1976 - Network

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This is mass madness, humaniacs.
In God's name, you people of the

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real estate, we have the illusion. So turn off your television sets.

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Turn them off, now, turn
them off, right now, turn them

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off and leave them off. Turn
them off right in the middle of a

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sentence I'm speaking to you. Now
turn them off. Hello, everybody,

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and welcome back to nineteen seventy six, a limited series from a film by

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podcast. I'm Jeff Johnson. Joining
me today is my co host from a

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film by none other than Brad Kozo. Hello, everybody, and I am

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not mad as hell. Well I
am happy to hear that, because today

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we are going to be speaking about
network. Brad, let's let's dive into

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this. I know you love this
movie, right I do. Yeah.

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Yeah, you're a big you're a
big Lumit fan, Sydney Lumit. Oh

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yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely, you mean we'll get into it.

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But yeah, this is a very
lamet movie. Okay, Well, let's

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talk about how this is. Can
Let's talk a little bit about the history

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here. Two years before networks were
at least American audiences just tuning into their

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local news are shocked when Christine Chubbuck, a distressed anchor woman suffering from depression,

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committed suicide on live television by shooting
herself July fifteenth, nineteen seventy four.

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Now, yeah, I had just
recently found that out and didn't realize

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that part of the film that it
was based on somebody. I could maybe

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see someone threatening to do it and
not doing it, but I never knew

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it was actually done. Yeah,
sadly that that is an actual event that

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happened. Now, it's never been
confirmed whether writer Patty Chayevski took inspiration from

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the tragedy when he was writing it
for the Howard Beal character. However,

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they're an earlier draft of the screenplay
did contain the line quote just like that

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girl in Florida at the end of
Howard's on air statement that he was gonna,

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you know, blow his brains out. So whether this is art imitating

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reality or this is inspiration, I
don't know if we'll ever know. But

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this movie, Man, you've seen
this. You've seen this. You know

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you're a fan of the seventies cinema
bright so you saw this probably a long

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time ago. I would imagine,
Oh yeah, I have a copy of

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it, and I've watched it quite
a few times, behind the scenes stuff,

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you know, read a little about
it, because I've read a lot

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of books about the seventies films,
and of course that always kind of comes

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up. And it's just one of
those gritty, very unapologetic movies that the

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laments really good at making you feel
uncomfortable. Oh yeah, you know,

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look at you know, Dog Day
Afternoon. That's uncomfortable. The whole thing

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of the Verdict, before the devil
knows you're dead. It's just it's very

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uncomfortable. But you got to sit
there and watch these terrible people doing these

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unspeakable things. But this is a
movie that I still think resonates today.

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I think, look, so this
was this was when I saw for the

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first time recently, I expected,
you know, a satire much darker than

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what I had imagined. And you
are absolutely right. This movie it could

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definitely it could have been released this
year. And with with everything that's going

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on. You know, we never
get political on our show, bred but

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you know, with everything that's going
on in the world, like this movie,

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it makes sense why why this is
relevant by for today's audiences? I

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think, Oh yeah, And the
one thing too, is this this is

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an actor's film. Oh, I
mean, I mean, if you look

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at this an actor's point of view, you are just drooling at the mouth

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of just the every piece of dialogue
that I get is awesome, and I

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get to yell and swear and overact
a little bit. You know, It's

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like it's an actor's dream and it
goes to show it when basically everybody in

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the cast was nominated for Academy Awards. Yeah, nine Oscar nominations. Takes

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home four four wins Best Actor,
Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, and

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Best Screenplay. It was nominated for
Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting

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Actor, Best Cinema Talk if he
in Best Editing. This was this was

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the powerhouse right at the seventy seven
Oscars. I feel that if you were

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um around that time, you know, a little bit older, you probably

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got sick of hearing about how good
Network was because so many people were probably

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talking about the performances in the movie. And then yeah, one of those

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that always gets like, oh,
so many Oscar nominations, and then so

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many people were probably talking about it
at the time. Brad, I want

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to talk to you about some of
the cast here and some of the some

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of the the actors and actresses that
could have been involved in this, just

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to hear your take, so we
know, uh, it's it's Peter Finch

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that win's best actor for his role
as a Howard Beale. Now before he

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gets this, he actually had a
fight to win, to win them over

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because they were looking at a whole
lot of other guys for this role.

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Henry Fonda, Jimmy Stewart, George
C. Sky, Walter Cronkite, if

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you can believe it, and you
know, William Holden are all among the

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actors that turned it down. Your
thoughts on some of these some of these

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these names, because I Peter Peter
Finch is brilliant, but could you have

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seen someone like like Fonda or Stewart
in this role. No, for the

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reason of first of all, at
the time, they were always playing very

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good guys. They were already giant
names. Peter Finch wasn't a giant name.

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And there's a crazy quality that Peter
Finch kind of has in his look

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of your question him in the movie, like you know, is he crazy?

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Is he just having a mental breakdown? Did you really hear voices from

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God? You know, I don't
think those other actors could have pulled that

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off. I think they would.
They think they could have done the more

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like Hackett, Shoemaker and Jensen.
They could have some of those parts.

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But I don't think the Beal part. What surprises me is that Peter Finch

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is was Australian. Oh yeah,
yeah, this is a This is one

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of those little fun facts. He
actually he got the script said he would,

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you know, studio says, and
Australian is not gonna work. He'll

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never get the accent, he'll never
get the voice. So he flies on

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his own dime. He flies to
America to do a reading, and the

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whole time to prep, he's actually
listening to people like Cronkite. He's listening

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to news reports. He's looking at
the New York Times. He's reading the

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New York Times into a tape recorder
with an American accent to hone it and

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to get it. And his audition
basically is that tape recorder. He sets

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it down, he hits play for
Sydney, lummit, and that's that's all

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there was. They're like, yeah, the voice is perfect, you got

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it. Mhm. Now you mentioned
some of these guys, you know,

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I think this is pretty astute of
you. You know, you said some

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of these guys could have played Max
Schumacher. William Holden turns down the role

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of Peter of of Howard Beal,
so that he can play Max Schumacher.

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Um do you not like? No? No, I like his performance.

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But he really does look that guy
as you eventually unfold him. I'm like,

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he really does fit all of it, you know, the guy that's

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having like the middle age breakdown and
winning one last you know, fling with

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a young girl. He he fits
it and he falls into it so so

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well. He actually when he says
I'll take I'll take the role of Max

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Schumacher, he kind of knocks two
other actors out of contention who were vying

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for the role. So I'll ask
you, Brad, Uh, you know,

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as great as Holman is in this, how would you have felt about

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Walter Matthau or Gene Hackman in that
role. No, no, you don't

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even do it at all. You
don't think Hackman Hackman? No. Um

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two, Um, he didn't have
that look of I don't think at the

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time he was old enough, you
know, because of the stuff that like

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Holden's talking about, you know,
the stuff with Murrow and the guys at

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CBS, you know long ago.
Yeah, Hackman I think was too young

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at that point. He could have
played Hackett. Oh, okay, he

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definitely could have played Hackett. That
would have been great. Well, let's

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talk about the our best actress here, Faye Dunaway in the role of Diana

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Christiansen. So the writer, uh
Chayefsky, he wants Candice Bergen, Murphy

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Brown herself, which that would have
made perfect sense, or Ellen Burston.

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The studio meanwhile wants Jane Fonda,
and Sidney Lummett wants Vanessa Redgrave. No

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one's willing to give an inch.
They can't. They can't decide, and

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uh, when the dust settles,
you got Faye Dounaway. The only one

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that you said in there I could
maybe see was Jane Fonda. Okay,

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I can, I can? I
think Jane Fonda could have done it.

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Um Fade Dunaway, Um, she
like she got a chance to go big,

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and uh, I love let Lamett. Tolary goes, I know you're

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gonna ask me where's Diana's vulnerability.
He goes, I'm gonna tell you she

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has none. And if you try
to fit any in, I'm gonna throw

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it on the cutting heading room for
that's surprising, because I gotta say,

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first time watching this, Faye Dunaway
is spectacular. But dan is she is

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she cold? I mean she is? She has an icy character. Yeah,

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there's so many icy characters in this
movie. But and as I see

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it, no, it was like, does she ever have any feelings at

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all? Even I don't even know
why she goes and meets up with Max

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the second time. I think she's
kind of searching for tricks of his to

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help her get her show a little
bit better and stuff is the only reason

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I can see her reconnecting with him
after she had already basically taken his job.

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But yeah, it's like she has
nothing. She's such a cold hearted.

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I don't even know if the story
she tells him at dinner is true.

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I wondered that the whole thing about
her husband left her for another man,

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that she spent six years in therapy
and had her relationship with her therapists,

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it's very like, oh, poor
baby. Well then she seems a

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little fantastical, right, Yeah,
and oh I had a school boy crush

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on you. It was like she's
playing you. Oh God, So yeah,

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I don't. I don't. I
don't even think the story about her

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ex husband and stuff is even true. You know you said it. This

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is this is a movie for actors. I want to point out two more

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Brad, You've I know you've probably
seen this movie on a hundred times.

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I've seen it, you know,
twice now, And I immediately noticed two

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people. Um well I noticed one
immediately. They share a scene together,

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and it made me so happy.
How about the entertainment lawyer being played by

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a very young Lance Henrickson. Yeah, you know the scene I'm talking about,

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like, yeah, I love that, not playing a cop, which

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is exactly now. He's actually he's
there to make a deal with the h

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was it the the Ula terrorist organization? The leader the great I'm Ed Kahn,

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Yes, played by Arthur Burghardt.
And when I heard his voice,

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I was like, you've got to
be kidding me, you know, you

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know, Brad, You're you're kind
of looking like, like, who who's

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Arthur Burghart? Shall I tell you? Yes? Please? I have no

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idea who. Our moms probably would
recognize him or remember him for his his

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work on One Life to Live,
the soap opera. But Brad, you

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and I tuned in, you know, every weekday our favorite cartoon g I

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Joe. Arthur Burghart was the voice
of Destro. Really yes, how interesting.

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As soon as as soon as I
heard his voice, was like,

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wait, is that that's not Destro? Is it? And then I looked

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it up, I was like,
oh my god, it's Arthur Burghart.

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Yeah. So nineteen nineteen seventy six, Arthur Burghart is playing someone involved with

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a terrorist organization. You know,
ten years later he's voicing a character who

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was also involved in a terrorist organization. Yeah. Yeah. I love when

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you when you watch movies like this
and you you you do do a little

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bit of digging. I love when
you find out stuff like that. M

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Brad, Let's let's talk a little
bit about this movie. You know,

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this is a very dark satire.
Um, you want to you want to

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fill in for those because you know, maybe some people aren't familiar with network.

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Um, can you give me a
brief, you know, little little

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recap of what this movie is all
about. Yeah, everyone knows. Everyone

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knows the line. Right, I'm
Matt as hell and I'm not gonna take

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it anymore. Yeah. Basically,
I don't know if people can remember the

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old days when there was only a
few networks on television at CBS, NBC,

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ABC and like UHF, which was
like in Cincinnati, like your channel

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nineteen or something like that. You
ate. That channel is kind of represented

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in this movie by UBS, the
Union Broadcasting Company, which are not very

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high in their ratings. They're just
kind of a you know, they're always

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like last place, and they decided
that they are firing their lead anchor after

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twenty five years. Howard Bield,
as we said, played by Peter Finch,

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who decides to say on network television
that he is going to shoot himself

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on live television. This of course
draws a lot of negative reviews from the

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public, but also a lot of
positive reviews on their ratings, and they

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decide that they are going to craft. They show around Howard Bield basically letting

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out his frustrations and as some people
call a mad profit of the world,

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and then of course betrayal, backstabbing, sex, cheating, you know,

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even murder, and just the worst
kinds of people that you probably could ever

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come across, are just trying to
put on decent tele but it goes,

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of course, horribly horribly wrong.
This movie I appreciate the fact that it's

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it's kind of shot almost like in
a documentary fashion, you know, with

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the guy doing the voiceovers. You
know, we're we're introduced immediately to Howard

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Bill at the beginning, and we're
catching up with him and Max. You

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know, Max's taking him out for
drinks because he's just fired him. You

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know, he's like, hey,
you got two weeks, you're the ratings

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are bad. We're letting you go. And his reaction is to announce that

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he's in the commit suicide on next
week's program. And one thing that's amazing

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about that scene one he is very, very direct. He is not cracking

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a smile. He is he means
what he says. And meanwhile, everyone

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in the broadcast booth, everyone on
set, no one's paying attention to a

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word he's saying. They're oblivious to
this major thing that he just said.

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Yeah. It takes somebody else in
like another room to come back in and

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be like, guys, are you
watching this? He said, He's going

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to like what Yeah, did you
hear what he just said? Yeah?

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And it shows like, you know, the backstage people flirting with each other,

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yeah, not paying attention, and
all of a sudden there's like they

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he just said what. Yeah.
Robert Duval, who is awesome in this

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movie, he's he's the network boss. You know, he's ready to get

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him to have him fired, and
uh, William Holden's Max is like,

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hey, let me, let's let
him go out with some dignity. You

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know, he'll be good, just
one more show. And then he takes

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the opportunity there to just say life
is bullshit. Yeah. Yeah, and

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they're like and then Max is like, hell of it, let him go

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out how he wants to go out, and yeah, the audience eats it

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up, you know, uh we
what's it? The the worst the worst

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network? And then they get a
forty two share in the Nielsen ratings.

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Uh, they're just right behind what
she say, six million Dollar Man and

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All on the Family. Yeah,
All in the Family has brought up a

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lot in this movie, which is
surprising I thought, I mean, maybe

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not so surprising because you know,
All in the Family. I know it

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was kind of known for its very
direct approach and yeah, not not shying

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away from from you know, specific
topics. I mean we got to remember,

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you know, what America is dealing
with at this time, you know,

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Watergate, Vietnam. Uh Patychevsky.
He observed that America didn't want quote

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unquote happy television. People were angry, and they wanted the entertainment to reflect

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that. So you got stuff like
All in the Family, you got you

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get movies like Network. Yeah,
like you said, she even kind of

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spells it out in Forest, you
know, she's like said Watergate, Vietnam.

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You know, like everybody was being
let down. They were talking about

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a recession going on in the film, and it's like, I'm like,

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god, this is so relatable,
you know right now, you know when

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people have their leaders let down and
you know and causes, you know,

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get turned around and you're hunting and
scraping trying to live. You are Matt,

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you know, and people were sick
of it. You know this this

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spoon fed lie that was you know, being fed of this. Oh this

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is great, this is all gonna
work out, and some people are like,

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yeah, this isn't working out.
So you do feel a little like,

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uh like for me, I feel
a little bit of like a like

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I just like blew a huge breath
as I you know, at this movie

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ends. I'm like you feel like
you do get a little bit out by

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watching this movie, you know you
you get a little aggression out, you

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get to kind of scream with them. Network gives you a little bit of

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a release. Yeah, yeah,
because I think it's some things that people

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don't want to hear about what some
people really want to say. I like

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that. We'll keep talking about Network
right after a quick word from our sponsors.

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00:20:07.160 --> 00:20:11.559
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something special. Thank you. I
don't do no more. America's favorite family.

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00:20:45.400 --> 00:20:56.880
He's at it again and again again, looking war be turning our home

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00:20:56.920 --> 00:21:11.279
into a massage parlor. All in
the family, and we're back, Brad.

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I want to discuss an underrated moment
in this movie. Now for those

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00:21:17.599 --> 00:21:21.319
listeners that that aren't familiar with what
I'm talking about. If you didn't listen

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00:21:21.359 --> 00:21:26.920
to our first episode The Outlaw Josie
Wales with d Grays from these Surely you

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00:21:26.960 --> 00:21:32.119
can't be serious podcast. We're talking
about a scene. It's not your favorite

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00:21:32.119 --> 00:21:36.240
scene. You probably didn't see it
in the trailer for the film, but

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without it, the film is less. Brad, do you have a moment

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in this movie? Is there a
moment this movie that you feel is underrated?

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In that regard, It's hard to
pick an underrated scene in this movie,

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but considering, like I said,
not in the trailer, but I

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feel really brings the movie in a
great context. Is Nebetes scene explaining currency.

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There are no more nations, there
is only currency. You know,

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when he explains it, it all
makes sense of what they do, and

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you know what runs our country,
what runs our world, and if you

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just really think about it, he
puts it in perspective in one major scene.

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You are an old man who thinks
in terms of nations and people's There

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are nations, There are no peoples. There are no Russians, there are

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no Arabs, there are no third
worlds. There is no West. There

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is only one holistic system of systems, one vast and demain interwoven, interacting,

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multivariate multinational dominion of dollars, petrol
dollars, electrol dollars, multi dollars,

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right marks, rims, rubles and
checks. Of course, you know

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that was like said wins an oscar
Ford or is dominated for an oscar Ford.

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It's like, it's not an underrated
scene. But there's this movie yet

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so many memorable quotable number one list, you know things on this movie.

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I think that one is the I
guess best underrated one. But I like

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that one a lot. What about
you? He he is, uh,

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well, before I get to mind, I just gonna I want to comment

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on that scene that you pick,
because that's a it's a phenomenal scene.

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I love the fact that that Beatty
is on the screen for less than six

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minutes, nominated for an Academy Award
after after less than six minutes. But

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you know Howard Beale is known as
the mad profit of the airwaves and TV

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is looked at as religion in this
movie, you know, we worship the

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TV. That that scene where Beale
sits down in the conference room, beat

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he's almost it's like he's hearing the
voice of God. And especially the way

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00:24:03.839 --> 00:24:07.039
he delivers his dialogue. That monologue
is just amazing. It's like he's like

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he's like preaching a sermon to him. Yeah, well he studied I think

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his first when he tells the story
of him hearing the voice, you know,

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he looked at he goes this guy, the only way to get through

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00:24:21.200 --> 00:24:25.960
to this guy is to talk to
him as if you're a ghostly spirit,

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you know, type of thing.
But yeah, he just breaks it down

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00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:36.680
so well. And the fact that
he actually gets through to him is my

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surprise. You know, you sit
there and watch it and you're like,

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oh, you know, he's he's
not gonna break him. And then when

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he goes back on he's gonna keep
doing what he's doing. Say oh,

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go back to the regular format and
then do a you know, one eighty

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on him. But he doesn't.
He actually does what he asks. So

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00:24:55.640 --> 00:25:00.000
yeah, I like that scene a
lot. It's fantastic. I'll tell you

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00:25:00.359 --> 00:25:07.079
my my pick for the underrated moment
in this movie, and uh, you

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00:25:07.119 --> 00:25:08.400
know, maybe it's a slight cheat, because you know you you picked one

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00:25:08.400 --> 00:25:14.359
with Ned Baity he gets nominated for
an oscar Um. I'm gonna go with

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the scene where Max tells his wife
about the affair that he's having with Diana

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this moment. It's mystifying to me. Their conversation at the kitchen table is

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so calm. They're so polite to
one another, you know, And I'm

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like, are they talking I see, are they talking about a divorce and

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00:25:37.559 --> 00:25:41.559
that he's cheated on he's cheating on
her? Or are they talking about where

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00:25:41.559 --> 00:25:47.359
they're gonna you know, where they're
gonna summer in the Hampton's Like they're just

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so I don't know, it blows
my mind, man. And it's so

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they're very honest in it. That's
the thing. It's like they are very

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00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:03.400
honest in the conversation. You know, he's not holding anything back. He's

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00:26:03.440 --> 00:26:14.079
telling her exactly how he feels.
She almost feels and understands it. She's

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00:26:14.119 --> 00:26:18.160
definitely not you know, you know, on board with it, but she

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sees it. And and I'm glad
you picked this this moment because all of

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a sudden, this actress, Beitrice
straight her character, I mean, doesn't

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show up to you find out Howard's
left the place, and she just looks

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like she's just gonna be this little, little, tiny character. And all

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00:26:37.880 --> 00:26:45.160
of a sudden, she opens up
this powerhouse and lays it down with him,

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and then as she said, you
know I'm not gonna fight you.

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You know I'm not going out without
a fight. And then when she tells

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00:26:52.119 --> 00:26:56.160
him, you're up for heartache,
dude, well you know it's like ah,

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man, but they are such a
it's a call, that call,

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00:27:00.319 --> 00:27:06.720
that calm conversation at the kitchen table, which which leads up to her the

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00:27:06.799 --> 00:27:08.920
explosion. You know when she when
she basically she calls him out, you

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know, and asks him to admit
whether or not he is in love with

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uh Diana. And when he when
he when he admits it, Beatrice straight

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delivers this incredible monologue. I mean
she is She's off the charts, man,

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00:27:27.759 --> 00:27:33.000
because this isn't a convention weekend with
your secretary? Is it all or

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00:27:33.079 --> 00:27:37.400
some boor? Did you picked up
after three bolts of booze? This is

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00:27:37.400 --> 00:27:42.799
your great winter romance? Isn't it
your last rawal passion before you subtly into

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00:27:42.839 --> 00:27:45.200
your emeritus? He is, is
that? What's that? For me?

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00:27:47.079 --> 00:27:48.799
Is that my share? She gets
them in a passion, and I get

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00:27:48.839 --> 00:27:52.119
the doe inch. What am I
supposed to do? Am I supposed to

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00:27:52.119 --> 00:27:59.200
sit home knitting him? Why you
sleep back like some penitent drunk. I

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00:27:59.400 --> 00:28:03.559
your wife, damn it, I
mean your your Your heart is breaking for

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00:28:03.599 --> 00:28:07.720
this woman who you know you and
you see like you see their whole relationship,

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00:28:08.720 --> 00:28:12.680
like in in just a few minutes, you see their entire relationship and

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00:28:14.279 --> 00:28:21.799
how she's probably been a very long
suffering, probably bored housewife just supporting him

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and following him, only to get
nothing for for all that time. And

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I love how she when she finally
starts to calm down, you know,

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she says, say something, for
God's sake, and he is so cold

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00:28:36.079 --> 00:28:41.200
with his reply. He just says, I've got nothing to say, and

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00:28:41.279 --> 00:28:45.319
you know it's up. For a
while in the film, you kind of

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00:28:45.359 --> 00:28:48.319
like him, you know, you
kind of like his character. But after

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00:28:48.400 --> 00:28:52.880
this you're like, you're you're a
fool. You know, it's this is

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00:28:52.920 --> 00:28:56.160
your this is your demise, and
it is it's the end of him,

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00:28:57.000 --> 00:29:00.440
you know, because up at that
point you're not like, oh, this

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00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:03.720
is the great protagonist of the movie
or anything like that, but you don't

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00:29:03.119 --> 00:29:07.559
hate him. He could be having
an affair because his wife's mean or something,

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00:29:07.680 --> 00:29:11.359
but you don't see all that,
and instead you see, dude,

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00:29:11.400 --> 00:29:18.960
you're just you're just throwing it down
the Drain. Beatri Straight like Ned Batty,

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00:29:18.079 --> 00:29:22.079
she is on the screen for less
than six minutes, and she wins

357
00:29:22.359 --> 00:29:26.920
Best Supporting Actress. That I find
that incredible, man, I mean,

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00:29:26.839 --> 00:29:30.200
you know, Lamet's great at that. I mean, look what he did

359
00:29:30.240 --> 00:29:33.960
with like Chris Srandon and Dog Day
Afternoon, you know, just throwing him

360
00:29:33.000 --> 00:29:37.920
in there. You know, one
major scene of you know, on the

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00:29:37.960 --> 00:29:41.079
phone with al Paccino, you know, and and it's fantastic, you know,

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00:29:42.440 --> 00:29:45.480
you know talking about Beatrice Straight Brad, you know, like we said,

363
00:29:45.599 --> 00:29:52.480
she she wins Best Supporting Actress.
You are you familiar with some of

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00:29:52.519 --> 00:29:56.200
the names that she went up against
a that she beat out for the for

365
00:29:56.240 --> 00:30:03.039
the oscar because it's pretty impressive.
Um two in particularly need him refreshed.

366
00:30:04.160 --> 00:30:11.839
She beats out Jodie Foster for taxi
driver and Piper Laurie Piper Laurie for Carrie.

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00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:18.559
Beatrice Straight, Brad, who I'll
be honest, the only thing I've

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00:30:18.599 --> 00:30:21.160
ever seen her in. Like,
as soon as I saw on the screen,

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00:30:21.200 --> 00:30:26.039
I recognized her as the the paras
psychologist from Poltergeist. That's who she

370
00:30:26.279 --> 00:30:30.279
is. Yeah, She's the one
that I was driving me nuts. I'm

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00:30:30.279 --> 00:30:33.759
like, who is. She looks
so familiar. That's who she is.

372
00:30:34.240 --> 00:30:37.759
Yeah, Yeah, that's that's WUSSI
was, That's Whoshi is. So I

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00:30:37.799 --> 00:30:41.920
gotta tell you, like, you
know, sometimes when you find out who

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00:30:41.960 --> 00:30:45.039
won the Academy, like when you
were you know, like you're you're snubbed

375
00:30:45.039 --> 00:30:48.640
by Oscar, especially that you do
every year. I always like to see,

376
00:30:48.640 --> 00:30:51.839
like, well, who did they
go up against and did they really

377
00:30:51.839 --> 00:30:56.759
earn it? I gotta be honest, as as electrifying as Piper Laurie is

378
00:30:56.000 --> 00:31:03.680
and how brilliant Jodie Foster is and
and taxi driver and carry Bitrice straight leaves

379
00:31:03.720 --> 00:31:07.480
both of those two women in the
dust as far as I concerned. Yeah,

380
00:31:07.279 --> 00:31:15.839
I think so, because it's what
she not only had to say in

381
00:31:15.920 --> 00:31:19.039
her you know, dialogue, in
the way she portrayed it, it kind

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00:31:19.079 --> 00:31:26.920
of wanted you wanted to cheer for
her because she's the she's the only one,

383
00:31:26.559 --> 00:31:33.799
the only person in this movie that
actually is a good person. Yes,

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00:31:33.960 --> 00:31:38.799
only won, and you want to
cheer for her. And I think

385
00:31:38.880 --> 00:31:44.759
that you know, really did it. I mean, her whole scene is

386
00:31:44.799 --> 00:31:48.079
an Oscar clip basically. I mean
that's just I mean, it's like that

387
00:31:48.200 --> 00:31:51.880
a whole scene, it's like,
well, which part did we play any

388
00:31:51.880 --> 00:31:53.640
of them? Any of it?
Just just let her go, you know.

389
00:31:53.759 --> 00:31:57.039
So yeah, all Piper Lauria was
great, and you know, we'll

390
00:31:57.079 --> 00:31:59.960
talk about that when we do the
Oh Man. You know, we'll talk

391
00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:04.400
abou Jody Foster when we do Taxi
Driver. But I think it's what she

392
00:32:04.519 --> 00:32:09.799
had to say is what really stood
out. Yeah, well, let's let's

393
00:32:09.839 --> 00:32:16.000
talk about the words that matter,
Brady. I think there's one there's one

394
00:32:16.079 --> 00:32:22.200
line that's probably more famous, more
quotable than any other line in this entire

395
00:32:22.240 --> 00:32:29.240
film. What is it? I
am mad as hell and I'm not gonna

396
00:32:29.240 --> 00:32:37.119
take it anymore. So I want
you to get up now. I want

397
00:32:37.160 --> 00:32:39.599
all of you to get up out
of your chest. I want you to

398
00:32:39.599 --> 00:32:45.119
get up right now and go to
the window. I'll open it and stick

399
00:32:45.200 --> 00:32:49.279
your head out. And hell,
I must mad as hell and I'm not

400
00:32:49.359 --> 00:32:54.319
gonna take this anymore. This line, you know, as great as some

401
00:32:54.359 --> 00:32:58.480
of the monolargists are in this movie, this is the one line. This

402
00:32:58.559 --> 00:33:00.119
is the go to line for networks
or something. This was on the poster,

403
00:33:00.240 --> 00:33:05.759
I think. Yeah, plenty of
homages to it in in music,

404
00:33:06.400 --> 00:33:12.160
cartoons, even TV shows. I
have a favorite example though, that I

405
00:33:12.200 --> 00:33:14.240
want to I want to call out. I want to share with you because

406
00:33:14.559 --> 00:33:20.039
I remember seeing this not understanding really
understanding what it is, and now that

407
00:33:20.079 --> 00:33:24.720
I know it, it's hilarious.
But like the reed before you see The

408
00:33:24.720 --> 00:33:34.640
Exorcist, Yes, exactly that exactly
that. Uh, I'm talking about weird

409
00:33:34.680 --> 00:33:39.519
Al's movie. Uhf remember that.
How ridiculous that one is. One of

410
00:33:39.559 --> 00:33:45.960
the best examples of this line is, uh Michael Richards who plays the janitor

411
00:33:45.079 --> 00:33:49.640
Stanley Spinski. He he goes off
on this rant about it. I think

412
00:33:49.640 --> 00:33:52.480
it's like his his mop uh and
how dirty the floors are and you know,

413
00:33:52.599 --> 00:33:57.400
he's go over to your window and
these floors are dirty as hell.

414
00:33:57.920 --> 00:34:01.680
Yeah, I'm not gonna take it
anymore now that I now that I know

415
00:34:01.720 --> 00:34:07.240
what I know that, Uh that
that's una it is. It's definitely so

416
00:34:07.319 --> 00:34:10.079
much fun here. Uh. Any
other any other line, Brad, any

417
00:34:10.239 --> 00:34:14.960
any other quote come to mind for
you? As far as uh, I

418
00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:17.480
mean, nothing's gonna outshine. I'm
as mad as hell and I'm not gonna

419
00:34:17.519 --> 00:34:23.840
take this anymore. But anything from
like Duval or done Away, anything from

420
00:34:24.159 --> 00:34:29.880
ned Baby's got some good stuff in
his monologue, you have meddled with the

421
00:34:29.920 --> 00:34:37.159
forces of nature. I mean that's
and you will atone Yeah, yeah,

422
00:34:37.360 --> 00:34:43.800
going f with my distribution costs?
Um? Oh man, you know,

423
00:34:44.039 --> 00:34:46.840
Let's kill the son of a bitch. Um. Oh yeah, Let's kill

424
00:34:46.840 --> 00:34:52.079
the son of a bitch. You
know so many of them in this movie,

425
00:34:52.559 --> 00:34:57.119
can I let's you mentioned Let's kill
the son of a bitch. Here's

426
00:34:57.119 --> 00:35:02.519
where this movie takes a really bizarre
turn in my mind. I understand we're

427
00:35:02.559 --> 00:35:07.840
dealing with a dark satire, and
it's kind of it's pretty presented in the

428
00:35:07.880 --> 00:35:12.239
sense of like a documentary, like
a you know, but how do you

429
00:35:12.280 --> 00:35:15.920
feel I think you and I talked
about this um like weeks ago, But

430
00:35:15.119 --> 00:35:25.039
how do you feel about how casual
the conversations going about Howard Bill's assassination.

431
00:35:27.000 --> 00:35:31.360
It's scary because you're you're dealing with
money. You know, you're, like

432
00:35:31.400 --> 00:35:37.960
you said, you're dealing with billions
of dollars and um, you know they

433
00:35:37.000 --> 00:35:42.400
talk they talk about at the beginning
the narrator, does you know Howard has

434
00:35:42.719 --> 00:35:46.320
no children? You know his wife
has passed away. You know, he

435
00:35:46.400 --> 00:35:53.320
really has nobody and there's no there's
no way out for them. Like you

436
00:35:53.360 --> 00:35:58.719
said, you know, there is
you know, his Jensen wants him on

437
00:35:58.760 --> 00:36:00.519
the air, and he wants him
kept on the air. They don't care

438
00:36:00.599 --> 00:36:06.280
how much money they're losing or if
it loses money. It they really do

439
00:36:06.440 --> 00:36:13.719
have no choice. But they're already
kind of they really don't have any other

440
00:36:13.719 --> 00:36:16.119
option if he got if they just
fired, they couldn't even fire. But

441
00:36:16.199 --> 00:36:22.079
let's just say they fired him.
He could go to any other network if

442
00:36:22.079 --> 00:36:24.800
it was the number one show and
yeah, get work. You know,

443
00:36:24.840 --> 00:36:30.880
he could do a tell all book
and stuff like that, but you had

444
00:36:30.920 --> 00:36:32.800
to tragically end it. You know, if these people are going to be

445
00:36:32.960 --> 00:36:37.719
so awful, how awful can they
be? Yeah, you know, and

446
00:36:38.199 --> 00:36:44.280
with this it shows him these people
are not redeemable at all. No,

447
00:36:44.800 --> 00:36:47.199
of course, Beatrice straight. Yeah, I mean there there is no length

448
00:36:47.679 --> 00:36:53.559
to which they will not go for
ratings. And I mean you think,

449
00:36:53.599 --> 00:37:00.000
I mean obviously, Yeah, this
film is filled with so many unlikable people.

450
00:37:00.519 --> 00:37:04.199
You know, it's hard to get
behind someone in this movie. Uh.

451
00:37:04.480 --> 00:37:08.960
You know, William Holden is fantastic
in the role of Max, but

452
00:37:09.079 --> 00:37:13.639
he's doing a lot of unlikable things, you know, and it's hard to

453
00:37:13.639 --> 00:37:17.800
get behind him, so aside from
his his poor soon a Bix wife,

454
00:37:19.000 --> 00:37:22.639
it's hard to like anybody, especially
in this scene where the studio heads are

455
00:37:22.679 --> 00:37:27.320
just kind of talking it over casually
about let's just kill it, Let's just

456
00:37:27.400 --> 00:37:29.599
kill the son of a bitch.
You know, yeah, can we do

457
00:37:29.679 --> 00:37:31.880
that? Well? Sure, you
know, I don't know. For me,

458
00:37:32.079 --> 00:37:39.159
Like I guess I understood that the
movie. Uh, I went into

459
00:37:39.159 --> 00:37:43.920
it first time thinking I'm watching a
drama. I didn't really understand that it

460
00:37:44.119 --> 00:37:50.400
this was dark satire until that scene. Because it's as outlantish as it is.

461
00:37:51.119 --> 00:37:53.199
It's believable. You're all in at
that man, like you you get

462
00:37:53.280 --> 00:37:58.280
why they would have that conversation and
why they'd make the decisions that they make.

463
00:37:59.000 --> 00:38:00.840
And I can't can't think of any
other way to end the movie.

464
00:38:02.960 --> 00:38:07.960
I honestly cannot think of any other
way you could end that movie. I've

465
00:38:08.400 --> 00:38:10.960
I tried thinking about it, and
I'm like, Nope, they can't go

466
00:38:12.079 --> 00:38:15.480
that way because of Jensen. No, they can't go that way because of

467
00:38:15.480 --> 00:38:19.800
so Yeah, it's like they can't
convince him because yeah, there's no other

468
00:38:19.840 --> 00:38:24.800
way. Just depressing ending though,
oh yeah, I mean yeah, no

469
00:38:24.920 --> 00:38:29.559
happy ending for anybody in this movie. These are the movies of nineteen seventy

470
00:38:29.599 --> 00:38:37.239
six, per depressing. Yeah,
there's there's seventy six. The cinema of

471
00:38:37.280 --> 00:38:42.679
seventy six. It's amazing, but
it is. It's bleak. I'll give

472
00:38:42.719 --> 00:38:46.280
you that. Bro. Let's take
another quick break and when we get back

473
00:38:46.519 --> 00:38:54.000
we will discuss prequel, sequel remake. Hi, I'm dating the host of

474
00:38:54.039 --> 00:38:59.360
the docum Base seventy seven podcast.
We talk about everything from Anthrax to the

475
00:38:59.440 --> 00:39:04.280
Muppets to West Side Story. All
right, boys, buckle up, because

476
00:39:04.280 --> 00:39:08.159
we have hit the bottom of the
barrel. Because he slaughters all the Tuscan

477
00:39:08.239 --> 00:39:12.559
Raiders. The fact that she stays
by his side, that that tells me

478
00:39:12.599 --> 00:39:15.280
everything I need to know about these
women that write letters to serial killers in

479
00:39:15.320 --> 00:39:20.119
prison. You know, it makes
it made sense? You know Moby Young

480
00:39:20.599 --> 00:39:27.159
Sad always dumped Tim. That was
the theme song. You know, then

481
00:39:27.239 --> 00:39:32.559
you listen, Tim, did you
have the volume on? The witches are

482
00:39:32.559 --> 00:39:36.840
definitely much more nightmare fuel, But
the fact that they look like the Texas

483
00:39:36.880 --> 00:39:43.159
Chainsaw centerfolds um um. If Janko
Fett is so awesome, he's hired to

484
00:39:43.159 --> 00:39:45.320
be cloned, why the hell isn't
he doing the job. He like,

485
00:39:45.679 --> 00:39:49.880
my client's getting impatient. Well,
you slack ass mother, won't you do

486
00:39:49.920 --> 00:39:53.639
it? You know you're just check
us out on Apple podcast, Good Pods,

487
00:39:54.119 --> 00:40:00.360
pod Beam, or wherever you get
your podcasts. Now, Jeff,

488
00:40:00.360 --> 00:40:02.719
you know I love my extras and
my bonus features. Now, are you

489
00:40:02.760 --> 00:40:07.320
ready to offer some to our listeners? Absolutely, Brad. That's why we've

490
00:40:07.400 --> 00:40:14.239
launched via film by Patreon. Starting
for as little as three dollars, you

491
00:40:14.280 --> 00:40:19.480
can become a production assistant to receive
a film by Merchandise and gain access to

492
00:40:19.519 --> 00:40:22.960
our exclusive content. That's right.
Each month, we'll be offering up everything

493
00:40:22.960 --> 00:40:29.159
from episodes about our favorite actors to
audio commentaries of our favorite and not so

494
00:40:29.360 --> 00:40:31.239
favorite movies. Now, for you
fans of the familiar, we've got a

495
00:40:31.400 --> 00:40:36.079
nice surprise, right Jeff, That's
right, Brad. Our Patreon is the

496
00:40:36.119 --> 00:40:40.920
only place you'll get access to the
lost nineteen eighty six episodes. We're covering

497
00:40:42.000 --> 00:40:45.400
twenty more movies from nineteen eighty six, and we've got some of our favorite

498
00:40:45.400 --> 00:40:52.800
guests joining in. Now, you
mentioned merchandise stickers, t shirts, our

499
00:40:52.920 --> 00:40:59.639
new color changing stadium cups exclusive to
the Patreon, So join today and get

500
00:40:59.639 --> 00:41:09.360
in on all the great bonus content. We are back one of the one

501
00:41:09.400 --> 00:41:15.000
of the holdovers of our nineteen eighty
six series. You know, one of

502
00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:19.599
the questions we always talked about was
prequel, sequel, remake, which we

503
00:41:20.400 --> 00:41:24.079
it lives on in our seventy six
series. So if you're not familiar,

504
00:41:24.199 --> 00:41:27.840
Brad, I know you're very familiar. But for those listening, if you're

505
00:41:27.840 --> 00:41:31.840
not familiar, the idea is,
you know you're gonna go in and pitch

506
00:41:31.920 --> 00:41:37.119
something to the studio. What do
you think best serves this film. Network

507
00:41:37.199 --> 00:41:42.239
isn't a prequel, a sequel,
or a remake. So Brad, you

508
00:41:42.280 --> 00:41:50.679
are walking into the the headquarters of
UBS. You gotta have your meeting with

509
00:41:50.719 --> 00:41:53.840
Hackett. I'm I'm curious, what
are you doing with Network? Are you

510
00:41:53.880 --> 00:42:00.360
doing a prequel, a sequel,
or a remake. I think a remake

511
00:42:00.599 --> 00:42:09.119
could be done, okay, but
a remake so distinctive lead different from this

512
00:42:09.199 --> 00:42:15.280
film in a way like How a
Star Is Born was a remake. I

513
00:42:15.320 --> 00:42:20.519
think it could be done to highlight
our times that we're living in right now.

514
00:42:21.039 --> 00:42:23.960
I think it would need an all
star cast, just like this.

515
00:42:24.239 --> 00:42:29.199
It would need an all star director, it would need an all star writer.

516
00:42:29.400 --> 00:42:35.920
It would have to be a a
big budget drama, a talkie,

517
00:42:36.159 --> 00:42:39.920
basically a big budget drama with a
lot of people talking some rough stuff.

518
00:42:42.400 --> 00:42:45.239
But I think it could be done. You know. I'd also like to

519
00:42:45.280 --> 00:42:51.320
see them the Broadway version, because
they made a theatrical version. I know

520
00:42:52.039 --> 00:42:55.679
Brian Cranston played Beal. I would
love to see that. But I would

521
00:42:55.760 --> 00:43:00.960
like to see a film remade to
the show our times. I think you

522
00:43:00.960 --> 00:43:07.280
could take it and basically say,
based upon the story of Network, you

523
00:43:07.320 --> 00:43:08.159
know, kind of in the same
way. But yeah, I think it

524
00:43:08.159 --> 00:43:14.519
could be done. What about you. I am very happy to hear your

525
00:43:14.559 --> 00:43:19.519
pitch because we are definitely on the
same wavelength. Here's what I give you,

526
00:43:20.039 --> 00:43:22.199
all right, and you tell me
if I if I miss step anywhere.

527
00:43:22.840 --> 00:43:25.079
You got the cast and everything.
Oh, I gotta cast, I

528
00:43:25.280 --> 00:43:28.719
I gotta stell it. You you
asked for an all you asked for an

529
00:43:28.719 --> 00:43:30.840
all star cast, Brad, you
asked for a great director. I'm gonna

530
00:43:30.840 --> 00:43:34.679
I'm gonna give you all that.
So here's what we're gonna do. We're

531
00:43:34.679 --> 00:43:40.880
gonna remake Network. We're gonna shoot
it in a foe documentary kind of use

532
00:43:40.920 --> 00:43:45.239
it the true crime aesthetic. Okay, kind of kind of updating from the

533
00:43:45.280 --> 00:43:52.679
documentary vibe that the original gives you. All Right, m David Fincher is

534
00:43:52.719 --> 00:44:00.679
directing, and here's my cast.
I've got Zoe Saldana as Diana. You

535
00:44:00.719 --> 00:44:07.360
know, needs to be smart,
strong, attractive, but still still be

536
00:44:07.639 --> 00:44:12.239
a little cold, a little icy, but but but likable, you know.

537
00:44:12.719 --> 00:44:15.960
So I'm gonna give me Zoe Saldano
and in the role of Max,

538
00:44:16.079 --> 00:44:22.880
who is the I'm too old for
you but it's still believable. I'm gonna

539
00:44:22.880 --> 00:44:29.280
go with George Clooney as Max Schumacher. An interesting side note, in two

540
00:44:29.280 --> 00:44:34.440
thousand and five, Clooney was trying
to get a live TV TV adaptation off

541
00:44:34.440 --> 00:44:37.480
the ground for this movie. Yeah, I know that this is one of

542
00:44:37.480 --> 00:44:40.440
his favorite movies. So George welcome. Yeah. I think George's gonna sign

543
00:44:40.480 --> 00:44:45.920
on the down line pretty quickly.
Here's my here's my left field. Out

544
00:44:45.920 --> 00:44:51.559
of left field, I'm gonna go
for Ubs boss Frank Hackett. I don't

545
00:44:51.559 --> 00:44:55.360
know why, but I'm just I'm
seeing Rob Lowe if you think about his

546
00:44:55.440 --> 00:45:00.559
executive in Thank You for Smoking,
where he played yes Aaron Eckart, Yeah,

547
00:45:00.639 --> 00:45:05.119
I see Rob low doing it,
and uh, this is probably a

548
00:45:05.119 --> 00:45:08.159
little on the nose, but for
the aging mad profit of the airwaves.

549
00:45:08.840 --> 00:45:13.760
I gotta look at Harrison Ford.
I don't think you're shaking your head for

550
00:45:15.119 --> 00:45:17.519
I had I had you up until
Ford. Yeah, he can't do this

551
00:45:17.559 --> 00:45:27.760
type of role. Um, this
is going to acquire somebody of somebody that

552
00:45:27.840 --> 00:45:30.079
just can kind of blow it out
of the water as like old age.

553
00:45:30.360 --> 00:45:35.920
Um, Harrison Ford's eight, I've
got I got, I've got it.

554
00:45:36.159 --> 00:45:45.679
Uh man uh Tom uh Tom Wilkinson, Oh from in the bedroom Batman.

555
00:45:45.519 --> 00:45:51.000
Yeah, okay, you know what
you you just saved us a lot of

556
00:45:51.000 --> 00:45:54.400
them. He kind of did a
weird character like that, and um,

557
00:45:55.480 --> 00:46:00.159
Michael Clayton, Okay, he kind
of played a you know, kind of

558
00:46:00.199 --> 00:46:07.079
a crazy guy that you know,
does a one to eighty on their like

559
00:46:07.079 --> 00:46:09.960
their firm and stuff like that.
So that one's maybe a little too on

560
00:46:10.000 --> 00:46:16.280
the nose. But Harrison Ford not
all right, all right, I'll tell

561
00:46:16.320 --> 00:46:21.679
you what you you win, You
win me over with with your pick,

562
00:46:21.719 --> 00:46:25.159
because Wilkinson would be fantastic as Howard
Bill. I'm sure you'd win the studio

563
00:46:25.159 --> 00:46:29.880
over with your pick, just because
you're saving them millions of dollars, but

564
00:46:30.079 --> 00:46:36.119
um as a bonus since you took
Harrison Ford away from me, just as

565
00:46:36.119 --> 00:46:39.239
a bonus pick here CEO Arthur Jensen, who was played by Ned Baty,

566
00:46:40.159 --> 00:46:46.880
think about how booming and theatrical.
His monologue was, I want Samuel Jackson.

567
00:46:50.039 --> 00:46:53.880
I could work all right, all
right, good deal, but I

568
00:46:53.880 --> 00:47:00.079
would like him to go silent the
whole movie. Accept that scene, Oh

569
00:47:00.119 --> 00:47:04.199
yeah, absolutely, because people would
be waiting for him to go nuts.

570
00:47:04.239 --> 00:47:07.159
And then he just was always just
like, yeah, well that's I mean,

571
00:47:07.199 --> 00:47:12.000
Betty, Betty is all nice and
calm and kind as he's bringing him

572
00:47:12.000 --> 00:47:15.360
in, you know, and yeah, I'm I'm a salesman. They say,

573
00:47:15.360 --> 00:47:19.000
I can sell anybody. And then
he shuts, he closes the curtains

574
00:47:19.079 --> 00:47:23.079
and everything thing gets dark and then
he he booms. He explodes right there

575
00:47:23.199 --> 00:47:29.239
and then he goes, yeah he
does, and then but then quickly he's

576
00:47:29.280 --> 00:47:31.280
like, am I getting through to
you? You know? Yeah? It

577
00:47:31.360 --> 00:47:35.119
was it was all It was all
a cell. I love that about it.

578
00:47:35.480 --> 00:47:39.159
Brad. You love this movie And
I'm a possible four stars? What

579
00:47:39.239 --> 00:47:45.800
are you giving network? I'm giving
it all four? All four? Yeah,

580
00:47:45.960 --> 00:47:49.280
yeah, next year there are number
four you know, I love the

581
00:47:49.320 --> 00:47:52.440
thing. Next year. This year
we're number four, Next year we're number

582
00:47:52.440 --> 00:47:55.920
one. Yeah, i'll tell you, I'm I'm gonna give it. I'm

583
00:47:55.920 --> 00:48:02.679
gonna give it three stars. Brilliant
writing, brilliant direction, some incredible acting.

584
00:48:04.559 --> 00:48:07.000
But man, the film is a
serious downer. Yeah, it's a

585
00:48:07.079 --> 00:48:13.960
downer, but it also kind of, like I said, reflects a little

586
00:48:13.960 --> 00:48:17.639
bit of our times, kind of
goes in places that you're like, is

587
00:48:17.679 --> 00:48:22.960
this okay to watch? You know, there's a lot of that in this

588
00:48:22.000 --> 00:48:28.119
movie. There's a lot of stuff
dealing with like Communist Party and you know,

589
00:48:28.239 --> 00:48:32.480
Black Panther, you know groups,
and so there's a lot going on

590
00:48:32.559 --> 00:48:37.159
in the movie, but it's still
kind of a fun movie to watch.

591
00:48:37.360 --> 00:48:40.679
Actors just rip it up. Yeah, it's an actor's movie for sure.

592
00:48:42.159 --> 00:48:44.519
Oh yeah. Yeah. If you're
an actor and you want to see some

593
00:48:44.679 --> 00:48:49.400
just scenes or you're looking for scenes
to do, watch Network. You'll find

594
00:48:49.440 --> 00:48:53.960
like twenty Well, Brad, I
want to thank you for stepping into the

595
00:48:54.559 --> 00:48:59.639
nineteen seventy six series. I know
this is one of your favorite decades and

596
00:48:59.679 --> 00:49:04.960
cinema. I know that you'll definitely
be back for several Oh yeah, I'm

597
00:49:05.440 --> 00:49:07.559
pumped. For this series. Yeah, so you've told me a couple of

598
00:49:07.559 --> 00:49:12.519
ones we got coming up, and
I'm like, oh yeah yeah. And

599
00:49:12.639 --> 00:49:15.599
next week, Brad, you and
I we're staying in nineteen seventy six.

600
00:49:16.679 --> 00:49:22.400
We'll be celebrating Dustin Hoffman's eighty fifth
birthday. We're gonna give you the skinny

601
00:49:22.519 --> 00:49:29.480
on Marathon Man and all the President's
men. Oh, that'll be fine,

602
00:49:29.599 --> 00:49:34.760
eighty five Wow. Yeah. Listeners, you can let us know what you

603
00:49:34.800 --> 00:49:38.840
think of network on www dot a, film by podcast dot com or social

604
00:49:38.840 --> 00:49:50.920
media. Thanks for lending your ears. Catch you on the flip side.