
No no no okay. No no no. He saw a bootleg clip on YouTube and was like, oh, okay, I’m good. I don’t need to see anymore.
00:49:13:20 – 00:49:16:11
Speaker 3
Just.
00:49:16:16 – 00:49:21:06
Edward O’Hare
I just want to see the Hulk smash stuff.
00:49:21:11 – 00:49:30:21
Agent Palmer
And see your your interests in film runs runs the, the the arrows ians. Some would say. Right.
00:49:30:21 – 00:49:31:41
Edward O’Hare
So, yes.
00:49:31:46 – 00:49:47:30
Agent Palmer
Yeah. It. Do you have a, a for on pure entertainment? Just entertainment value. Okay. What’s your favorite era of film?
00:49:47:35 – 00:49:50:32
Edward O’Hare
My favorite era of film.
00:49:50:37 – 00:49:54:31
Agent Palmer
Just for entertainment value.
00:49:54:36 – 00:49:58:09
Edward O’Hare
For entertainment value, I would.
00:49:58:13 – 00:49:59:48
Speaker 3
00:50:00:23 – 00:50:06:33
Edward O’Hare
I would probably say just pure, straight up entertainment value. Probably. Probably late 70s through the 80s.
00:50:06:42 – 00:50:12:44
Agent Palmer
Okay. And, and and if I tweak the question and say for artistic merit.
00:50:12:49 – 00:50:14:59
Edward O’Hare
I would say the 1940s.
00:50:15:04 – 00:50:16:49
Agent Palmer
You go back that far.
00:50:16:54 – 00:50:17:37
Edward O’Hare
Yeah.
00:50:17:42 – 00:50:18:22
Agent Palmer
Okay.
00:50:18:27 – 00:50:41:10
Edward O’Hare
Yeah. What’s funny is I have I have two lists here because I wasn’t sure what direction you were going with one of my favorite movies and the other, the other was like, you know, if we were going to go like, deep into the film school stuff like the, the five movies, I would say if you wanted to, be a little bit more cultured and stuff that you wouldn’t get in, like a film, 1 or 1 class.
00:50:41:12 – 00:50:48:36
Agent Palmer
Well, so will I. I want to know more about the first list. I mean, that’s yeah, that’s the what I’m interested in.
00:50:48:36 – 00:51:02:22
Edward O’Hare
So my five favorite films, in no particular order, are the Usual Suspects, The Sting, The Prestige, The Apartment, and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.
00:51:02:27 – 00:51:08:02
Agent Palmer
Big fan of the articles. You big fan of the art. Well, the article, I guess.
00:51:08:07 – 00:51:18:33
Edward O’Hare
Yes, yes. Yeah. And, yeah. And there is a lot of those has to do with either con man or people fooling themselves.
00:51:18:38 – 00:51:19:12
Agent Palmer
Well, it’s.
00:51:19:18 – 00:51:20:01
Edward O’Hare
I’m trying to.
00:51:20:06 – 00:51:49:00
Agent Palmer
I was trying to. I didn’t think we would go there, but like, I, I, I, I was trying to come up with my own and, my, my list ends up just being like, these are the movies that if you want to get to know me, you should watch. Like, that’s where my mind eventually goes. Because like I would say, I’ve seen a lot of good things and I feel like, The Man Who Would Be King is at the top of my list.
00:51:49:05 – 00:52:11:27
Agent Palmer
And then I go with, like, my, my 80s. So wargames and real genius. And then it’s a huge drop off in the black space. It’s like, well, it depends on who I’m talking to. I will I will recommend The Man Who Would Be King to everyone and anyone. And I personally enjoy war games in Real Genius, despite the fact that they’re relative very close to being the same movie.
00:52:11:32 – 00:52:36:28
Agent Palmer
But, and I would say anybody can watch all of those, but beyond that, like, I, I need to know more about who, who’s asking the question before I can answer, and I, I know you and I, I don’t, I, I don’t know what else I would do, but I do want to ask because the man who would be king is at the top of my list.
00:52:36:42 – 00:52:51:28
Agent Palmer
And be a snob for a moment. Let’s talk about film for a moment. Put your pinky in the air. What does that say about me?
00:52:51:32 – 00:52:57:31
Edward O’Hare
I’ll be honest. I have not seen man who would be King. That is.
00:52:57:36 – 00:53:00:05
Agent Palmer
I’m sure it’s on a list somewhere for you, right, though.
00:53:00:16 – 00:53:05:56
Edward O’Hare
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So, you know, sorry. Sorry to completely undercut everything.
00:53:06:03 – 00:53:10:31
Agent Palmer
You were just doing. Divide.
00:53:10:36 – 00:53:13:54
Edward O’Hare
So what does that say about you? You know that you’d.
00:53:13:54 – 00:53:17:12
Agent Palmer
Have to watch it. I it’s one of those.
00:53:17:17 – 00:53:19:27
Edward O’Hare
Is that, Sean Connery, right?
00:53:19:27 – 00:53:20:46
Agent Palmer
Yeah, it’s Connery and Kane.
00:53:21:00 – 00:53:33:50
Edward O’Hare
And Connery and Kane. Okay, so which which of those guys do you more identify with in the movie? Oh, is it James Bond or Harry Palmer?
00:53:33:55 – 00:54:00:17
Agent Palmer
It really is. Palmer. It really is. Now, now here’s here’s what I will tell you. And I can’t remember the names of the characters, but the, the the reason the man who would be king speaks to me is because in every relationship, every single one, you are either Michael Caine or Sean Connery in that movie. In. Because.
00:54:00:17 – 00:54:27:27
Agent Palmer
Because in any dynamic with just a couple of people, two. And it doesn’t matter. Genders, sex like none of that matters in every because without giving too much away, they’re they’re friends. And then there’s the guy who wants a little too much, and there’s the guy who’s like, well, whoa, whoa, hold on. And Michael Caine is the whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on.
00:54:27:27 – 00:54:57:29
Agent Palmer
And that’s me. In every relationship I’ve ever been in and every friendship I’ve never been the I want a little bit more guy. So for me, that’s why it’s Michael Caine in that film that, that that’s what it is. Okay. But but I look around like I watched that with, one of my friends and I went, that’s why you’re Sean Connery in this film.
00:54:57:34 – 00:55:04:44
Agent Palmer
And it wasn’t until the end, but he was like, yeah, you’re kind of right.
00:55:04:49 – 00:55:05:12
Speaker 3
It’s like.
00:55:05:23 – 00:55:25:46
Agent Palmer
Well, it. Yeah, that’s fine. What about some of the areas you didn’t talk about, like the 50s and like, the latter part of the 70s? Like, there are good. You you do enjoy good things within those, like, obviously I’m well of.
00:55:25:46 – 00:55:46:21
Edward O’Hare
Course, of course. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I could, you know, I could, I could talk about adding, I feel like I have a very wide breadth, you know, maybe not as deep in, in, in all areas, but I feel like I’ve seen at least something good out of every moment in film history.
00:55:46:21 – 00:55:55:39
Agent Palmer
So could could you, could you create a, a top five or at least a top three of every era? If you wanted to like that, would that be possible?
00:55:55:44 – 00:55:58:10
Edward O’Hare
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I need to break up the spreadsheets.
00:55:58:24 – 00:56:01:46
Speaker 3
00:56:01:51 – 00:56:07:20
Edward O’Hare
Do do some list making, but yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, I wouldn’t be able to do that off the top of my head.
00:56:07:20 – 00:56:12:17
Agent Palmer
Oh, and I wouldn’t ask you to because I. Yeah, even I would be like, when did that come out.
00:56:12:22 – 00:56:34:48
Edward O’Hare
Yeah. Because also like, it’s not even as much arrows for me. It’s also genre, you know, and, and you know, a lot of times even just like, you know, countries, you know, I have I have an aversion to French films. I don’t know why, but, you know, with the exception of maybe once, you know, every time I watch a French movie, for some reason I just fall asleep.
00:56:34:53 – 00:56:43:51
Edward O’Hare
Whether it’s like a 15 minute avant garde short or, like, you know, a 3.5 hour gangster epic prison movie,
00:56:43:56 – 00:56:47:27
Speaker 3
I just,
00:56:47:31 – 00:57:13:25
Edward O’Hare
Because they they because French films, focus a little bit more on style, the narrative. And I feel like a lot of times they kind of get caught up, you know, and this isn’t this is obviously isn’t true for every French film, but a lot of the times they, they get very caught up in style and story kind of gets put to the wayside.
00:57:13:25 – 00:57:23:37
Edward O’Hare
And I feel like especially within the last 20 years or so, a lot of French films, or at least the ones that, get shown more in America tend to be, you know, a little bit more on the preachy side.
00:57:23:42 – 00:57:59:36
Agent Palmer
Well, there was there was a reason I was never going to ask you what your favorite film was like. I, I that that was never going to be a question I asked because it’s not fair. It’s because I, it when it’s come up on other podcasts. I’ve listened to most of the people with remotely like most of the people with the bigger movie knowledge, go, what era, what genre would like?
00:57:59:36 – 00:58:25:14
Agent Palmer
Because. Because favorite movie is so this is my favorite western. This is my favorite mystery. This is my favorite by flick. But I’m not picking because the genres are so different. Like, I get that. Yeah, but yeah. Do you, do you have a stock answer like, oh no, like like like when people do that. Like when, when people find out, oh, Ed’s the movie guy.
00:58:25:15 – 00:58:28:44
Agent Palmer
Okay, Ed, what’s your favorite movie like? Do you, do you have.
00:58:28:44 – 00:58:43:58
Edward O’Hare
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I would say I say Usual suspects. Okay. You know that that’s my favorite movie to watch that you know, that’s, you know, now if you ask me, like, what’s the most important film or, you know, what’s what’s the best film ever made? That’s very subjective.
00:58:44:03 – 00:58:49:02
Agent Palmer
No, it’s actually, you know what I you watched Ready Player One, correct?
00:58:49:07 – 00:58:50:01
Edward O’Hare
Yes.
00:58:50:06 – 00:59:22:13
Agent Palmer
Okay, so in the world of Ready Player One in the Oasis, you you can literally play out your favorite movie being any character you want. And, and you get to experience it like from that character’s perspective. So once you’ve done, experiencing the usual suspects from every character’s perspective, what movie.
00:59:22:17 – 00:59:22:28
Speaker 3
Are.
00:59:22:28 – 00:59:29:37
Agent Palmer
You going to put into the system to experience as a as a character?
00:59:29:42 – 00:59:39:29
Edward O’Hare
I mean, it would probably be one of those other four that I mentioned before, you know, something something like The Prestige or The Sting or Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein wouldn’t be the part you would.
00:59:39:30 – 00:59:45:35
Agent Palmer
Department you wouldn’t jump to, like, you know, indie or, you know.
00:59:45:40 – 00:59:52:04
Edward O’Hare
You know, I mean, now we’re now we’re talking like, you know, if you if we’re if we’re going to spend a day on the holodeck and Star Trek,
00:59:52:08 – 00:59:53:35
Agent Palmer
Well, sure. That was the quest.
00:59:53:37 – 00:59:58:30
Edward O’Hare
Sure. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
00:59:58:35 – 01:00:09:34
Edward O’Hare
Yeah. You know, I’ll I’ll I’ll I’ll I’ll go for a week in the 24th century, you know, on, on the enterprise day.
01:00:09:39 – 01:00:12:33
Edward O’Hare
So you see what? See what Worf and Geordi la forger up to do.
01:00:12:35 – 01:00:17:55
Agent Palmer
Do people? Are people surprised by your television knowledge at all?
01:00:18:00 – 01:00:43:38
Edward O’Hare
No, no, no, I you know, I mean, because it if anything, you know, I am just as much product television as I am of movies. I would say, you know, maybe even more so, you know, I was the kid who would who would memorize commercials and then randomly repeat them three days later, and just confuse every adult going, why is he keep talking about Elvis?
01:00:43:43 – 01:00:45:35
Agent Palmer
See, and I and meanwhile I.
01:00:45:47 – 01:00:53:33
Edward O’Hare
Watch some, some, you know, just some a commercial for a compilation album that just ran over and over again.
01:00:53:38 – 01:01:28:23
Agent Palmer
Meanwhile, you know, like, I, I mean, my mother likes to tell the story of how, like, I was one of the few, like, kids when I was a little kid, like my one. It won’t surprise you to learn after you know me, but like that one like story my mother likes to throw. I was like, oh well, like he used to wake up on, like a Saturday morning, like 5:00 am and watch ESPN like, cause I used to and and back then, because I’m slightly older than you, that that meant, formula one and then the 7 or 8 a.m. Sportscenter.
01:01:28:28 – 01:01:49:00
Agent Palmer
But like, I, I knew all of these like beer and cigaret brands that were, you know, the sponsor of all of the motorsports, no matter where you were in the world. Yeah. Yeah. So that’s when I knew that was mine. Like.
01:01:49:05 – 01:02:15:44
Edward O’Hare
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I remember when we got the sci fi Channel, I think it might have even still been called the Science Fiction Channel. When that showed up on our On Staten Island cable and getting up it getting up at like, you know, at, at like five in the morning to, to go down and say, oh, you know, what kind of cartoons like they’re going to be like Flash Gordon cartoons or maybe that Star Trek animated series just so, so excited to see what was going to be on the Sci Fi Channel.
01:02:15:49 – 01:02:21:55
Edward O’Hare
And it would be infomercials for bread or, a mop.
01:02:21:59 – 01:02:22:45
Agent Palmer
Well, I, I.
01:02:22:53 – 01:02:25:50
Edward O’Hare
And they wouldn’t start the regular programing until like, I was at school.
01:02:25:50 – 01:02:45:18
Agent Palmer
I don’t know who did it, but somebody because if I, if I woke up early enough before school, somebody used to put like the Thunderbirds like the original Thunderbirds on in the morning. And that was always a trip because it’s like I’m probably the only person in my school watching this right now. Oh, yeah. Everybody else is asleep.
01:02:45:18 – 01:02:47:25
Agent Palmer
I’m like, this is amazing.
01:02:47:30 – 01:02:53:08
Edward O’Hare
Thunderbirds made a comeback on, They were on Fox five on Saturday mornings.
01:02:53:13 – 01:02:54:14
Agent Palmer
No, this was.
01:02:54:18 – 01:02:55:42
Edward O’Hare
For a stretch in the 90s.
01:02:55:51 – 01:03:00:11
Agent Palmer
This was weekday, so I don’t know what it was, but. And.
01:03:00:16 – 01:03:16:04
Edward O’Hare
Yeah. Yeah, that sounds like what they would have had. Thunderbirds or, the the original land of the lost. I remember I remember seeing that on sci fi channels like, you know, early mornings.
01:03:16:09 – 01:03:24:51
Agent Palmer
I, I wasn’t going to ask this, but I feel like I, I like I really want to add Marvel or DC.
01:03:24:56 – 01:03:36:00
Speaker 3
DC.
01:03:36:05 – 01:03:59:49
Agent Palmer
After this episode was recorded and and I spent another 30 minutes discussing film in detail talking about Butch Cassidy, The Italian Job, Ocean’s 11, and more. But I didn’t want people to feel left out for not watching those films. And when I talk about Italian Job in Ocean’s 11, I’m talking about the originals. It it’s the very reason that the episode is fairly generic.
01:03:59:49 – 01:04:21:59
Agent Palmer
In fact, I felt bad putting Ed on the spot, having assumed he had already watched The Man Who Would Be King. In truth, like television or books, there is just so much out there that any assumption of consumption is just plain folly. But that doesn’t mean you can’t suggest that people watch things that you reviewed just so you can discuss it with them.
01:04:22:01 – 01:04:48:39
Agent Palmer
Although I would highly recommend that you match the movie or show or book to the appropriate person. If you want to discuss it, you should make sure they’d want to watch it in the first place. Now, before I get ahead of myself, Ed said he had two lists. The other was a film study list of five films. Here is that list for you with the genre accompanying it so you understand why Ed selected it.
01:04:48:43 – 01:05:17:16
Agent Palmer
The Passion of Joan of Arc Silent movie I walked with the zombie horror The Conversation, 70s New Hollywood, Blind Chance, a foreign film, and Do the Right Thing as modern American film. So there you have it. Movies, film, cinema. It’s all storytelling. Sometimes it entertains, other times it informs. But it is a style of artistic expression that isn’t likely to go anywhere.
01:05:17:21 – 01:05:40:29
Agent Palmer
It will change and evolve as it already has over the last century. So share with Ed and I your recommendations. What are the films that define you or that you run to for comfort or inspiration? And when was the last time you just spent some time on the couch with some popcorn and a movie? No phone, no tablet, just experience.
01:05:40:34 – 01:06:02:58
Agent Palmer
And if it wasn’t in the last month, why not make some time? Thank you for listening to The Palmer Files episode 37. And now for the official business. The Palmer Files releases every two weeks on Tuesdays. If you’re still listening, I encourage you to join the discussion. You can tweet me at Agent Palmer, the show at The Palmer Files, or Ed at Little Eddie O’Hare.
01:06:02:58 – 01:06:24:54
Agent Palmer
That’s a little e d e o h r e. You can visit Wicked theory.com to see some of what it has done in the past, including the DC TV report, and perhaps what he’ll do in the future. Don’t forget, you can see all of my writings and rantings on Agent palmer.com. And of course email can be sent to the show at the Palmer Files at gmail.com.
01:06:24:54 – 01:06:37:24
Agent Palmer
If there’s a topic or guest you’d like you to consider.
01:06:37:28 – 01:06:45:01
Unknown
In this.
01:06:45:06 – 01:07:03:20
Unknown
You see?
01:07:03:24 – 01:07:07:49
Unknown
Me.
01:07:07:54 – 01:07:12:34
Unknown
See?
01:07:12:38 – 01:07:17:00
Agent Palmer
All right. Do you have one final question for me now?
01:07:17:04 – 01:07:21:29
Edward O’Hare
I’ve. I’ve been to your home. Yeah. Against against your will.
01:07:21:29 – 01:07:30:50
Agent Palmer
I be I would hold on. Hold the phone. I wouldn’t say against my will. I would just say I didn’t know it was happening.
01:07:30:55 – 01:07:37:45
Edward O’Hare
Yes, Bill. Bob and I just showed up at your doorstep with, with with, with two hour old pizza.
01:07:37:54 – 01:07:43:53
Agent Palmer
It was the first podcast that ever happened in this house. Just. Yes.
01:07:43:57 – 01:07:58:32
Edward O’Hare
And while there, I. I stumbled upon in your dining room several cases of Candida dry cranberry ginger ale. Could you please explain?
01:07:58:37 – 01:08:20:51
Agent Palmer
I like its refreshing. Look, I’m an old man. What do you want? I’m an old man. Like I’m not. I’m not quite sure you’re getting this. Like I just spent, way too long talking about the man who would be king. Because I’m the guy who’s, like, not so much. Not so much. I’m not the guy who’s like, yeah, let’s do it.
01:08:20:51 – 01:08:23:21
Agent Palmer
I’m not so much. That’s me.
01:08:23:26 – 01:08:37:31
Edward O’Hare
I mean, I just feel like to me, it’s so like that. That is the kind of leftover soda that you would find at, like a wholesale liquidator. And, you.
01:08:37:31 – 01:08:42:44
Agent Palmer
Know, you ask the other question. I’ll give you another question. Come on. Like, I get no cause. Cause it.
01:08:42:49 – 01:08:43:07
Speaker 3
Yeah.
01:08:43:18 – 01:08:43:41
Agent Palmer
Like that.
01:08:43:41 – 01:08:47:25
Speaker 3
I.
01:08:47:30 – 01:08:49:00
Edward O’Hare
Oh, no, you’re playing that one.
01:08:49:05 – 01:09:01:05
Agent Palmer
No, I am playing that one. I’m saying I will give you another because I feel like that’s, You’ve been holding that one for too long. It’s refreshing.
01:09:01:10 – 01:09:24:31
Edward O’Hare
Well, so this is going to be, this is not going to get an explanation. So your audience is not going to get an explanation, but you’re going to know what I say when I, when I, when I ask you this, and they might not know about this for a while, but, be honest with me, Palmer.
01:09:24:36 – 01:09:29:33
Edward O’Hare
Yeah? Are you in or are you out?
01:09:29:38 – 01:09:31:46
Agent Palmer
I’m in.
01:09:31:51 – 01:09:34:06
Edward O’Hare
Good. Let’s do this.
–End Transcription–
This transcription was processed by PalmerTech 3.1 and may contain errors for HUMINT (human intelligence).