Cam Bert

I'm not American or know much about American politics but I assume the whole state votes for the govern correct? So say Gabbi does make it on to the ballot, that means that a majority of the voters still had to vote for her right? Not just her five friends and grandma, but the majority of the third most populated state. California in 2017 had a population of 39,360,000 people. However that population includes youth and people that can't vote not to mention the number of people that don't vote for governor. The 2018 gubernatorial race had a turn out of 12,464,235 voters. That means Gabbi would need at least 33.4% of that vote which means roughly 4.2 million votes. That's more votes than any third party candidate has gotten in the history of California gubernatorial elections and as far as my math can tell more than all third party votes in California ever! What was it that drove them to this candidate they had never heard of?

Not at all. I always move my dressers to be in front of my windows and get push and pull confused as well. I guess I always have one foot on that banana peel...

Neil Gaiman also wrote a great story about Prez in one of his issues of Sandman (might edit number in here later) that about his presidency and post presidency life that takes the character very seriously.

I mean I think so many of the "jokes" here are so forced and telegraphed if it was trying to be one, it might have been the most subtle.

Govern Gabbi's first initiative as governor is for people to ride the bus instead of drive cars. The female crony of Balse complains numerous times of riding the bus so we know that this measure went into effect. Yet we have two story points that revolve around Gabbi's friends and family driving. First there is her Grandma and her non-stop car problems which means she's still driving around around and not bussing it which Gabbi is cool with. Also her friend Ellie is driving around getting parking tickets because she refuses to pay for parking. Balse threaten to boot her car because driving means so much to her. Gabbi is also seemingly fine with her friend driving everywhere and not paying tickets. Now if her plan was to force people with environmentally bad cars to stop driving, what's to stop them from buying an old clunker like her grandma or friend? Or rather is this all a deep statement on the hypocrisy of politicians looking the other way when policies would effect their friends and family.

Attention all HDTGM fans, if you are down with your circa 2018 memes you will no doubt remember VoiceoverPete aka Pete Accetturo. He was a corporate spokesman that became a spokesman on Fiverr. For as low as $25 you could hire Pete to film himself saying whatever you wanted in front of a greenscreen. He quickly became a meme superstar particularly in the gaming/Fortnite communities. What does this have to do with Govern Gabbi? Well he's in it! He is one of the many news anchors seen throughout the movie. This is interesting to me for two main reasons. One, it was commented on the international flavor of the news anchors. This is probably because they were all hired from the website Fiverr. Many of the spokespeople on Fiverr are based all around the world and accept jobs from anywhere. And while we are not sure how much he was paid, the fact they were hiring Fiverr people instead of local actors means they were going for as cheap as possible. This is also interesting to me because not one of the news anchors is credited in the movie. So not only were these people hired on Fiverr on the cheap but then they are even not credited in the movie either in case somebody else wants to hire them. For shame Niebauers, for shame.

Paul, June, and Jason discuss the 2001 action thriller Swordfish recorded live from the Paramount Theatre in Denver, CO! They talk about Travolta’s soul patch, computer hacker Hugh Jackman, a helicopter picking up a bus, and much more. Subscribe to Unspooled with Paul Scheer and Amy Nicholson here: http://www.earwolf.com/show/unspooled/ Check out The Jane Club over at www.janeclub.com Check out new HDTGM merch over at https://www.teepubli…wdidthisgetmade Where to Find Jason, June & Paul: @PaulScheer on Instagram & Twitter @Junediane on IG and @MsJuneDiane on Twitter Jason is Not on Twitter but catch him on the new HBO Max animated show Close Enough.

When I was a wee lad there were three movies we had on tape that I was always asking to watch or watching. Bedknobs and Broomsticks was amongst them. I can't tell you how many times I watched this movie as a kid. It was probably the least watched of the three to be fair, but it was still watched a ton. That said I have no seen it since I was maybe 12. I could tell you the story, the order of events, the characters, etc. However, if pressed I don't think I could tell you more than a song in the movie. Watching it again, I loved it for the memories but it bizarre to me that virtually all the music just never stuck with me or left a lasting impression. I was frankly shocked when songs happened. I think it's the opposite of Mary Poppins. Mary Poppins has these fantastic songs which overshadow the just okay story. Bedknobs has just okay songs that are overshadow by these wonderful effects and fun story.

I agree. He seems out there but it really is a fully realized character. The only person I still find it hard to get use to is Jennifer Coolidge's character. Just seems a little out of place.

I'd say yes and no to this. I mean Best in Show, Waiting for Guffman, etc. were also improvised as well but have more of a cohesive story. They way these films work is that they are given a scene with just an A to B description. For example it would be something like "The Folksmen find out The New Mainstreet Band is doing the same opening song. They eventually decide on 'Eat at Joes' " The dialogue is improvised but the actors know what the scene is about and where it should go. This is what they did in his prior movies and on shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm. However they will also do "Just talk about this or that" to get funny jokes. So when editing they naturally want to put the funnier bits in but most scenes should have a skeletal story they adhere to. I think the fact Eugene Levy is credited as a co-writer explains why his stuff has the most linear story and how each scene builds and sends that story forward. If you think about it every scene of him and Katherine O'Hara move their story while being funny and improvised.

That makes sense and I get what you are saying. Now that I think about it there is type of meta-commentary in that. That there is no growth to these characters because they are mostly stuck in their little world. You can see that in The Folksmen who complain about The New Mainstreet Singers not being 'real' folk, because they have this very specific and slight version of what they should be and folk should be. To a degree they all do, and to expect them to change or grow would be counter to that.

I agree with the first point. As I said the Mitch and Mickey stuff is the heart of the movie and the only part to provide an arc. The Folksmen until you said that (concert aside) I didn't realize that was their story until now. And if it was it was one scene late until the movie. To me their thing is Michael McKean character seems so apart from the other two you're just kinda thinking something will come from that. When they're practicing their songs there is tension from him about the Skeleton song so there is stuff there but it just to me feels like it goes nowhere. The New Main Street Singers has so many plot threads that just kinda go nowhere or have nothing. The movie is funny. I don't deny that and I get it is being more subtle but just at the end it seems more like "Oh that was funny, put that bit in" then a constructed story leading to something. That's why I'd rather watch his prior movies to this one.

So I've seen this movie four times now and I always think the same thing, "This is funny but pointless." Most of the Guest movies as much as they are a collection of scenes the always seem to have a point or an overall story. Spinal Tap (not officially his movie) sees the band breakup and reform, Waiting for Guffman is putting on this show to be noticed, Best in Show is a competition and who will be number 1. A Mighty Wind just kinda seems to lack that. It's all about getting to the show and putting on the show but the fact the show will go on or without a hitch never seems to be in question. The Mitch and Mickey story is the only one with any kind of arc. The others are fine but just full of little bits that don't all add up or go anywhere. It's funny but just feels a bit hollow in the end.

I'm sorry if this has been mentioned but I'm too lazy to go back and check. After Annie's mother's funeral her and Jake sit down and have a talk what to do about the business. He first asks her if she wants to make lighting fixtures for the rest of her life? Here's the thing though, if you own the business you don't make the fixatures. You manage the company and have employees do that. What if he was speaking in a more metaphorical sense and meant "you don't want to be running a lighting fixture company for the rest of your life" even then, what kind of argument is that? Sure they can manage the company and increase their profits or maybe they can hire a manager to run it, take the profits and put it into the careers they want. If he wants to be a pilot he can still check in on the company and fly planes! CEOs of companies aren't constantly at their factories and warehouses. They can just use the profits from the place to fund their schooling and piloting and then sell it at a later date. Think of your future guys. However, the more shocking thing we learn is Jake has only been working there for a year! We know him and his wife have been married for six years and of that he's only been working for her mom for one of them. On top of that Annie's mom was preparing Jake to take over for when she retires which sounds like it was soon. He's only been doing it one year! He went from entry level employee to future head of the company in a year? The mom is clearly looking out for them and he's just cutting work in the middle of the day for flight school? Who knows what other fuckery Jake has been up to. What was he doing those first five years? Why did he take the job if not for a secure future only to throw that all away the moment he gets it? I'm really siding with Annie's mom on this one, Jake is a a doughnut.

HA! Alex Lifeson the only one having a good time.

Classic prog snobbish and classic Canadian passive aggressive rage.

Wait, that happened? That's so bizarre. It's just somebody being like "oh, these people are popular and this person is a popular up and comer just put them together" without taking style of music into consideration.

Yea that makes more sense. I've heard tell of many musicians fucking with, or just being dicks to the opening act because they don't want to be out shined. Denying an opening act a sound check so you sound better than them I'm sure was a very common occurrence. I could see this being the case but like you said I could see them being more snobbish much more the case.

While on the talk of things Japanese, I should point out two more facts. One obvious one I found out just looking them up now. First, yes clearly they didn't go to Japan to film this, but it always shocks me how a simple google search would solve some of their more clearly mistakes. First, a band as big as they were would have been in a luxury hotel which would be fully western. There is an off chance if the room was big enough they would have had a tatami room, but that's more of a specialized thing and wouldn't have a mattress just on the floor. You'd have futons which the staff would put out and put away. Also ramen, the soup is so important. You'd never get a bowl of just noodles, and if you did it would be either soba or udon and not in a ramen bowl. Unless Joan Jett went out and bought some instant ramen and made it herself that's not how it'd look. Come on, just google these things production designer. Second, it wasn't just any photographer they sent to take pictures of Cherie, it was Kishin Shinoyama. Kishin Shinoyama is a very famous photographer, mostly known for his erotic and nude photography. He also did a ton of album and cover work for a variety of artists. He even worked with John Lenon and Yoko Ono. He's a very famous and well respected photographer. There is no need to point this out in the movie, but it is worth mentioning that this wasn't just some fly by night cheesecake photoshoot.

I'm sad to say it is not that big of a lasting legacy. I think a lot of this is to do with Japan's weird music system. The bands you hear about here are huge but there are ones you never hear of, get no airplay but are still huge and have followings. I'm sure some people are familiar with "Japanese Idols" like AKB48, Morning Musume, etc. Basically an all female pop group that they sell the girls as much if not more than the music. While the members of AKB48 get charting hits and appear on a variety of variety shows and have photo books released of them, there is a whole subset of "underground idols" that have just as massive and dedicated fan base but you'll never see them on TV or hear their music unless you seek it out. However, this is not just for female pop groups but every genre of music. The birth of this trend was from the early 80s, so you didn't see a lot of female rockers in Japan. I'm sure there are some female rock groups that were inspired by them but none that leap to mind. I would half expect Shonen Knife was. There are still some female only rock/punk bands out there but they are in that underground status and unless you actively seek them out it's hard to find them or their influences. Much like other bands that were huge in Japan at that time it's only the ones that continues to perform that have any sort of lasting legacy with the exception being Queen. So while people will still get excited for KISS, Jeff Beck, Aerosmith, etc. sadly Cheap Trick, The Runaways, etc. are mostly a memory. Fun fact the poster or DVD cover for this movie is the image of their Japan appearance so maybe that look is "iconic" or they're selling it on sex appeal. I'm no Rush expert but I have a hard time imaging them being like "Ew, girls." Maybe it was their roadies or managers.

I legit didn't even recognize Alia Shawkat in this. Now that you mention it I don't think she does have a single speaking line. Maybe when they're in the pool she does some shouting but that's about it.

Who's that bassist? Where is "Robin"? I'm going to have to call shenanigans on this clip. Legit though, the reason "Robin" is likely in the movie is all kinds of upsetting.

Yes, I know Peter Jackson wasn't the only one to do it, I was more trying to point out he said he copied the same methods which resulted in Peter Jackson's case a film that looked like it was from the early 20th century and his looked very digital.

Sorry I just need to rant a bit more about this movie mostly the writer/director. Let's look at two claims he made that were read out in the episode. First the claim that he baked the film and scuffed it up with dirt and grit to add texture and lines to it. For me this story rang some bells. I was a huge Peter Jackson fan loving Bad Taste and Dead Alive from my early teens. Between those movies he made a smaller non-b movie called Forgotten Silver about a made up turn of the century New Zealand film maker. Do you want to take a guess how Jackson created authentic looking lost footage? Hint it involves ovens and dirt. His methods were so good they fooled people. Did anybody notice any grain or artifact like quality to Velocipastor? No it looked digital for for that budget was most likely digital. So if he did what Peter Jackson famously did and fooled people with, how did we not notice it? The second thing I want to talk about is his story about how he came up with the idea. He said his phone auto-corrected velociraptor to velicopaster and that gave him the idea. I want you to pick up your phone right now and type in the word "velociraptor." Did your phone autocorrect that word? Try misspelling it. What most likely will happen is it will correct it to velociraptor or just underline it in red. What it will not do is autocorrect it to velocipastor. Why is that? Autocorrect doesn't make up words. Why would it correct it to something that doesn't exist. Now, maybe he wanted to write velociraptor and misspelled it. Yet that's not an as funny story. It's a better story if the phone did it and it inspired me than me just making a mistake and thinking it was funny. I'm not saying the filmmaker is a bad guy just the two story they read from him have a distinct aura of BS about them to me. It makes me highly doubt the claims the money came from his mom's friend. More likely like Kevin Smith or other first time film makers he just maxed out his credit cards. Yet that's not funny or quirky as he seems to wants this whole thing to be.